All too often after a school shooting, we hear things like "he was shy", "he didn't have friends" or "he was being bullied". These statements alone give pause and beg the question of whether situations at school are pushing children to plan school shootings. There will be some that will say that the two issues are not linked and in some cases, this could be true but when children do not build proper relationships or connections with their teachers and classmates, issues can a will arise.Let us look at the way that parents real their child. This is in no way an attack but an examination. If parents are raising children in a home where abuse is present, racism and bigotry or practice, the child takes this same attitude to school.
Bullies use this information against students that may fit into a different race, social status or simply a person who seems able to be abused without making any noise. The practice becomes even more prevalent as these children grow into teens. This is when the pressure is turned up to the max. Middle school and high school are the worse for some because everyone is going through puberty. Some handle it with grace while others may find themselves dealing with acne and awkward growth sprouts in one area or another. It all depends on how others view these changes. If they are viewed as negative by other students, then the child will become withdrawn. Even if he or she tries to make themself "invisible", the bully sees all and exploits all for everyone to see.
Constant bullying day after day, week after week, for months, is bound to force a child to take action to protect him or herself. Think about it clearly, the child has told friends, teachers, administrators as well as parents about the bullying and nothing seems to be done about it. So much goes through the child's mind that he or she eventually snaps and decided that either he or she takes action or suffer the rest of high school at the hands of this bully. Everyone knows what's going on. As fellow classmates watch on, some laugh while others fear speaking up will cause him or her to become the new target, the bullied kid has something hidden inside his or her bookbag.
The child is not thinking clearly but operating on pure adrenaline. The gun is pulled out and people get hurt. Some of whom were innocent but yet watched on as their peer was being bullied. After everything has blown over, everyone is asking "why did he do it" or "why did they do it" when they already knew that this person or persons were suffering and being bullied relentlessly. Everyone is scrambling around to go to the child's home to see if there was something on the computer or a note explaining why but honestly, they already know why everything happened. All the truth is in the walls of that school, in those classrooms where no one lifted a finger to help a child who was suffering all alone. In these walls is where the link between bullying and school shootings lies.
