Persuasive Essay: Arguing Against School Shootings

On February 14, 2018, a nineteen year old male walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 rifle. The shooter killed 17 students, dropped his gun, and then disguised himself as a student and ran out with them. The shooter was eventually taken into custody. This shooter has done more to separate this country than ISIS ever could have imagined. In the days to come after this shooting, the social media keyboard warriors have gone to war. Quoting statistics, postings meme, and everyone coming up with their short quick answer to unequivocally answer this problem. The problem is, everyone is being incredibly short minded. Does anyone really think that one decision, one law change, one mental health change is going to fix

The Enoch Brown School Massacre, July 26th, 1764. It may appear that we have been living with school violence for quite some time now. There is no doubt that the violence at schools has become more prominent since the 1960’s, but still is a part of our history. Do we need to come to grips with reality and understand that this possibility is here to stay and we need to find ways to correct it to keep our children safer? Second, in 1999 when the massacre at Columbine High School happened, I remember this country standing much more together; there wasn’t this defiance against our neighbor because they thought something different. When the Twin Towers were attacked by hijacked airplanes, did this country start feuding with each other on how one political party was to blame or this was the airlines fault for allowing this to happen? No, this country came together united and worked as one to come up with further safety precautions to try to deter and prevent these attacks from happening. But now, there is a clear cut division between people. I’m kind of confused that everyone knows exactly what to do when I have yet to hear an explanation

I had a conversation recently with a few police officers and we were discussing TV shows from the past. Family Matters, Home Improvement, and Saved by the Bell to name a few. What we came up with was that those were TV shows that everyone in a family could sit down and watch. No one would worry that they would come across a topic that might be too inappropriate for younger children. I don’t think I could come up with a single TV show right now that doesn’t have a strong sexual content or metaphors. Last Man Standing is one of the more wholesome shows I can think of off the top of my head and that show still has a strong suggestive sexual content. Our social norms have become highly sexual. Do our young adolescents pick up on this? You’re lying if you say no. Young boys are seeing graphic pictures early on and that kick starting their sex drive. And what if this young boy has not been taught self-control? This young growing boy does not have two parents that are currently teaching and implementing parenting skills to teach self-control, strong moral values, and the difference between right and wrong? Is there a chance that this young boy is going to be put in a situation with another young girl who has learned promiscuity from television and celebrities in our time? Does this possibly create a situation where the boy believes he should or wants touch, fondle, or sexually assault this