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Speak Out
We must take steps to curb the violence
We are outraged at both the deaths in Littleton, Colorado and the killing of good innocent people such as the three women in Yosemite. We can stop these tragedies. What creates this monstrous behavior by human beings toward other human beings?
To stop a stubborn problem, one must interfere at multiple places along the chain of events which generate this unwanted behavior. Because we have failed to do so we, society, are in part responsible for these outrages.
We must see to it that people who need help get it; we must provide both tender and tough love. We must watch the behavior of others for signs of willingness to be violent, watch for signs of willingness to deliver verbal abuse, and be willing to speak up on little slights as well as big ones.
We must be willing to ourselves counsel both child and parents, and support the hiring of professional counselors. We must minimize the availability guns. We must see to it that quality education is provided for all, and that teachers have the time to detect and deal with violence-prone behavior.
We must see to it that our neighbor's family life is healthy, while recognizing that skill is needed to help. We must see to it that the early childhood formative years are trauma-free and affectionate, see to it that nutrition is good in early childhood, and see to it that prenatal care is sound. For crimes of older criminals, we need a truly correctional system which provides fundamental lessons for inmates on civilized ways to live together, and not the death penalty.
Our great religious leaders both urge and demand that the above steps be taken. The steps are in our own best interest.
Society has failed to take these steps, and so monsters grow in our midst. We pay the consequences. Society must accept its portion of the blame, while at the same time recognizing that the miscreant must carry the primary guilt and must be locked up.
These remedial steps are not unduly costly. The process requires our awakening and understanding of the errors we are making even as we sorrow today.
Charles Walton
Los Gatos
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
