Begin rant:
After seeing yet another mass shooting, I have finally realized the reason many of these individuals who feel free to take the lives of others.
Note – this doesn’t include the seriously ill, like the fellow who killed the children at Sandy Hook, he was long-term mentally ill person he wasn’t just a whiny brat just off on a rejection rampage.
I blame the concept of “no child left behind”. The first kids who have ‘benefited’ from this program are young adults now – our new crop of self-indulgent mass murderers.
Now, there are other causes that aid and abet this issue, but none of them have the sheer effect that trickles into every aspect of their interactions as this one concept.
By sparing young children the embarrassment of failure, we’re not teaching them resilience. We’re not teaching them critical thinking. We’re not teaching them to overcome. We’re not teaching them to work harder. We’re not teaching them the consequences of their actions.
If they don’t pay attention in class we can’t fail them any more. They are still promoted to the next grade and can still play with all their friends. They haven’t lost anything, they don’t need to have goals and have no reason to work harder. We’ve taken away the joy of achievement. There is no feeling of pride and accomplishment when they succeed after failing because nothing spurs them to even bother to try again.
This concept is also promoted in many homes. Both parents work so there is little time to spend with their children. Either the kids are left alone too often in front of the TV and given whatever they want to shut up or they’re coddled so much that they never have the opportunity to play freely and learn consequences, get splinters, scrape their knees, fall and get up again.
By the time these kids enter the workforce they’re useless. I have direct experience with this. I facilitate new hires into our company and run them through the health and safety orientation. These kids are not desk jockeys. They are working in the trades using heave equipment. Safety is a requirement.
An alarming percentage of these kids do not know how to work. They can’t even fill out standard paperwork for payroll without skipping vital fields to be entered… like their address. They look stunned when I tell them to keep their flippin’ phone in their pocket or in their locker. Out on the job sites, I heard from the foremen that they have no idea what to do when people correct them other than blame their boss for daring to make them look bad in front of their peers.
In some cases their hovering parents are still hovering. Trying to be included in their child’s job interview or performance evaluation. I had one parent call and threaten to remove her 18 year old child from the summer job he’d been given with us because it was a three block walk from the bus stop. When I talked to him on his first day he apologized. When he tried to call for directions to the orientation, his mom grabbed the phone from him – she wouldn’t let him make the phone call himself.
But what’s even more concerning, is these young adults aren’t resilient. They haven’t failed, they haven’t learned to correct their actions and try again and most importantly, they haven’t learned to accept rejection as a normal part of life.
There is a sense of entitlement that has never existed before on such a global scale.
The woman’s movement has been great for gender equality, but it’s also made it harder to be safe if you’re a woman. Sure, we can have sex with who ever we want but when we say no, it should mean no. It shouldn’t be a starting point for negotiation or aggression. (slightly off topic, but yet part of the same issue)
While I don’t always believe an eye for an eye, I do wonder if a little cause and effect wouldn’t be a good thing. What would happen if a rapist was made to feel powerless and raped. What if a shooter was shot as part of their punishment. What offenders were made to feel a portion of the fear and pain that they inflicted. Would they re-offend.
I look now to the RCMP shooting near my home town. Buddy just walked out onto the street with a rifle, crossbow and knifes. He was armed and ready for combat. He shot the officers without hesitation.
After a 30 hour manhunt, he walked out unarmed with his hands up and said I’m done.
Why did he give up…I think he was cold and wet and wanted his Mommy (who I truly hope is no longer alive to see what her child has done)
