WhatIsThisIDontEven said:
So I was called into the office of my high school today to talk to my guidance counselor about college stuff (I'm a senior) and she had all my files and stuff on her desk. There was one folder she never looked at though during the meeting. I asked her about it and she said it wasn't important.
The bell rang and we both got up to leave. I went back to her office once she had left and picked up the folder. It was a report about my "school shooting potential". At my school, apparently, the SSP is based on grades, interests, music choice, and religion. It said this (from what I can recall, I skimmed it)
"Grades: Excellent, excels in science.
Interests: Shows an interest in death and goth culture.
Music Choice: Heavy metal, shows interest in death.
Religion: Atheist, shows lack of empathy.
Comments: Staff are urged to act nicer to NAME to keep him at a stable emotional level."
Which is weird, because I don't have any interest in goth subculture or a death fascination. I do like metal, but so? Also the part about me being an atheist is ridiculous (the school is in a Protestant/Catholic town).
Anyone else think this is a bit weird?
What kind of incompetent muppet do they hire to do these psychological profiles?
Metrics as shallow as that couldn't predict probability of anything.
I mean music, religion, fashion and grades.
What kind of idiot hasn't figured out that those combinations would apply to MILLIONS of students then there are only a dozen or so actual cases of shootings or attempted shootings.
And what does atheism have to do with this? If anything the delusion that there is life after death would encourage people to kill and take their own life. Look what it did for those extremists like the Jim Jones Cult or what I'd also call a Cult; Al Qaeda.
There IS however a much better warning sign:
-interest in other school shootings = School shootings in america have been following a pattern, once there were none then one seemed to spark "copycat" crimes. Of course key determining factor is gauging WHAT interest they have, is it concern and fear of it being repeated (reasonable)... or fascination and obsession not over the victims but the perpetrator and the chaos of it all.
-lack of engagement with rest of school/campus activities, socialising. If they are in a group of Goths THAT IS SOCIALISING, they don't have to be part of the establishment, just a group they can feel part of.
-Inappropriate use of firearms = not the mere use of firearms or proper use of firearms and also violent video games. I mean things like pointing guns unloaded at people, into cameras, shooting at animals for non-hunting reasons. Particular warning sign is indication they are trying to imitate the poses of other school shooters.
Any one of these should be quite benign but together they add up to something dangerous.
Firearms: means and capacity to use them
Detached: little personal incentive against murder
Copycat: they have a template to follow
But I think most important if you are going to have guns within 100 miles of your school (including adjacent jurisdictions) the best way to prevent school shootings is to have an armed police officer on duty to actively prevent all attacks that may not even be internal. The shooter may have been expelled months ago or it could be a parent or teacher who has become unstable and obsessed.
Schools are full of our most precious things, our children, a "No guns allowed" sign is absolutely no use without a cop on 24/7 patrol.
