So I found out I'm on my schools "Shooting Watch List"

[gdv358]

Terrible that they keep on doing stuff like this. I had a personal experience with a situation like this before. But when it happened to me it was only 2 years after the Columbine incident and people hadn't quite perfected the method of making their list confidential.

With nothing more than the fact I was quiet and had been bullied in the past, they had three specialists talk to me about how I deal with stress and informing me that they believed I was a potential (their exact words here) "Columbine Case". They then had the local police investigate me too because I'd spoken out during a class and they took it as a sign I was ready to snap at any minute.

Three months before graduation they turned my every action into reason for a criminal investigation, even interviewing other students and teachers about me. Funny thing was, they'd decided I wasn't actually a danger to the school after their investigation but never bothered to tell the rest of the school that.

So I can totally understand how you feel being put under that kind of scrutiny. Still, happy to know they don't do it right out in public anymore.

P.S. when they talk about Goth Culture, I found out during my investigation that just means you wear colors or designs they don't approve of. That's it, they don't need anything more than that.

 

[Wargamer]

This person doesn't believe in God! And listens to metal! They must be some sort of soulless killer!!!

Or a Viking; "God" is a Christian deity, and Metal often has Viking themes within it.

Either way, a viking wouldn't be on a school shooting list; if they wanted you dead, they'd do it with a sword, axe or hammer!

 

[Ch@Z]

Religion: Atheist, shows lack of empathy.

Isn't that prejudice? No wonder so many people hate religion.

 

[Reaper195]

I was once accused of being mentally unstable because I had written the words to an Andrew W. K. song on the cover of my English book. Granted, the song was 'Ready To Die', but the teacher never understood that I liked the song as a whole, and didn't focus on the 'violent' lyrics. I was actually more pissed off at being generalised than anything.

Thank christ I left school many years ago. I now live a happy life with an enjoyable (If not desirable) job, and still think AWK is the man.

 

[thahat]

Well people who excel at science do tend want to kill people...for science reasons of course.

They also have weird fascinations with cake...

OT: That is weird. But at least the teachers are being told to be nice to you.

i laughed. was reading the guy you quoted, thought 'for science! /portal/glados' then i scrolled down, and you ninja'd me before i even thought of it. damn bro, thats impressive.

 

[Hive Mind]

You should confront her about it, at her house, while holding a gun.

Actually don't do that, that would be a horrible thing to do. Also, you snuck back into her office to rifle through your files just to know what one 'unimportant' file was? Thats some worrying behaviour right there.

I like how music choice is one of the indicators for whether you will shoot up a school. "ARGH He likes Judas Priest, now were all screwed!"

I find it funny that no one else besides us has questioned the OP's willingness to sneak into a teacher's office and go through her files. A lack of empathy and none too bothered about rifling through someone's private property after having suck into their room? Kind of scary personality right there. If they come back and mention how they once killed a stray cat, I'm calling the cops.

Also, Judas Priest are terrible.

 

[Naeberius]

Lol start shooting and say "I had to do it! Its in my file"

 

[Lou]

That's just downright insulting. If I were you I'd ask for an explanation.

 

[TheModWolf]

Killing...science...Portal...nice.

But yeah that is messed up a lot, I find that really really offenive, especially the atheist bit as it applies to me personally. If I were you I wouldn't raise it if those files are confidential, but if you know they're not then I'd definitely speak out.

 

[Imbechile]

Ignorance on: Yet another reason I wouldn't want to live in America

 

[MGlBlaze]

"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?

Science: Okay...

Interests: Based on what you said both of these are bullshit, but again I have to wonder what the relevance of these are.

Musical choice: There's a lot more to heavy metal than death, depending on the sub-genre, band and individual song. This shows ignorance on their part more than anything else.

Religion: What. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FlatWhat]
Right, now I'm offended by those people. That kind of attitude is why I have now rejected religion, as well as (in Friedrich Nietzsche's words) the fact that I cannot believe in a 'God' that wants to be worshiped all the time. It can serve to provide some good ground-work for a person's morals, but there is nothing stopping someone from being very morally strong without religion and I think they'll find that plenty of people twist their religion to suit them as an asinine justification for actions that could be considered evil. Case in point, the Crusades.
"People never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction." - Blaise Pascal, slightly paraphrased.

Maybe I shouldn't be getting annoyed about it since it's not me, but still.

 

[megaraccoon]

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?

wow just plain wow so no mention of prior violent outbursts or possible mental health history just pore judgement on your preffered music genre, man get the hell outta there or they'll burn you at the stake just for listnine to judas priest, also "a bit wierd" its compleatly crazy and offensive to you and others simply for being different with no basis whatsoever, but also you have a SSP? wtf how often do kids in america (i assume) go kill crazy? its probably due to the whole subjugation you get for not being white-bread christians. HAIL SATAN, HAIL METAL!!

 

[matt87_50]

lololololol!! well, there's your answer for what your career path should be!

"it seems you have a bright future in the 'homicidal rampage' space!"

 

[hiks89]

Tahts... actually kinda funny. To me at least, just that your school has a list. Though it seems like something you could bring a lawsuit around for, targetting you out on your (lack of) religion, interests, and music.

Id ont know, my high school didnt need a list like that. Everyone could bring their (legal) guns to school, cause I live in a really suburban area where you can go to a rural place in like, five minutes drive, and hunting is huge. People often joked that they would come in and shoot the place (for various reasons). I know I had brought my gun to school once, and more times I had brought other weapons (for hunting). In fact, in the four years of being in my high school, and of its 40 year history, we only had one attempted shooting. it was bad for the kid that tried, cause after three of us (including me) tackled him and made him miss the girl he was aiming for, he got back up and tried again, but wound up getting shot in both knee caps, bringing and keeping him down.

Though, I guess I would be on that list if we had one, just cause I have the capabilities and discipline to kill just about anyone in most anyway, and have a reputation as being hard to kill.

EDIT:
I wonder if they have it (the list) up somewhere online for the parents to see. Like they do with Megan's Law

you don't by any chance go to MEGATON high school do you?

 

[Epic Fail 1977]

Religion: Atheist, shows lack of empathy.

Wow. If you do shoot anyone, please shoot that teacher. Just kidding, don't ban me mods.

 

[Tizzmarelda]

You should totally use this to fuck with the school. Get a friend in on the act, get a bb gun ( unloaded ofcourse) and pretend to take him hostage. you get a cookie if you manage to shut the school and the internet if you get on the news. Do it for the lulz!

 

[Pyroguekenesis]

Well, there's this odd thing where I seem to have an odd reputation for being an assassin...=_=;
Even my teachers know about it....should I be worried?

 

[willsham45]

That is ridicules...Music preference, appearance and religious make no more or less likely to anything.

You should have stayed there with it open and when they came back you demand then to explain. Or take the report or photocopy it. Its your information after all.

Or think of it this way...Teachers have been told to be nicer to you, run with it and try and get away with more stuff, if any teacher starts telling you off cry out and say how you got to be nice to me I saw the report about the ssp, you better not piss me off or I might do something stupid. just for a laugh...maybe get out a nurf gun or something. Then if anyone says anything say it was there fault for provoking it by doing what they did.

 

[DMac the Knife]

The scenario is sketchy. Counselor doesn't put files away, leaves before you, and doesn't lock office door. I'm not saying this is a troll topic, just a series of unlikely events leading to the discovery.

That said, I fully believe that schools are profiling students for violent tendencies and have been for years. Here is a link to a PBS article on profiling school shooters: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kinkel/profile/ and here is a link to the 1999 FBI threat assessment on school shooters: http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/school-shooter

If your post is an accurate representation of your school's assessment process then they are falling far short of the areas that the FBI found to be key indicators...