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WILL WE EVER LEARN? In the last few months, there has been a frightening spurt in school shootings. "Oh no! Not again!" is the first reaction that is triggered by watching/hearing about such unfortunate incidents.Such massacres occurring at such short intervals certainly prompts a debate as to 'why this?'. "Can you tell when this is about to happen?" ask most people, although psychiatrists have given a list of symptoms, that are so common that they can be observed in an everyday, "normal" teenager. Are the violent television shows and movies the reason for these sorry incidents? Has the subconscious line between fact and fiction been erased? America witnessed its latest school shooting in Springfield, Oregon, executed by "Kip" (Kipland) Kinkel, took place when he calmly walked into the cafeteria with a knife, taped to his leg, and a gun (a .22 caliber semiautomatic rifle). The plan was ultimately carried out so smoothly that it certainly finds people thinking, asking themselves whether or not students should be searched before entering the school? Should metal detectors be enforced in every school in the country? Another factor that might be playing an important role in the school shooting is isolation. Every town where shootings have taken place were small towns which are difficult to locate on the map. Could the isolation and fewer people around rock the psychological foundation? I would like to leave the reader with one final question, as the U.S. witnesses more and more school shootings, can anything be learned or done? Date posted : May 24, 1998. What do you think about this?
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