School Shootings

It’s been a week and the shock, the outrage are fading . . . or have faded entirely. Young people and a teacher were killed a week ago in a Minneapolis school setting. An 8-yearold and a 10-year-old died and 18 others were injured.

An 8-year-old and a 10year-old.

What is wrong with our world?

According to news reports, this was the fifth shooting in U.S. schools since this new term began on Aug. 1.

Fifth. Since. Aug. 1. Let’s ask again, what is wrong with our world?

According to CNN, this was the 44th school shooting this calendar year. Half took place on college campuses and half in K-12 schools.

This is the 36th week of the year. We have had 44 school shootings. Think about that for a second. More than one a week.

44 school shootings. 18 dead 74 wounded Just this year.

application.

Just! This! Year!

Expand beyond schools and it’s worse. In the U.S. this calendar year, there have been 270 mass shootings with 269 dead and almost 1,200 wounded.

Beg your pardon for the repetition, but what is wrong with our world?

In the wake of this most recent – AND FAR TOO OFTEN – deadly shooting, we’ve all heard the same talking heads call for more gun control laws. Could we shut down the damn political talk just this once?

18 dead, many of whom were children.

What else do we need to know?

Will taking guns away really solve this problem?

Will taking cars away solve drunk driving?

Will taking No. 2 pencils away solve poor test scores?

Will taking my fork away solve my weight issue?

The problem is not a gun. The problem is people.

People who don’t parent their children. People who abdicate parenting to video games. People who don’t crack open the door to a church. People who don’t crack open their heart to God. People who value power over good governance. People who think talking solves problems.

Guns. Cars. Pencils. Forks.

Not. The. Problem. People. People. People. How do we solve that? How do we step back from the abyss we’re staring into in today’s world? Gun control folks will say take away guns. Some will say make the penalties more severe. Others will say harsher laws don’t help.

“No evidence will ever be able to make sense of such an unthinkable tragedy,” Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara said. He added that the shooter hated everyone . . . except mass murderers.

How do you explain that? How do you correct that? How do you stop that? Ask mental health experts. Ask your neighbor. Ask everyone. There’s an answer somewhere. We need to find it.

Maybe we need more hugs? Maybe we need more death penalties? Way above my pay grade. The concept of a fiery eternal damnation seems to contradict those who say threats of severe punishments aren’t a deterrent.

I don’t know. I wish I did. I can’t tell you the long-term answers, but I can tell you where to start looking. At home. Not Austin. In a church. Not a courthouse. It starts with parents, grandparents. Us. All of us. That part, at least, isn’t complicated.

Timmons is a career newspaperman, award winning author and insudtry consultant. He is the group publisher for Moser Community Media’s Central and Limestone newspaper groups which inculdes publications in Cameron, Marlin, Thorndale, Rosebud, Groesbeck, Mexia, and Fairfield. You can reach him at tim@themexianews. com