Last week,the most shocking event was the school shooting in Finland, which was the second in this year. Because school shootings are not as common in Europe as they are in the United States ,media coverege about it,is a lot higher in Europe than in the United States. This event affects all European countries and the goverments have to do all they can to avoid these kind of events in the future. Although the media coverage delivers information , it can also have negative sides ,especially about these kind of events.

The Daily Telegraph has published very many articles about the shooting. It has published allmost every bit of information,which was realeased by the Finnish media about the shooting. Also it seems that the reporters have done a lot of research about the previous school shooting and they have found many similarities. A lot of interviews and information about this tragedy makes The Daily Telegraph very reliable information source. Also it discusses about the  potential aftermaths of this shooting.

The Times has published only a few artical about the latest school shooting, but has alot of information,articles and opinions about the previous Jokela school shooting. Although there are a few articles about it, the articles are very thorough and quite long. It doesn’t devote a lot of news space to this tragedy ,which is quite surprising, because it is one of the most important events and it affects all the countries in Europe and elsewhere.

USA Today, which is national daily broadsheet doesn’t publish a lot of articles about European news, but because the school shooting is a very important event, it has published some articles about it,but not as many as the European news companies. US inner news are more important than the events going on in Europe and in elsewhere ,especially when the elctions for the new president of the United States are going on. Latest debates are on the first page but the news which are about school shooting in Finland can be hardly found.

The crowd was becoming increasingly vocal as they continually advised the police officers that they were attacking a woman just previous to his outburst. Along the outskirts of the crowd you could see a number of police reaching inside the crowd attacking one person.

Watching the events unfold on my television screen I then saw a large muscular man wearing combat fatigues stand up and in a very boisterous voice advise the police that this is not a war zone. We are in the United States and they are brutalizing United State’s citizens, the same ones his father, mother and he were defending recently in Iraq. He shouted at them

“Where is the honor in this? These people are not armed!”

The marine sergeant, Shamar Thomas, is an activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement and may just have become fed up by the way the police have been plaguing the peaceful protest and possibly by the irony of him risking his life in Iraq to protect his country to come back and see his home being treated like a “war zone”!

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Abuse of power is something our country and no doubt others are trying to address. Cell phones and video cameras have brought more of it to light and incidences are being reported like never before. Just last year there were 52 cases of police brutality reported, the highest number since reporting has began to be recorded in 2000. Due to the increasingly large amount of reported occurrences of shootings, torture, beatings and coercion an investigation has been launched by the U.S. Department of Justice into the conduct of local law enforcement all across the nation.

Sgt. Thomas publicly said that he has nothing against the N.Y. Police department, it was just the behavior that was present. In the United States, we are protected, by law, and are allowed the right to peaceful assembly to voice our opinion or dissatisfaction. There have been several peaceful assemblies that have paved the wayfor the many improvements we have made in the way our country does things, such as women’s right, the vote, equal rights and so forth. The voice of the people must be heard.

Failure was not an option,

he just had to win,

as part of the destruction to our society

from within,

youth, labeled a young thug,

street rat, road slug,

it was his first time facing death,

pausing dramatically,

trying to catch his breath,

no more running,

he was much too tired,

he poked his head around the corner,

aimed, and fired,

it was his first kill,

in that moment he felt the thrill,

his stolen .38 turned the blue uniform red,

sending the young police woman sprawling,

dead,

then his eyes went wide,

his face pale,

he needed to attempt an escape,

but he knew it was destined to fail.

We are all susceptible to these attacks and there is no way out. We are all porns of fate, and have to live with these senseless and often horrible images of victims, grieving family members and destruction in even the most powerful and rich nations. No one can predict when these things can happen but alas it is happening and people are getting more paranoid about travelling abroad or plane travel.

Security checks at airports especially the United States ahs become more intimidating for passengers. One even has to remove shoes when going through terminals. Every item of luggage is checked and all cans and liquids which are highly flammable are banned from airports. Size of hand luggage is also restricted and this can be most annoying for all passengers when boarding a plane. Unfortunately everyone has to understand as this is for one’s own safety and this is non negotiable.

WE all can remeber that faithful day on September 11 2001 when the two planes bombed the twin towers of the World Trade Center In New York City killing thousands. It was an horrendous sight and the attacks sent shock waves throughout the world. Stocks plunged and way we travelled was changed forever. Many were left with a huge gap in their hearts as they had lost loved ones.

Life can be very unpredictable. Terror attacks have become quite commonplace after 2001 and the recent attacks in Norway has confirmed that no where in the world is safe today. We can loose our lives at any moment.

The war in Iraq and Afghanistan has sparked outrage and also claimed many lives. When will this foolishness stop. So many are suffering and so many are dieing due to people not being able to forgive and forget but wanting to seek revenge.

            Should Jared Should Loughner, an insane college student, been able to buy a Glock with a 30 round clip? He killed several people and almost killed congresswoman Gifford. Many pro gun control people say that 30 round clips should be illegal or the background check system should have caught him. Gun users say just because one person is irresponsible that doesn’t mean everyone should be punished. The question is to what extent do you have the right to bear arms?

            The history of gun control goes way back, from the second amendment to the outlaw of machine guns in the 80s. Gun control started with the 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms. Slowly less and less people carried and owned guns, so in the 1870s the National Rifle Association was started to encourage people to practice their right to bear arms. Overtime taxes have sprung up on guns and ammo. In the 1930s manufacturers had to register and FBI background checks on full automatic weapons. (ProQuest) After many assassinations In the 1960s the “Gun Passage Act” (ProQuest) banned the sale of arms to criminals, illegal drug users, and people who were declared mentally insane. Soon machine guns and “cop killer” (ProQuest) bullets went the way of the Dodo and were outlawed by the federal government. The most recent major gun control law was a ten year ban on many assault weapons passed by the Clinton Administration. It wasn’t renewed by the Bush administration and expired around 2004. Gun control has a long a violent history. Many of these laws were passed after assassinations or big shootings.

            The law on weapons on weapons is long and complicated. Opinions for and against gun control are split down the middle. Therefore, no group has gotten too much ground, and many laws are just compromises. Recently concealed weapons on campus have been a big issue. Many say that allowing concealed weapons on campus might lead to more crime on campus and in the area. The FBI says otherwise, they report that as more states and colleges allow concealed weapons the crime rate on campus has steadily increased across the United States. (USA Today) Now, more and more campuses are legalizing concealed weapons on campus. In most states you must be over 21 or 18 to register for a concealed weapons license. The real problem is the background check system. The current system is outdated and states aren’t supplying enough information into the system (Obama). One thing both sides want is change.

            Gun Control laws change with time, slowly, but gradually they have got stricter. Recently, many have wanted big changes. The National Rifle Association is pushing for less laws and restrictions. Others, however, want tighten laws and regulations by banning certain assault weapons and limiting clip sizes. Also, there are even some out there that want to ban guns all together. Right now, many state legislators want to allow concealed weapons on campus. Many college shootings could be prevented or stopped. For example at the Virginia Tech shooting, what if a student stood up and stopped him if he had a gun. Also, if you are a criminal would you be more likely to commit a shooting if you knew someone had a gun and could defend their self. Many of those laws just guarantee the innocent people don’t have guns. But, others speculate that this could lead to an increase of campus crime. Whenever a shooting happens people demand new laws, but when it comes to guns America is divided,

            Gun Control has always been a huge issue in the USA. From the American Revolution and the 2nd amendment, to outlawing felons from buying guns to stop mob crimes. We people in America love to exercise our rights. This is the issue. What does it mean to have the right to bear arms?

Works Cited

Burnett, David. “Decriminalize Self-Defense.” USA TODAY. 01 Mar 2011: A.6. SIRS Researcher. Web. 19 Apr 2011.

Grunwald, Michael, and Jay Newton-Small. “FIRE AWAY.” Time 177.3 (2011): 36-39. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 21 Apr. 2011.

Obama, Barrack. “Let’s Keep Guns Out of Dangerous Hands.” St. Petersburg Times. 16 Mar 2011: A.11. SIRS Researcher. Web. 19 Apr 2011.

ProQuest Staff. “Gun Control Timeline.” Leading Issues Timelines. 2011: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 19 Apr 2011.

Schwartz, Emma. “In Congress, the Uphill Battle for Gun Control.” U.S. News & World Report 144.8 (2008): 41-43. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 21 Apr. 2011.

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In the province of Ontario according to the Officer down memorial page in the year 2010 a total of two officers were killed while on duty.One by gunfire the other by automobile accident.While it also shows that British Columbia suffered four deaths federal, one by drowning the other by automobile accident, the other two died overseas and died serving in Haiti in a training role for the police forces there, the massive quake was responsible for those officers deaths, hence the listing of having been killed as the result of natural disaster.

Again killed when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti.The number of R.C.M.P. officers killed while on duty since 1865  totaled 250, during a time period of 145 years. Out of that number just those who died as a result of gunfire, is 87. On average 1.7 officers have died annually in Canada in the past 145 years, for various reasons, no one reason stands out over the other reasons.Cultrurally Canadians have not shown to have a resentment towards police services historically. However in recent times there has been groups and individuals voicing resentment towards police. And there has been video evidence that police have abused there power There has been investigations into this, and at the end of the day there is strong resentment towards police services for this. It is one of the only occupations when you can be convicted of wrong doing and still get paid. That is were a lot of resentment stems from. A officer can be convicted of wrong doing and as a result will be given time off, but with pay. The system does not reflect a fair system in which a officer can and have been taken off active duty but their pay is maintained even for years and still get annual wage increases. This is not perceived as a deterent for wrong doing and is on the surface actually seems like a incentive to commit wrongful acts. Officers get paid for sitting at home once convicted or wrong doing is alarming to most. Generally this is highly unlikely to change as there is no political will to make a change in this regard.

   5.9 more deaths by gunfire than Canada no matter how you look at it. But in all fairness the United States has been embroiled in two wars and the unemployment rate and economy have been hit hard so it is not really surprising that gun fire rings out across the country.

In the province of Ontario according to the Officer down memorial page in the year 2010 a total of two officers were killed while on duty.One by gunfire the other by automobile accident.While it also shows that British Columbia suffered four deaths federal, one by drowning the other by automobile accident, the other two died overseas and shows them as having been killed as the result of natural disaster.

   While in the year 2010 one officer died as a result of gunfire in Canada..And yes Canada’s homicide rate is 1.6 per one hundred thousandwhich is not good.Now it would be easy to blame this rate on the United States as Canada and the U.S. share a border and as a result Canada is plagued by American gun runners. Gun runners who make huge profits as a result of said activity. On some levels that may very well be true however crime rates or should I say homicide rates having been dropping since the mid 70s so the influence of American gun smugglers on the murder rate has been small, but should point out that all peer nations are experiencing the same trend.

    Now in the United States in the year 2010, 162 police officers were killed in the line of duty 59 of which by gunfire, now while it would be easy to say, see, in 206 years only 87 police officers were killed by gunfirewhile in the United States in one year alone 59 American police officers were killed by gunfire.From there it would be easy to go on the soap box, but why, it is what it is, right.And again why play with numbers, you can go on to say things like there was only one gun related death in Canada in the year 2010 and if you can say that the population of Canada is only 10% that of the United States.It still would mean that the number of police officers in Canada killed by gunfire would amount to ten, a small number compared to 59 or you can say that the United States has

killed when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti.,again they were there along with other Canadian police to help train law enforcement there. Now out of curiosity looked up the number of R.C.M.P. officers killed while on duty since 1865 and it showed a total of 250, now that’s 145 years. Now out of that number just wondered how many died as a result of gunfire, 87, but it came back starting in the year 1804, meaning in 206 years 87 officers died due to gun fire.

Daniel Cogan

The Bullying Problem

Bullying has become a huge problem for kids in our country.  Experts say that about 77% percent of kids are bullied in any way (either mentally, verbally or physically).  One of the main reasons for bullying is that the bully is dealing with serious relationship problems either between their family or some other person.  Many kids who have become bullies were once bullied themselves by their parents or other kids.  

This means that the violence of bullying is not just a one way road.  Many kids who are bullied retaliate in more serious ways.  One of these ways is in school shootings.  Almost all school shootings are committed by kids who are outcasts or have been bullied at school.  These kids take revenge as their motive to turn to violence.  75% of school shooting have been directly linked to harassment and bullying.  Another study tells that 87% of students say shootings are motivated by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them,”  61% said students shoot others because they have been victims of physical abuse at home, and 54% said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence in school.  Along with the bullies, these shooters hurt many more innocent people.  

Serious school violence may not have anything to do with the other kids at the school.  Some teens want to get back at their parents for hurting them.  This revenge may take the form of hurting others through school shooting or even common bullying as mentioned before, but there is another form of retaliation that many people don’t think to categorize as revenge.  This is suicide.  It is true that a main motivation for suicides in teens is depression, but depression is not limited to helpless sadness.  When teens are depressed they can still feel angry at their parents or whoever hurt them.  They may think that the only way for their parents to feel truly sorry about what they did is for the teen to kill his or herself.  This distorted thought process for teens may sound like something along these lines: they treat me like this now, but they’ll be sorry once I’m gone.  The teen’s death will instill sadness and pain in the parents and act as revenge for the pain they caused to their kid.  Most kids have these feelings toward their parents but they act them out on less serious levels such as running away from home.  Kids who commit suicide are running away permanently.  As usual the place of the parent in these circumstances can be taken by any other person who has hurt the kid severely.  

The biggest problem of bullying has not even been mentioned yet.  The biggest problem is that bullying is a cycle that seems to have no end.  When people get bullied they are more likely to get poor grades in school or even drop out of school.  Statistics estimate that more than one out of every ten students who drops out of school does so because of being repeatedly bullied.  High school dropouts in turn are more likely to be involved in harmful behavior towards others such as hurting their kids.  Dropouts are also more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.  These substances can lead to violent behavior even if the person is not usually violent because they impair decision making.  Dropping out of school is not the only reason people get caught in the cycle.  When people are bullied, they want revenge.  They take their anger out on other people who can then themselves turn into bullies.  

The only way for this to stop is to educate people about bullying and it’s significant harm to people.  With relatively new forms of communication such as texting and the internet, it’s harder for parents to keep up to date with what their child is doing.  It is usually the responsibility of the students to stand up for the person being bullied and/or report the bullying.  If action is not taken, a small problem at school can turn into a big problem for everyone, such as a school shooting or suicide.  When you see someone being bullied it’s your responsibility to put a stop to it.

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Every spring season, the anticipation of May brings memories of the May 4th shootings.  I was there, not knowing the seriousness of the events of the past weekend when violent rallies shattered storefronts in the downtown area of Kent, Ohio. 

Sitting near a tree next to the one remaining art barrack that hadn’t been burnt down, I foolishly hoped classes could still be held.  Yes, there were demonstrators on the commons.  But demonstrations were everyday events in those days.

When I heard about the rampant destruction of the barracks and the downtown, I was angered.

The soldiers had formed a wide circle around the commons.  They were about twenty yards away from where I was sitting when they began to close in on the commons area.  When they came nearer, I talked with some of them.  They had just come from southern racial riots that they had guarded for the previous three weeks.  The students in the commons were picking up the tear gas canisters and hurling them back at the soldiers.  Then the rock throwing began.

The band of soldiers closed in on my place near the tree.  One of them spoke to me in a very serious tone.  “If I were you, I’d go somewhere else,” he advised.  I felt a chill and anger all at once, and then wandered away aimlessly. 

Once on the wide sidewalk on the east side of the commons, I had to step off and let the marching soldiers go by, because it appeared that, otherwise, they would stomp right over me.

I headed for the student union to look for my friend who commuted with me.  We both lived in a neighboring town, and had been sharing a ride for two years.  Momentarily anxious, I had hoped he was o.k.

How we found each other in the midst of the chaos was a miracle.  Kent State enrollment was 10,000 that year. While in the student union, the murmurs of the shootings drifted into my still unbelieving ears.

My friend confirmed that the shootings had indeed happened.  He had come from that direction of the huge campus.  Both of us ran scared, as we had heard of roadblocks preventing entry or exit from the city of Kent.  We narrowly escaped.

The impact of May 4th caused a revolution of my entire belief system.  I rarely take anything at face value since that day.   Though we were already a close-knit generation of friends, the shootings bonded us closer. 

I lost a lot of trust that day.  I had lost my American dream.