Letters: May 24, 1999

• Share

THE COLORADO SCHOOL MASSACRE

In her account of the rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. [SPECIAL REPORT, May 3], Nancy Gibbs included stories of heroism and love that honored the young people involved. Through her writing, the impossible was achieved--I was able to feel hope instead of anger and hatred toward the murderers. Instead of obsessing and debating about the evil that has infected America, I began to feel pride in the youths who stood up for one another, for their teacher and for God. KAREN ERICKSON Albuquerque, N.M.

You just don't get it, do you? Guns are not the problem! It's lazy parents, violent entertainment and a lack of moral and spiritual grounding that are responsible for the subculture of death that exists among our youths today. If guns are the problem, why have school shootings not been going on since the founding of the country? Quit spouting that tired old antigun b.s. that contributes nothing. JERRELL A. PARKER Lewisville, Texas

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold could not have killed 13 other people and themselves if they'd simply been armed with baseball bats or knives. Mass murder requires weaponry that kills rapidly from a distance. Why do we make it so easy for those with dark fantasies to acquire the weapons needed to act them out? CAROL GRIZZARD Pikeville, Ky.

As a graduate of Columbine High School, I'd like to thank TIME for acknowledging that the questions surrounding this tragedy can't be answered by resorting to labels. This was an indefensible, brutal crime that will leave an indelible shadow over the town. But to assert a link between nonconformity and murderous tendencies is extremely irresponsible. Are we telling children they must all be alike? What all the school shooters seem to have in common is rage, much of which stems from their reputations as misfits. Social outcasts have always existed. But while kids have easy access to assault weapons, we can be sure to see more shootings. JENNIFER LYNN HUNTER New York City

There will be a lot of wringing of hands, whining and asking why, but the truth is that as long as we let society exist with no leadership, no morals, no ethics, no respect for others and contempt for family values, what we have just witnessed may be only the beginning of horrors we cannot even imagine today. You want to know where the problem lies? For most of us, the answer is no farther than the nearest mirror. DAVID WRAY Littleton, Colo.

I'm horrified to see the two killers on your cover. Shame on you for glorifying such people! MARGARETE BONNER Clovis, Calif.

Amid the highly charged fallout from Littleton, there is a growing political momentum to tighten the noose around the Second Amendment, which allows Americans to keep and bear arms. However, take a quick look around pop culture, and you will easily find examples of how violence is considered a creative outlet. Movies try to outdo one another in innovative gore, video games teach kids how to use guns, and the Internet is a wide-open forum. So while we're chipping away at the Second Amendment, why not peel back some layers of the First Amendment, which permits freedom of speech? Aren't we willing to subject movies, video games and the Internet to the same scrutiny as guns? SCOTT BLEDSOE Naples, Italy

LISTEN TO THE CHILDREN