Blame for gun violence remains unclear

I often weigh the pros and cons of going home to visit family and friends, but while doing so, one pro always comes to mind — Samantha.

During Spring Break, I got to spend a whole week with her. One night she and I were building castles with her younger sister’s building blocks. I turned my attention away for a few seconds before Samantha called my name.

“A gun. Pow pow!” she said.

Samantha, it seems, had been bitten by the violence bug. She had picked up society’s nonchalant attitude about guns.
Samantha is my cousin’s 3-year-old daughter.

Often, when you are looking for something, it is not right in front of your face. But there it was, staring at me with blue eyes from behind a mop of blond curls, holding a gun made out of building blocks.

There was our nation’s future. It’s a sad thought isn’t it?

My childhood in the early 1980s seems so innocent. I went to school, and afterward I came home to play on the playground behind my house. My biggest joy was receiving a new My Little Pony figurine to play with. My friends and I were content to take carrots out of the refrigerator and hop up in down in front of my house pretending we were Bugs Bunny.

I didn’t fear the other students, or going to school. The rare occasions I had contact with guns came from my father. He would take my sister and me out while he shot at cans on a pile of dirt. Maybe I got to pull the trigger. To me, guns were harmless. I feared them because they made loud noises. But I knew they were dangerous, and I was to leave them alone.

And I did.

But times change. Attitudes change. Children grow up and see guns as part of life. They play cops and robbers with realistic-looking plastic guns. They shoot, fall down, then stand up unharmed.

But not everyone comes out unharmed. We know the stories of children getting a hold of their parents’ guns and accidentally shooting friends. We are bombarded with images of school shootings. We see the good kids turned bad. We watch as paranoia grips the nation. Then, unaffected, we move on.

So I guess it comes down to who we should blame for children’s attitudes. Society seems to need to place fault, as if blaming brings any real closure or changes the trends.

Should we blame the parents for not paying enough attention to their children? Some say sure. But what about single parents who are unable to be home the second their children get home from school?

Even homes with two parents can feel the burden. We hear the stories of “nice” children who “couldn’t possibly” have committed such violent acts because they showed no signs of such violent behaviors.

Then should we blame the teachers who act as second parents to children? Again, you can say yes because isn’t it their responsibility to teach children in a loving and nurturing environment? But teachers can only do so much. They can teach and inspire, but can they really keep violence out of the minds of the children they see for a few hours each day?

Why don’t we just blame the kids for their actions? Well sure, there’s the easy way out. Lets just slap the hands of the children and send them to some juvenile institution to pay for what they have done. Of course, these reprimands come after the fact. Nothing is done beforehand to dissuade these children from committing such violent acts.

And the list goes on and on. We can blame society or guns or the media. The newest fad is to blame the bullies or the popular kids for picking on the unfortunate kids who aren’t like them. Yes, lets just blame more children for being, well, children.

I guess you could even go so far as to blame me for not taking the opportunity to teach Samantha that guns are not a play thing, and that they are objects that can cause harm. But how can you blame me when children across the nation put quarters in machines in arcades and play violent video games, and you walk by and pay no attention to them?

Society can then ask “If there is no one for us to blame, then how can we change violence in children?”

Focus on the positives. Let children know the truths about violence. Let children know you care. After all, they are watching us.

I know every time I go home there is that pair of blue eyes, from behind a mop of blond curls, that watches me and tries to be like me. Maybe next time I won’t let her down.

Copy desk chief Jacque Petersell is a sophomore news-editorial journalism major from Houston.
She can be reached at (j.s.petersell@student.tcu.edu).

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