General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: When I was a kid in high school, [View all]bvar22
(39,909 posts)I'm slightly older than MadHound.
I am a Boomer, and grew up in the 50s.
We were MORE militarize then, than now.
The Soviets were going to bomb us any day now,
and we had Atom Bomb drills at school.
In Pre-VietNam America, ANYONE who served WAS a genuine American HERO.
The Great Majority of our parents were recently discharged from the military, (My father a Marine, My Mother a WAC) and military paraphernalia dominated our households.
In some Grammar Schools (mine), Close Order Drill was taught to the students as PE and Recreation, and students were organized into "platoons" and "squads".
Victorious Generals were elected as Presidents.
Plastic Guns, Cowboys and Indians, and WAR were the dominant Kids games of the 50s, and War & Violence DOMINATED our TV Drama and Cartoons.
I begged for and received a plastic replica of an 50 caliber Machine Gun for Christmas in 1958, and was the envy of my neighborhood!
So NO.
"Militarization" is NOT the reason for the outburst of school mass murders.
I'm inclined to agree with MadHound that we are a society in decline.