Can we help prevent violence?

[madmusic]

We need to be aware of people
who have the potential to commit
violent acts, Lipman said.
“If you suspect that someone is
vulnerable to violent action, there
is an understandable tendency to
wait and hope the situation will
change,” he said. “Instead suggest
help.”

Even if money is tight, there are
resources such as community counselors
who offer services on a sliding
payment scale.

Some of the signs to watch for
are social withdrawal, focusing on
death, not functioning as well as
usual, and losing interest in the
world.

“When people feel they have no
hope left, can no longer change the
things that matter, and are
absolutely enraged, they’re ready to
explode,” Lipman said.

From: http://theflume.com/ftp/FlumeSpecial.pdf">Let the Healing Begin (12 page PDF on the Colorado shooting)

[madmusic]

1. No political advantage.

No one says they are Democratic or Republican. Not a mention of Bush or Rove.

No, this is something deeper, something more universal.

It may bring a tear to your eye, or force you fight them off.

But it's real.

The PDF may take a while to load, but it is worth the wait.

[madmusic]

2. It's misogyny and sexism!

Now you can pretend you care, you who asked how we might help prevent this violence.

[madmusic]

3. Education Department and Secret Service Release Report

Education Department and Secret Service Release Report to Help Schools Deal with Violence

Following a three-year partnership between the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), a joint report summarizing their work reveals that incidents of targeted violence in schools are rarely impulsive and that attacks are typically the end result of a process of thinking and behavior that often can be detected by others.

The report, The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States, examines the behavior and thinking of young persons who commit acts of targeted violence in the nation's schools. The findings - and twelve scheduled training sessions for educators and law enforcement - could help communities prevent school violence and allow them to identify and help children in need.

Perhaps among the most critical of findings: before more than three quarters of the incidents, others knew about the attacker's idea or plan to attack. Most attackers also engaged in some behavior that caused others concern or indicated a need for help. In virtually all the cases where someone knew of the plan, the person with advance notice was a peer—a friend, schoolmate or sibling. In only two cases did an adult know of the idea or plan.
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"While we now know that there is no accurate profile of the 'school shooter,' there are warning signs that could alert peers and adults to the plans of young attackers," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "In almost every case in this study, attackers behaved in ways that caused others concern. Many had difficulty coping with a major relationship change or a loss of status among their peers. Many threatened or tried to commit suicide. And many felt desperate and let others know that. This underscores the absolutely critical need to establish relationships and connections with young people, and to listen to them, and their peers.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_puca/is_200205/ai_2662665119

[madmusic]

4. Believing that kids snap is comforting.

"If kids snap, it lets us off the hook," said Bryan Vossekuil, a former agent on President Reagan's protective detail and executive director of the Service's threat assessment center.

"If you view these shooters as on a path toward violence, it puts the burden on adults. Believing that kids snap is comforting."

Although there is no profile, the shooters do share one characteristic.

"I believe they're all boys because the way we bring up boys in America predisposes them to a sense of loneliness and disconnection and sadness," said William S. Pollack, a psychologist and consultant to the Secret Service.

"When they have additional pain, additional grievances, they are less likely to reach out and talk to someone, less likely to be listened to. Violence is the only way they start to feel they can get a result."

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20001015/ai_n13884737/pg_2