I think that most people have heard of Columbine. Almost all of us remember Sandy Hook. And I'm sure that we could name a few other school shooting cases just because they happened near or around us. School violence is all over and the main question that people keep asking is: Why? Naturally, the blame game comes up. It's because kids these days are so irresponsible and have no respect. It's because guns are a problem and we need to get rid of them. It's because they had mental issues and those people need to be locked up.

But what if it's something... else? Something that we have total control over and can do something about. What if it's not them, it's us?

Guns, irresponsibilty, mental illness, they all played a factor. There's no denying that. But beyond passing laws and making stricter requirements, we can't do anything about those issues. But there is something that we can do. And that is to take control of our actions and mouths.

Most people wouldn't deny that bullying is a big issue. But they wouldn't consider it life threatening. It is. And here's why.

Eric Harris, Asa Coon, Adam Lanza, all these shooters have something in common: they were on the "social fringe". The social fringe is, basically, one of the lowest on the heirarchy of student interactions. The loners. Granted, Lanza appeared to be alone by choice, but the others? Maybe if someone had taken time to talk to these people, to say "hello" to them n the hallway, to talk about something as insignificant as a TV show, they might not have commited such serious crimes. 

Life is not easy and there are periods of loneliness. But these people were constantly alone, the events that ensued could have been avoided. If someone had tried to open their minds and break barriers, these "villians" could've gotten help. Instead, they chose revenge. Anger, hatred, violence, killing. Do we reallly want our small actions or rather, small lack of actions, to be the reason our friends our gone? Why children will never be parents, why parents won't have their children?

Today, we can do something. We can talk to the loner at the end of the lunch table, even though he's a dork and has greasy hair. We can stand up for the shy girl whose books were thrown across the hallway by our friends. Or we could do nothing. And let these people deal with sadness every day, until the sadness leads to anger and anger into revenge. We can do nothing until they do something and it's already too late.

Today, we have a choice. Let's make it a good one.