ASEE Condemns
Santana High School Violence

The Killing Must Stop!

The American Society for Ethics in Education (ASEE) condemns the horrific killings and injuries that have occurred at Santana High School, Santee, California that have, once again, rocked our nation. This act of terror is yet another reminder of the sick culture found within our nation’s schools that is causing irrepretable harm (including death) to the children and their teachers who are allegedly there to learn (and teach).

While this story is yet unfolding, the blame must be placed upon those who are responsible for this atrocity; these include:

1. The 15 year-old child who maliciously gunned down other human beings. While this child is ultimately responsible for the killings, what kind of sick environment/upbringing lead him to believe that “joking” about killing others, and then acting upon this “joke,” was okay?
2. The failure of his “friends” to report these “jokes” to the proper authorities at the earliest possible opportunity.
3. The failure of the killer’s “friend’s mother’s boyfriend” to immediately contact law enforcement agencies regarding the threats he too heard from the boy. “Joking” about killing others should NEVER be taken lightly.
4. The child’s parent(s) – why did this boy have access to weapons and ammunition? What, in this boy’s background, allowed him to act out on this ultimate act of terror?
5. Those that allegedly bullied this boy. ASEE frequently reports that those in charge of running our schools do similar bullying – were these children merely modeling the behaviors of adults they had observed? While there can be no justification for taking the lives of others, what fed the young killer’s hatred to act out on his vile fantasies?
6. The government agencies that know about the horrors in our schools but do nothing until someone is killed.
7. Our nation is ultimately to blame – as ASEE reports, our schools are filled with bullying, hatred, discrimination, racism, and a plethora of other pernicious and destructive forms of social filth – while most Americans sit back, in the comfort of their own homes thinking, “that’ll never happen here.” As this latest incident so clearly illustrates (again) – “it can happen HERE.”

ASEE is, pathetically, not surprised by this latest act of terrorism – these acts will continue as long as our nation continues to bury its’ head in the sands of apathy. It’s time for us to stop taking superficial glances at what really occurs in our nation’s schools. The time is NOW to begin taking aggressive action to purge our schools of the rampant disease that has penetrated such vast segments of our educational system.