Perhaps some readers will think, “There he goes again!” My last post was also about guns. But this is about guns and schools . . . and boys. I ask you to take a good, long look at this picture of 15 year-old Ethan Crumbley. What do you see? A madman? A demented killer?
p.s.: please resist the temptation to make a link to violent video games every time there's a shooting. Many people, my son included, play such games and the percentage who turn to real-world violence is truly insignificant. No study has convincingly made a cause-and-effect connection between electronic game violence, viewing violent videos, playing military games like Paintball, and actually killing people or perpetuating other real violence. I doubt there's a gene for violence, just as I know that violence and phrenology are not related scientifically. I'm a huge fan of the films of such directors as Sam Peckinpah and Quintin Tarantino: I'm a poor candidate for mass or even individual targeted violence against others. Maybe I have the "resist violence" gene! Or maybe the issue isn't "Violent video games cause violence" but that kids who have been emotionally, physically, or otherwise traumatized as kids are more likely than others to become able to view perpetrating violence against others (including animals, in many cases) as a reasonable reaction to the world, regardless of whether those others have been responsible for the deep traumas. And when placed in the atypical gun worshiping culture of the United States, access to the actual tools of gun violence is enormous. I'm sure there are other factors, too, but I'm skeptical that anyone ever committed murder primarily due to violent video games, films, or music.
There's little doubt that this is a damaged, miserable kid. His timing couldn't be worse: the Blue-Anon segment of the nation, after 18 months of being told that Kyle Rittenhouse was a vicious homicidal maniac who worshiped Donald Trump and who was driven across state lines armed with an illegal and lethal weapon with the full intention of killing black people (pop quiz: how many outright lies and inaccuracies can you recognize in that popular media description of the events in Kenosha?), is outraged that Rittenhouse was acquitted on all counts. So far, the media is doing a wonderful job of directing some of the public's disappointment and thirst for a nice hanging (but wrong state! Michigan, where I've lived since 1992 - Oxford is not far from where I teach in the Waterford/Pontiac area) has never had the death penalty) towards Crumbly & Family. Somehow, that pound of flesh is going to get collected.
I try to resist the temptation to follow stories like Kenosha until there's a trial. I'm not a lawyer, but I do my best to think like one, and that means not prejudging the evidence that is allowed in court based on media narratives. Unfortunately, I have a hard time doing that with Oxford because of my proximity to it. Michigan administrators have been far from silent on the case (though not necessarily getting into details, happily) and my district, which is virtual and stretches across the state, is no exception. Still, I'm struggling against the media's offering of factoids and opinions. There likely will be trials here. Hell, if I lived in Oakland County, I might be on the jury.
What remains are the details of what Ethan Crumby wrote, the photos of him and his folks, and the apparent decisions made by administrators in Oxford. They add up to a very sad tale of a very sad kid. How horrible is it that other, not miserable kids had to die so that someone finally is listening to Ethan Crumby. But what they hear and what they're being urged to do in many quarters, isn't necessarily going to lead to the help he needed years ago. And if vengeance is
all the public wants and is urged to seek, you can bet your last dime that we'll see countless more such incidents across the country in the months and years to come.
Excellent, Steve.
p.s.: please resist the temptation to make a link to violent video games every time there's a shooting. Many people, my son included, play such games and the percentage who turn to real-world violence is truly insignificant. No study has convincingly made a cause-and-effect connection between electronic game violence, viewing violent videos, playing military games like Paintball, and actually killing people or perpetuating other real violence. I doubt there's a gene for violence, just as I know that violence and phrenology are not related scientifically. I'm a huge fan of the films of such directors as Sam Peckinpah and Quintin Tarantino: I'm a poor candidate for mass or even individual targeted violence against others. Maybe I have the "resist violence" gene! Or maybe the issue isn't "Violent video games cause violence" but that kids who have been emotionally, physically, or otherwise traumatized as kids are more likely than others to become able to view perpetrating violence against others (including animals, in many cases) as a reasonable reaction to the world, regardless of whether those others have been responsible for the deep traumas. And when placed in the atypical gun worshiping culture of the United States, access to the actual tools of gun violence is enormous. I'm sure there are other factors, too, but I'm skeptical that anyone ever committed murder primarily due to violent video games, films, or music.
There's little doubt that this is a damaged, miserable kid. His timing couldn't be worse: the Blue-Anon segment of the nation, after 18 months of being told that Kyle Rittenhouse was a vicious homicidal maniac who worshiped Donald Trump and who was driven across state lines armed with an illegal and lethal weapon with the full intention of killing black people (pop quiz: how many outright lies and inaccuracies can you recognize in that popular media description of the events in Kenosha?), is outraged that Rittenhouse was acquitted on all counts. So far, the media is doing a wonderful job of directing some of the public's disappointment and thirst for a nice hanging (but wrong state! Michigan, where I've lived since 1992 - Oxford is not far from where I teach in the Waterford/Pontiac area) has never had the death penalty) towards Crumbly & Family. Somehow, that pound of flesh is going to get collected.
I try to resist the temptation to follow stories like Kenosha until there's a trial. I'm not a lawyer, but I do my best to think like one, and that means not prejudging the evidence that is allowed in court based on media narratives. Unfortunately, I have a hard time doing that with Oxford because of my proximity to it. Michigan administrators have been far from silent on the case (though not necessarily getting into details, happily) and my district, which is virtual and stretches across the state, is no exception. Still, I'm struggling against the media's offering of factoids and opinions. There likely will be trials here. Hell, if I lived in Oakland County, I might be on the jury.
What remains are the details of what Ethan Crumby wrote, the photos of him and his folks, and the apparent decisions made by administrators in Oxford. They add up to a very sad tale of a very sad kid. How horrible is it that other, not miserable kids had to die so that someone finally is listening to Ethan Crumby. But what they hear and what they're being urged to do in many quarters, isn't necessarily going to lead to the help he needed years ago. And if vengeance is
all the public wants and is urged to seek, you can bet your last dime that we'll see countless more such incidents across the country in the months and years to come.