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The Canaries Are Dying by Clayton E. Cramer March 7, 2001 Two centuries ago, miners would carry a canary in a cage with them because poison gases underground would kill the bird long before the miners. If the canary died, the miners were at risk, and it was time to go back to the surface. The canaries are dying today, but no one is leaving the mine. When I was growing up, there were kids who didn't fit in, who were mistreated by their classmates because they were "different." I was one of those kids; I lost track of the number of times I was beat up in elementary school and junior high. But I never even considered killing anyone. It wasn't impossible; I knew how to make poison gas out of common household chemicals, and the crowd of computer nerds that I hung with in high school built all sorts of cool explosive devices. I suppose that if I had really wanted to, I could probably have found a gun, somewhere. At no point, however, did it ever occur to me that the solution to being mistreated was murder. Don't just read the headlines about this kid accused of murder in Santee, California. Read the rest of the news stories, and ask yourself if there isn't something a bit more wrong here than just a kid with a gun. Handguns weren't invented recently; they have been in American homes, in large numbers, for more than a century. The Washington Post's March 6th story reports that the alleged killer in middle-class Santee hung out at the skatepark, "Drugs were readily available to those who wanted them: marijuana, mushrooms, acid, speed." Santee is no different from where I live, except that these sort of drugs are available in middle school here. The Los Angeles Times distributed a news story the same day that contained allegations that would have been shocking twenty years ago: "a break-up last week with his 12-year old girlfriend. There were allegations that Williams tried to entice the girl into having sex while she was intoxicated." Raising kids in Sonoma County, I don't even find such allegations surprising; that's actually pretty common behavior around here for kids that age. A culture based on bullying, mocking, violence, degradation, and intoxication has taken over America. The entertainment business-- the purveyors of "poison gas"--keep insisting that the problem isn't violent movies, violent video games, degrading television shows, divorced parents, parents too busy to supervise their kids, or songs (and presidents) that encourage teenaged boys to see girls only as objects of sexual gratification. No, they insist that the problem is guns; ignore the dead canaries filling up the bottom of the cage. But the guns have been around for a very long time in America--and yet these random mass murders by schoolkids have not. We have received our warning; will we have the courage to repudiate the culture of violence and depravity? Clayton E. Cramer is a software engineer in Northern California. clayton.cramer@callatg.com, http://www.ggnra.org/cramer to see excerpts from my five published books and full text of a number of scholarly and popular articles. Related Reading Santana Tragedy Insights Another School Shooting by Neal Knox Why the School Violence? by Ari Armstrong San Diego Shooting Shows Need for More Armed Adults At Schools by Gun Owners of America The Canaries Are Dying by Clayton E. Cramer Columbine Tragedy Insights Twenty Potential Weapons Control Law Violations by Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, and Others Gun Control Won't Stop the Madness by Dr. Paul Gallant & Dr. Joanne Eisen A Columbine Parent Speaks Out by Ron Tognetti When Heroes are Outlawed: How Joel Myrick Saved Lives by Breaking the Law by Ari Armstrong A principal and his gun by Wayne Laugesen Why the President is Wrong on Gun Control (by father of Columbine victim) Dale Todd's (father of Columbine victim) letter to Colorado State Legislator (District 28, Columbine) Paul Harvey on Columbine Columbine Dad Says School Prayer is Answer to Violence, Not Gun Control (CNSNews.com) Columbine Propagandists Trample the Truth About Firearms Ownership by Aaron Zelman "Gun Free" Schools (LOOK at this picture and THINK!) Columbine Victim Richard Castaldo's Father Gives Congressional Testimony Letter from Parent of Columbine Victim to Colorado Legislator Letter to God About Columbine Testimony of Darrell Scott, father of two Columbine victims Whodunnit? Wellington Webb. by L. Neil Smith High School Shooters Broke 19 Laws President's Politicking Won't Achieve Goal by Dave Kopel Wakefield Tragedy Insights Living in Fear ... of gun-control laws by Kopel, Gallant and Eisen Gimme Back My Bullets by Robert A Waters The Liberal Mind Exposed by John J. Marciano Wakefield Victim Had New Hampshire Permit and was a Licensed Dealer, but not allowed to carry in MA Massachusetts: Another victory? for Gun Control The questions that are never asked, Part I by Vin Suprynowicz The questions that are never asked, Part II by Vin Suprynowicz Disarmed Office Workers Slain -- No Charges Expected Against State Accomplices by David Codrea Gun Laws Offer No Protection by Dr. Michael S. Brown What we can do after Wakefield by John Lott A Tale of Two Cities by Larry Pratt Children & Guns Growing up with Guns The Real Gun Safety Crisis Easy Access by David Codrea Kids and Guns Gunning for the Kiddies Another Father Who Teaches His Children to Shoot Shouldn't we repeal the gun laws ... if it'll save a single child? Eddie Eagle & Another Children's Gun Safety Program Health groups link child violence to media Can Johnny Come Out and Play? KIDS & GUNS: EXPLOITING TRAGEDY by Dr. Paul Gallant and Dr. Joanne Eisen To prevent a life of crime, buy your kid a gun by Vin Suprynowicz Kids and Guns at School by L. Neil Smith Guns & Schools The Real Gun Safety Crisis Gun Control Won't Stop the Madness by Dr. Paul Gallant & Dr. Joanne Eisen When Heroes are Outlawed: How Joel Myrick Saved Lives by Breaking the Law by Ari Armstrong A principal and his gun by Wayne Laugesen Kids & Guns at School by L. Neil Smith Blame the government youth propaganda camps by Vin Suprynowicz Who Is Really to Blame? by Don Lobo Tiggre Stop School Shootings Without More Gun Control by John Lott