When your 10 year old thinks about going on a killing spree something is terribly wrong.
A 10-year-old girl from Wisconsin started drafting her own hit list that included the names of 21 other students and 4 teachers. The list was titled “When I go on my killing spree the victims are…” On the back was a second list titled “People I don’t want 2 kill” that included herself and three other students.
The 10-year-old said she didn’t mean any harm but she knew it would scare people. She said she was upset at students who accused her of spreading rumors or were mean to her. She also mentioned that the teachers ignored her in class when she would raise her hand. She has been suspended until officials review the incident. Her case has been forwarded to juvenile justice officials with the recommendation that she be charged with a misdemeanor disorderly conduct. The principal has also told police that she is not recommending expulsion.
What the hell is a 10-year-old going to do with a hit list? Shouldn’t she be playing dress-up and having sleepovers? At 10, I’m sure some of us can say we had people we wished would just die but we didn’t usually write them down on paper let alone include 25 people on the list. There is a huge difference between thinking “I wish he/she was dead” and actually plotting it.
Columbine, Virginia Tech and main stream media has made it possible for young children to get these ideas and actually plot out how they are going to pull it off. Planning to murder someone is nothing to be joked about no matter your age. Decades ago kids actually did bring rifles to school and many schools actually had rifle, gun and hunting clubs. I’ve even heard stories of shooting ranges in high school basements. So what in society has changed so much that kids are actually attacking each other with the intent to kill? Is it because the generations of today are ornery and vicious? Have we caused this by making them grow up to fast? Are we spoiling are children so much that they really think they are invincible?
Sure, one can argue that she is only 10 but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have all the tools needed to hurt someone at her disposal. The point of the matter is that she thought about it enough to write it down and even label some of the students in the maybe category. This kind of stuff does happen but that doesn’t mean we should live our lives in fear. It is scary to think that a 10-year-old could be possible of pulling off the next Columbine.
Photo courtesy of The Smoking Gun
At least she is writing something. I know we need to maintain a certain precedence for this type of thing, but I don’t know how seriously we should take a note that includes a reminder to not off herself.
But hopefully the parents are taking note.