Columbine Tragedy
...ange from virtual drug wars to virtual killing games. The two teenage gunmen at Columbine, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, did not have a previous history of violence, but both were enthusiasts of killing-oriented video games. In John Leo’s article, “When Life Imitates Video,” it was said that, “Pilots train on flight simulators, drivers on driving simulators, and now we have our children on murder simulators” (Leo 329). Basically, this article said that, “…the games could become a dress rehearsal for real thing” (Leo 329). One point could be made by saying that not all of the thousands of children who play these video games are killing their fellow peers. While this is true, it is also true that these killing-oriented video games could not possibly have positive effects on easily influenced, growing kids. It was said that these two boys ran through the halls of their school laughing, while firing on their classmates, as if they were acting out one of their highly played video games. Video games were not the only practice Harris and Klebold got before their massacre. They had many practice sessions with the two men who sold them the guns and ammunition that they used to complete the Columbine tragedy. These practice sessions, using real guns, could be considered as the breeding ground for their enthusiasm, allowing them to transfer their fantasies into reality. It was the only known time they trained with real weapons. In Michael Moore’s screenplay, Bowling for Columbine, the subject of gun control was harshly addressed with the American population. America is riveted by mass murder; killing kids one by one does not get their attention the same way. The Columbine tragedy happens in America everyday. Twelve young people murdered at Columbine High School? That is the same number of kids killed by guns everyday in America. Statistics say 3,280 children and teenagers were murdered with guns and 440 died in unintentional shootings last year. Columbine was par for the course in this country. It was just a more efficient job. Guns are used more often to kill out of malice rather than to protect. Maybe more efficient gun control would have kept these two boys from killing their classmates at Columbine High School, but maybe not. Nothing is going to change unless lawmakers in this country start trying to reduce the numbers of guns on the street, and the number of kids who have access to guns in their homes. Despite the blame from everyday issues, such as the violent video games, or the gun control laws, or lack there of, the real tragedy in the Columbine tragedy was that no one seemed to re...