Dear editor:
The horrific events today in Newton, CT are not the fault of guns; they are the fault of the degradation of society.
The same level of depravity could have been achieved with a machete, baseball bat, pipe bomb or any other weapon of choice; it is not the weapon, it is the deranged individual intent on creating havoc.
A headline on MSNNOW the day after the shooting reads, "22 Children Slashed in Knife Attack at Chinese School". All of the recent violent events in this country and elsewhere in the world have been committed by young people. The media inundates young people with violence on TV, video games and comics to the extent that they grow up believing that violence is acceptable and human life is easily expendable in search of the win of the game. I grew up with guns and own many myself.
When very young I was allowed to play with real guns under supervision to understand their use and danger. I lived a very tumultuous young life surrounded with weapons yet never considered using them to commit harm to anyone. If there is blame to be placed anywhere it is on us.
We as a society have abrogated the rearing of our children to anyone but ourselves. We, no I, place,our young children in front of a TV and allow them to watch mindless programs while the parents' text their friends. As the children age they demand more intricate attention and the parents progress to violent video games to keep their children entertained, all the while not being engaged in parenting and leaving it to the media, teachers, day care, and the government.
If we are going to solve the violence issue in this Country we must hold society, not guns, liable. When I was young The Warren State Hospital was the residence of society's dysfunctional members, keeping them from committing unspeakable acts, but the liberal politically correct members of society and the media decided that this was inhumane treatment and demanded that they be returned to mainstream society leaving all of us more vulnerable to this kind of event.
As the events of yesterday are discussed on TV talk shows, I suggest that we take a look at society as the culprit not the weapons that the perpetrator stole from his murdered mother who legally owned them.
Respectfully,
Lee J. Borger, Jr.
Clarendon