It’s counterintuitive

Whether we agree with sensible gun laws or stand unshakably by the Second Amendment, we need to think before sharing or taking part in the #WalkUpNotOut movement, which insinuates that school shootings can be prevented by not bullying. What we don’t want is to adversely influence isolated populations into glorifying or labeling the perpetrators of Columbine or Parkland as heroes who sought vengeance against their bullies. They did not.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the Columbine tragedy was that the perpetrators were tormented outcasts. Reports since have stated that they had many friends and enjoyed a good social standing. The students they murdered were never on any of their “kill lists,” and the shooters were more often bullies themselves. They reportedly never intended to go inside the building for a rampage. They wanted to bomb the school from the cafeteria, causing the death of 600 students—not the modus operandi of someone who has a vendetta toward just one specific group of people.

According to researcher Louis Klarevas, those who perpetrate mass shootings do not often have low self-esteem but rather a dangerously high, unstable self-esteem. Psychologists in the field say they are motivated by envy, rage, a lack of empathy, and influenced by a need for power.

We need to talk about bullying, but placing it in the center of the discussion on school shootings is counterintuitive. Columbine’s misconceptions still haunt us today. Let us stand by our values by telling the well-investigated truth.

CHRISTOPHER TODD RUSSELL

Jonesboro