With so much focus on the desire to create deterrence through punishment of the act, much is being lost regarding the need to stem the desire for such actions in the first place. If we wait until it is time to rip a gun from the hands of a 17 year-old, we have waited too long. Children are not born prejudiced, angry or violent. Each of those requires a learned pattern or triggered response. Children learn hate, frequently as the last lesson of alienation.
Taught intolerance leads to learned prejudice.
Long before that 17 year-old considers picking up a gun and using it against his contemporaries, we must address intolerance with acceptance, and teach alternatives to prejudice. We must start early and utilize every resource and opportunity to encourage appropriate dispute resolution. Every single member of our future generations depend on us choosing this undertaking, and we have little choice. While May 25 th may not usually be a date of great remark, please join us in making it more so. There are MHA affiliates in each of these communities, as well as members of our colleague organizations who receive the Friday Fax from Albany .