Reader responds to Hirst Column

After reading your editorial on guns and violence in your May, 2001 issue, I was deeply affected-but not in a positive way. Your words read as if you were the homecoming queen of your school, never subjected to teasing or ridicule of any kind. If you had been, you might understand more the affect that ìbullyingî can have on young, insecure child. You say that words are just that, words, and that strong children can just ignore them. That is the problem. Children are not strong. They are insecure and desperate to fit in, or at least be left alone. Making fun of a young person because the are overweight, or smart, or quiet, or a little confused about their sexuality, or even just a little bit different that what in considered “normal” is not a rite of passage, it is torture.
You say that everyone gets made fun of in childhood. Yes, almost everybody can probably recall a time when they were teased or made to feel bad about themselves. These people probably look back and wince at the embarrassment of It and then move on. But there are others, Others who were isolated from everyone because the were “strange” or “different” . Others who were called names, pushed around, and sometimes even hurt physically. These children, our children, have been hurt in ways that they may never recover from. These are the children that develop eating disorders, that commit suicide, and yes, take their father’s gun and shoot someone in the cafeteria. Violence is obviously not the answer. To these children, it is a cry for help, a scream for someone to see them, to listen to them, to help them. Why do you think that so many of these teenagers tell someone what they are planning to do? Because they want someone to stop them. They want to be caught before they resort to what they consider their last option. They want to be able to walk through the halls of school each day of their lives and not have to pray that they survive until tomorrow.
You state in your editorial that sometimes you have to correct behavior in order to be more acceptable. How can you believe that? It seems as if you are sitting on your pedestal saying “just lose weight, just try a little harder, just conform a little more and we’ll let you fit in.” It seems so pompous of you to assume that outsiders, loners, and “unpopular” people can just conform and all their troubles will vanish. Coping skills? Tell a young boy who is beaten up because he is not as tough and masculine as his classmates that he has poor coping skills. Tell a teenage girl who has starved herself to the point of hospitalization to try to fit into the popular clique that she has poor coping skills. Look at all of our lost and lonely children, and then tell them that all the have to do is “get over it.” Then do you think that all of their problems will disappear?
You are correct about one thing, though. There is more wrong than just being able to get a gun. We live in a world that is different from the childhood that you view through rose colored glasses. There is more violence, much more hatred. But a few things havenít changed. There will always be children who hurt others in order to make themselves feel better. There will always be children who want nothing more than to be accepted. And words will, to insecure and scared children, be much more than just words.

Suzy Jones
Boyle

Writer appreciates column by Criss

I wanted to write to tell you how much I enjoyed the article by Jack Criss in your May 2001 issue titled "The Perpetuation of Welfare.” This is one of the best articles I have read on the welfare system. I think that Jack's editorial mirrors the thoughts of many. The points he makes are concise and truthful. I think I will send a copy of this to my friends in Washington! I look forward to reading the each month and especially Jack's column. He represents your company in a very professional and positive manner.

Sherri Moak
Indianola