This came to us via e-mail from "New York Swinns":
A teacher speaks out
dear scott and
kevin
i read your page and
felt compelled to
write. I am a high school teacher
in upstate new york.
I know that your letter is
intended to appeal to those
of your own age, but
I wanted to let you know
that I was moved by
your
sentiments. I agree that if changes
are to come, they must
come from a
grassroots movement of the youth of
America. Young
people like
yourselves are the only hope we have
for the future of this
very sick
nation. The passion and social
conscience of our youth is
the very thing that
fueled the great
humanitarian movements of the
last
generation. Once again, that energy
can be a powerful force
for social
change.
I believe that if
people like yourselves will
join together across the
country- millions of
committed youth, joining
forces in an organized
show of solidarity -
and demand the
attention of the very media
that bombards us with images
of violence and moral depravity every
day, it could be the beginning of
something very
powerful! Imagine
mass rallies of youth in all the
great cities across our land,
crying out
to our institutions - the
government, corporate America, the
entertainment
industry, the schools - to address
policies which have led to
our current
environment. Calling for an
end to the attitudes of hate
and intolerance
that are so pervasive in the
hallways of our schools.
Boycotting businesses
that profit from the exploitation
of sex, violence and
hate. Flooding the offices
of Senators and Congressmen with
your messages.
A word of advice - the media has
been cunningly used to
exploit you for years
by being the vehicle for the excess
to which you have been
exposed since birth. USE THEM
NOW to carry your message
to the nation.
Force them to put the spotlight on
your movement. Enlist
the help of the experts
of "media hype" to bring
your message into every
living room in America. Yes - it
has
to come from you young people, but
you can make use of your
elders in the
process. They have more
resources available...use
them.
Boys, I don't know whether all of
this sounds like the
rantings of an old
crackpot, but please believe
me. I have been teaching
almost 20 years.
I love my job more now than I ever
have because I love my
kids. My
students can all tell you (because
I shared it with all of
them) that this
tragedy broke my heart.
Something in me snapped, as I'm
sure it did in
teachers and students across the
country. When I saw the
images of
those students in Colorado, I saw
the faces of my own
students. I sense that
Columbine is a final warning to all of us
to do something NOW.
I will be praying that you and
others like you will find each
other soon and
"take to the streets" as
students everywhere did in
the 60's. Rise up, and
get out the message of love and
tolerance and demand that your
elders
take responsibility for the world
they have
created.
God bless