Fundamentalist intolerance in school shootings

America has a problem when students arm themselves and walk into their school and start killing people. What role does fundamentalist Christianity play in this? At first it would seem to be none. But what if you discover that over and over the students who engaged in this violence were consistently and regularly bullied by other students? What if you heard they were subjected to harassment and antigay taunts by the other students even if they weren't gay? Who in America is telling school kids that such antigay remarks are good and warranted?

Fundamentalists teach that gays are evil and destroying America. Is it any wonder then that kids raised in this environment will often go after students they believe to be gay? In the recent school shooting in Oregon a student shot his principal during an altercation. The kid told police he went there to try to force them to listen to him because he was subjected to regular antigay attacks and no one cared. Students at Columbine admitt that two shooters were regularly victimized by the students and gay slurs were constantly used against them. And this is the case in numerous such shootings.

As this website says: "And kids taught these lessons carry them to school and act on them. And with a thousand verbal knifes they slash away at the self-esteem of the "other". And often, very often, they turn their taunts into physical violence. Day in and day out the student seen as the "other" is attacked and harassed and sometimes they snap and people die. It is not justified to kill over such things but is it unexpected? The fundamentalist may want to blame it on evolution but I think they should look closer to home for some of the answers."

I suggest you read the entire essay.