Report the Violence

One of your daughter’s classmates is furious about having to miss basketball practice for the week. Why? Because his math teacher gave him after-school detention for acting up in class.

“I’m getting that f…..tomorrow, the boy mutters to your daughter. Let’s see how “ cool” he is when he looks down the barrel of my gun!” he threatens.

Would your daughter clam up about her classmate’s threats...keep her mouth shut figuring that he was just blowing off steam or bragging?.

OR would she report what she heard to you, a teacher, or some other trusted adult?

Unfortunately, far too many preteens and adolescents believe that

snitching” or “ratting out” is the lowest form of human behavior. Keeping their lips zipped and clamming up even when their silence presents a clear danger is to them the “IN” thing to do. Protect one of your peers, (even a gang member) at any cost is the reasoning behind their code of silence.

Before more young lives are destroyed by juvenile fury and the tragic ease with which the young are able to get their hands on guns and other weapons, sit down with your son or daughter and ask this question: “ Matt, Emma, what would you do if a classmate or even a good friend of yours told you he was going to shoot or stab or do some harm to another student or teacher or anyone else? Would you try to talk him out of it …figure he was probably just joking, and forget it or tell me, a teacher or adult what you heard?

If she says: “I don’t know" or, “Nobody I know has got a gun” don’t drop the subject. Show her a story in the newspaper or on T.V. about school or street violence. Talk together about how this tragedy could have been avoided if only someone had spoken up BEFORE about the gun or knife someone she knew had and had talked about using.

Whatever you do…don’t ridicule or make light of the importance of friends being loyal to each other. The friendship of friends is too important to pre teens and teenagers to“put down”.

INSTEAD, emphasize the fact that while loyalty and honor and friendship are to be respected, in some cases it’s a matter of LIFE OR DEATH that even friends speak up and give warning of any threats or violence being planned .