Back To The Watchers Connection
Story by: Max Xeus Reporter
We’ve all heard about what happened at Columbine and in California and now even in Michigan. There have been numerous bomb threats, rampage threats, and rampages themselves. How can we stop these things? Can they be stopped? What do the students think about how seriously these threats are taken? Can this all fade away?
Just recently, my friend, Genisis Childs, had a bomb threat called into her school not too far from Taylortucky. The person who called in the threat was male, but the perpetrator has yet to be found. When he called in the threat, he said, “The whole school’s gonna go up in flames. And all the people I hate are going down first.” Of course the school took this very seriously. The school was evacuated and the kids of Wallybace East High School were all sent home immediately. The following day, school was called off and the police took in the bomb squad and dogs. Luckily, no bomb was found. But something was found in the boy’s bathroom. A list. That included my best friend’s name. Right at the top of the list. Above the list was a message that read: “People I’m Gonna Kill.” I’m still shaking because of what may have happened to Genisis. We’re practically sisters. And to even think that she might have been murdered in cold blood scares me to death.
Wallybace East High is less than two hours away from Taylortucky and it makes me wonder if we may be next. Yes, threats are called in, but most are taken lightly. That’s what scares me the most. I’ll agree that maybe some of the threats can be taken lightly. An example is something I said the other day. I said, “If I were unstable enough to go on some sort of shooting spree, I’d kill myself first. I could never take another life. It would kill me inside to murder someone just because they didn’t like the color blue.” Little did I know that that could be taken as a threat. Thankfully, my teacher and friend, Mr. Strongpro, didn’t report me for it. He understood what I meant. But I learned that even something so minor can be counted as something extremely huge.
Something that minor shouldn’t be counted as a threat. I believe that when someone says something like that, it’s only a comment, not a threat, and definitely not a preposition of what they’ll do later that week. Something that should be counted as a threat is when someone calls in and says, “I’m gonna bomb this school.” Now there’s a threat. Not, “If,” but, “I’m gonna.” IF is not a threat. I’m gonna is. There’s a big difference.
I remember last year, at Taylortucky Middle School, there was a bomb threat called in. It happened about a week after Columbine. I worked in the Assistant Principal’s office. She answered the phone and put it on speaker phone because she was eating. I heard exactly what was said. It was an obviously disguised voice saying, “You’re schools’ gonna be bombed during seventh period today.” I tried to act like I didn’t hear anything, but I was so scared. And then the Assistant Principal looked at the secretary and told her to look at the Caller ID to see who it was. “It came up unavailable,” was the answer. I was jumpy the rest of the day. Needless to say, there was no bomb, but all the same, the police were never called, and the school was never evacuated. What would have happened had there been a bomb? Yves, Brooke, Lucilla, Bobbie, and I wouldn’t be writing these stories right now. That’s for sure.
I don’t believe that these threats or school shootings can be stopped. There will always be troubles at home. But if we just try to help, then maybe things will get a little better. Maybe if we can all pull together and give the kids that ARE unstable just a little love, just a little home with parents that really do care for them, then these threats and shootings can be stopped. But this community has never pulled together. The schools are all separated. So nothing good will come out of this community. But maybe, if you try, you can make something good happen in your community.