It’s important to recognize that facts exist independently of opinion.
A fact is “what’s so” and is supported by verifiable data, while an opinion is an interpretation of verifiable data.
For example, it’s a fact that many school shooters were bullied. It’s also a fact that school shooters are a statistical anomaly and account for less than 0.001% of all bullied kids.
The conclusion that bullying causes school shootings is an interpretation of the facts, and therefore an opinion. This doesn’t mean school shooters aren’t affected by bullying. And it doesn’t invalidate the effects of bullying. It simply means the premise that bullying causes school shootings isn’t factually correct.
On the other hand, anecdotal evidence (personal stories) suggest bullying plays a role in some, but not all incidents of school violence.
Both facts and anecdotal evidence (opinions) are equally important to share and discuss. However, distinguishing fact from opinion allows for a broader context in which to view an issue.
In the example above, the facts encourage us to zoom out to look at multiple factors, not just bullying. Because as long as some bullied kids never kill their classmates, bullying isn’t a cause – it is a factor. To be a cause, a factor must produce the same effect 100% of the time.
At the end of the day, there is only one cause for all incidents of school violence: choice.
The only factor that can be considered a cause is choice. That’s where the buck stops. Until the choice is made, all contributing factors are still in limbo, not yet classifiable as contributing factors. It is the choice to kill that turns a person’s life circumstances into contributing factors. While a portion of school shooters are bullied, the only common denominator in every school shooting is choice.
100% of all school shootings happen when a person chooses to kill their classmates. That choice is made when the shooter chooses to use contributing factors (like bullying) as an excuse to kill others.
Again, this doesn’t mean bullying doesn’t create the desperation some shooters feel that causes them to choose to kill. But let’s be honest here. Aside from tackling a shooter in the act, the only person who can stop a school shooter is… the person about to become a school shooter. They must make the choice not to kill.
“How can we stop bullying?” is a surface-level question that only facilitates intellectual conversation. Even when schools manage to stop bullying, that teaches kids to require, no – demand others to change their behavior so they can feel better. A world full of people who need others to change before they’ll take the high road is a dangerous world, indeed…
The deeper question – the question that can make a genuine impact – is, “what makes some people want to have the final word by killing and silencing others in response to feeling wronged?”
What character trait makes the majority of bullied kids (99.999%) not choose to kill other people in response to being treated poorly?
Perhaps we should identify that trait and focus on developing that trait in our youth.
Sure, we can and should change school culture and do our best to prevent bullying. But if that’s all we do, once those kids graduate, they’re more likely to become a workplace shooter when they become dissatisfied with the way they’re treated at work. Kids who depend on eradicating bullying in order to refrain from killing others are not healthy individuals and will be a ticking time bomb once they leave the comfort of a bully-free school.
The point is, it’s not fair to demand that other people change their behavior just so we can feel better. That might be the way the majority of the world operates, but it’s disempowering. When you refuse to take responsibility for your life and your feelings, and instead, demand that others change, you’ve lost your way. There will be no genuine happiness or pleasure in life for those who live this way.
Yes, kids need to stop bullying each other. And, they also need to learn how to take personal responsibility for their own lives when nobody else will step up. In the real world, only those who take responsibility for their life, regardless of their circumstances, will be free.