An Explanation for the Schoolyard Shootings in Jonesboro, Arkansas

Everyone seems surprised and confused by the shootings in Arkansas. I'm talking about the one where two boys, aged 11 and 13, dressed themselves in camouflage fatigues, pulled a fire alarm, and opened fire on their fellow classmates as they left the school building, killing 5, and injuring 11 more. People don't seem to know whether to blame video games, the media, parents, or society in general.

It all becomes clear enough, though, when you look at the details of the case.

Have a look at the list of the dead and see if you notice a pattern.

Killed:

Natalie Brooks, 12
Paige Ann Herring, 12
Stephanie Johnson, 12
Brittany R. Varner, 11
Shannon Wright, 32

The news media tell us that an 11 and a 13 year old boy shot and killed 5 students and a pregnant teacher. They also mention that many more people were injured. What they don't mention right away, is that the 5 victims were all females.

Jennifer Nightengale, a classmate of the accused killers, is reported to have said that the 13 year old one swore he would kill anyone who broke up with him or who was a snob.

Anyone or any girl?

Do you see the pattern here?

Not only is the media missing the obvious, but what they're missing is the fact that this crime is most likely caused by hatred of female beauty and sexuality - hatred for its ability to make us want it, and for its ability to turn us down.

What justifies the punishment of death for women or girls who exercise this ability, in the minds of men and boys? They have been taught that female sexuality is immoral, so they can rationalize their desire to kill girls who have turned them down by telling themselves that these girls are immoral in the first place for making themselves desirable.

Do you doubt this explanation?

Got a better one?

I thought not.

When you realize that belief in the immorality of female beauty is so rampant in our society and permeates our culture so completely that it is totally ignored as a real problem (or even a plausible explanation in this case), when you notice that even 11 year olds have been convinced and decide that young girls are evil and deserve to be gunned down, then there is nothing surprising or confusing at all about the shootings in Arkansas.

If you're still having trouble believing it, however, check out the following list of the 11 "persons" injured, as ABC News calls them.

Wounded: (condition as of morning of March 27)

Christina Amer, 12, treated and released
Amanda Barnes, 13, critical condition
Ashlee Betts, 12, stable condition
Jenna Brooks, 12, treated and released
Whitney Irving, 11, treated and released
Jennifer Jacobs, 12, stable condition
Brittney Lambie, 13, stable condition
Tristian McGowan, 13, treated and released
Candace Porter, 11, stable condition
Sara Thetford, 42, stable condition
There was an 11th person, unidentified, whose wound did not require hospital treatment. [Italics mine.]

To see what ABC NEWS had to say about the killings, click on the following links.

http://www.abcnews.com/sections/us/DailyNews/jonesboro0325.html
http://www.abcnews.com/sections/us/DailyNews/jonesboro0327.html