Comments on: Do SOMETHING

By: robin

robin — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:47:57 +0000

Liz, I agree with you a hundred percent. Young people get so much information from books, movies, and TV, and it is our responsibility as storytellers to give them good, honest, useful information. It’s why I appreciate YA authors who include with their sex scenes discussions of birth control and protection against STDs. And you’re so right about bringing these crime stories full circle. We can show kids through our fictional characters that it’s important to report assaults, threats, abuse, etc. One of the issues with the VT shooting is whether things might have been different if the girls the killer had been stalking a few years ago had pressed charges, giving him a criminal record that might have thwarted his gun purchases. Those kinds of “what ifs” can drive you crazy, but it’s worth considering our responsibilities when we witness or are victims of crimes.

Our actions today in speaking up can save someone else down the line.

By: Liz B

Liz B — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:12:59 +0000

To tie this in to YA lit: I cannot stand YA lit where the something has happened to the girl and the end resolution specifically excludes the police; instead, its whether the girl feels better, or confronts the person, or does something that is believed to “end” the problem. All of that is great…but pressing charges is also a good thing. And I can think of a few titles where this doesn’t happen. Realistic…yes. But pressing charges is good thing.

By: robin

robin — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 01:53:35 +0000

Lady T, I couldn’t agree with you more about focusing on the acts of bravery, rather than the sickness of the killer. He’s already gotten too much of our time. He doesn’t deserve a minute more.

Mother Reader, I understand that concern. You don’t want to unnecessarily freak your kids out. I heard a good suggestion on NPR today about what to tell the younger kids: that someone hurt a lot of people with a gun, and we’re all incredibly sad about it. Then use that as an opener to talk about what we do when we see guns: run away and tell someone. Don’t touch the gun. It’s a good opportunity to start drilling that into the young ones’ heads.

By: Lady T

Lady T — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 01:31:32 +0000

My mom always encouraged us kids to be pro-active in emergency situations;granted it comes naturally to her,being a nurse but the simple idea of DO SOMETHING! is one that everyone can get onboard with.

Just the other day,we had a small fire in our building(it was in one apartment only and no one was hurt)and the three of us sprang into action to get the heck out of Dodge. The only thing slowing us down was containing our cat to be carried outside(he’s skittish even on a normal day)but we quickly managed a way to do so. We’ve been thru a worse fire several years ago,where my brother and his friends were getting folks out of the building before the firemen arrived. They did something.

The VT situation is so incredibly sad,and while I understand the need for people to dig into the killer’s background and so forth,I think it would be a positive thing to focus more attention on those who showed bravery in the face of that danger,like the professor who blocked the door of his classroom with his body and gave his students a chance to escape out of the windows. A good example of “Do Something” right there.

By: MotherReader

MotherReader — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:26:02 +0000

Thanks for that idea. I had seen a book not long ago in the library that taught your kids how to respond to attacks, and at the time I thought it was too…direct, I guess, for kids. But part of me now sees that those kids become teenagers and those teenagers go off to college, and maybe we don’t prepare them to do something in an emergency. I know that some of the kids at VT did act and react, but still, it makes you think about being prepared.