The Columbine Syndrome

Someone once defined fear as a rustling in the bushes. It’s that sound just beyond perception that causes a feeling in us almost impossible to understand. In response, we either freeze or we dash toward the sound, challenging the rustle, fighting the perception.

It’s not beyond logic to say that in today’s world there’s a lot of rustling going on. And, almost always, fear creates hostility, which often results in assaults, either physical or verbal, directed at those who seem to create the rustles.

The targets, I think, are the young.

It seems appropriate to ponder the subject on this day of renewal, so near the first-year anniversary of the Columbine horror. Though the possibility of such an event’s happening is remote, the image of gun-toting teenagers on a killing rampage just won’t go away.

The fact that it did happen creates the possibility that it can happen, and what we’re left with is the Columbine Syndrome.

Two unrelated situations bring this to mind. I wrote about both of them. One involved the possibility of racism at a Big Bear restaurant; the other centered on the publication of an underground newspaper at Palisades High.

The response to those columns was startling, not because of agreement or disagreement, but because of the invective showered on both babies and teenagers.

That bothered me more than anything.

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The Big Bear column was about a Hispanic family targeted in a restaurant when their baby let out a yelp. Because Anglo children who were raising a fuss were not reprimanded, the Hispanic family perceived the incident as racist.

My column created a debate that continues, with new charges of racism and new denials. That was anticipated. What wasn’t expected was the amount of hostility directed toward the 11-month-old baby.

“Leave the brat home” and “punish him” and “a whack on the bottom would help” were among the milder suggestions. References to the child as an animal were both startling and unnerving.

Next I wrote about the underground paper at Pali High that caused the suspensions of 11 students and the transfers of four. I said that the paper was vile and idiotic but that the school had dealt with the situation poorly.

I suggested that the kids should have learned from the experience to, in the words of one teacher, “criticize without vulgarity.” The students complained that they had no voice at the school and that the teachers showed them no respect.

Again the response, with some exceptions, was hateful and vindictive. E-mailers and phone-callers ranted that the students ought to be sued, expelled or jailed. Few cautioned against an excessive response. Many demanded severe punishment.

One writer, in a stretch beyond belief, challenged my assumption that the truth of the situation lay somewhere between the antagonistic factions. He wrote: “You might as well suggest that the truth lies somewhere between those who believe the Holocaust occurred and those who claim . . . that no Jews were gassed in the ovens.”

I didn’t even bother to respond.

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Dismayed by the hostility directed toward the young, I sought answers. Among those most expert in the field is USC sociologist Barry Glassner.

The hostility, he says, is based upon an unreasonable fear that teenagers are out to get us. “Fear creates hostility,” he adds, “and that does a terrible disservice to the kids. This is a good generation, and it’s being blamed for all sorts of societal problems not of its making.”

Although the crime rate among juveniles is down, Glassner says, “adults are terrified of young people. They look upon every young male as a mass murderer. Fear and misconceptions are demonizing our kids.”

He adds that politicians, the media and self-serving “do-something” groups are contributing to the image of teenagers as devils.

Government statistics support Glassner’s contention that juvenile crime is down in almost every major category. A separate survey also reveals, sadly, that child neglect is on the increase. We fight crime while ignoring its roots.

Trust and communication are vital in eliminating fear and hostility between the generations, Glassner says. It’s the same conclusion I reached about the incident at Pali High. Talk to the kids. Listen to the kids. Teach the kids. If necessary, create a course based on their bad judgment and explore it.

We’re all afraid of something. But to fear our own children is to create an almost unbearable world. We’re liable to discover that the rustling in the bushes is real, and the thing hiding in them is a monstrous hatred that could devour us all.

Al Martinez’s column appears Sundays and Wednesdays. He can be reached online at al.martinez@latimes.com.