In the season 6 episode of Family Matters, "The Gun", Laura (Kellie Shangyne Williams) contemplates buying a gun to combat school bullies, but when the bullies shoot a classmate because she wouldn't give up her shoes, that changes Laura's perspective.
The closing tag of the episode sees Williams and Jaleel White drop character to address the audience. Shawn Harrison (Waldo) is seated to White's right (viewer's left).
We bring this up today, nearly 30 years after this episode first aired, because of how the problem of guns in schools has gotten worse. The mass shooting at Columbine High in Colorado in 1999 started the epidemic of mass shootings across the country, not just in schools.
In the 518, a 17 year old student was picked up for carrying a pellet gun to class in Albany. In the Bethlehem school district in suburban Delmar, an anonymous caller threatened to shoot up Bethlehem High on Tuesday night, and two more phone threats were issued on Wednesday, prompting the cancellation of after-school activities. A 14 year old was arrested at Shenendehowa in Clifton Park for e-mailing threats.
We have a generation of kids who are being bullied, either physically or online, creating psychological issues so severe that they're unwilling to go to their parents or school administrators for help, help that they actually need, and without that help, they spiral into a condition where they decide that guns are the only answer, when it clearly is not.
It's imperative that if a parent sees their child has a crisis, even the most remote signs, action is needed ASAP. We don't want a Columbine situation here in the 518 or anywhere else. Parents, if your son or daughter is being bullied, talk to them, or refer them to their counselors at school. The lives you save will include your own.
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