T.E. W. (terez93) reviewed Why Meadow Died: The People and Policies That Created The Parkland Shooter and Endanger America's Students on + 323 more book reviews
My review absolutely EXPLODED when I posted it on Twitter- so many people have such strong feelings about this book, and for very good reason.
Personal disclosure: because it's an election year, and an important one, I've been reading much more about current events and "political" issues than I usually do - I typically choose to opt out of consumption of sensationalist media fodder paraded endlessly in a ceaseless 48-hour news cycle. This week it's a school shooting grabbing headlines, next week it's some scandal perpetrated by some mindless, moral-less politico, and the following week, it's nonsense about some vapid, plastic celebrity no one really cares about, but who is endlessly marketed and "sold" everywhere in an attempt to make it seem as through they actually matter. I've long since stopped watching "television": haven't had one in 7 years, but a colleague recommended this book to me, more for its method than its material.
I'm also always concerned that these types of exposes serve as little more than an "echo chamber," something I likewise try to avoid, but this one was well worth the read. I warn you, however, be prepared to be outraged even in an outrage culture, as the circumstances surrounding this tragic event are truly shocking... and unforgivable.
It was co-authored by the father (with contributions by the older brother) of one of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre (it was certainly nothing less). In the introduction, the latter, I think, said it best: "after my sister Meadow was murdered... the media obsessed for months about the type of rifle the killer used. It was all clickbait and politics, not answers or justice." If you're looking for justice, certainly better look elsewhere than the media circus puppets, with strings pulled by their corporate masters. This is definitely one book that will make your blood boil.
In short: the book addresses the nothing-short-of cover-up regarding the accountability of responsible parties to stop what was arguably, as the authors state, the most preventable mass casualty event in American history. It is comprised of essentially four parts: the first addresses the events leading up to the tragedy, and attempts by multiple parties, including a student journalist. The latter was attacked by the establishment for not having the "facts straight" with regard to their willful incompetence and attempts to downplay their culpability, including attempts to "pad" their "numbers" by simply not recording events that made their stats look bad (i.e., failing to record disciplinary events of the shooter and other problem students so that it appeared that bad behavior on the part of students had improved under their tenure, when clearly it had not).
The second part addresses the shooter himself - I am gratified to note: the authors go out of their way to avoid using his name, which should be the gold-star standard for all reporting of these events. It provides a respectful yet scathing biography of this clearly troubled individual, who was failed by the same system that failed his many victims, and which did nothing short of facilitate their murder, to the degree that I believe that one could make a case that some persons were so culpable that they could be considered accessories after the fact, having knowledge that the shooter had threatened to carry out the attack, on multiple occasions, and took NO action whatsoever.
The third part, to me, is the most damning, as it addresses the endemic failure of the entire school system and indicts the players who fraudulently attempted to enhance their self-aggrandizing positions by manipulating statistics, the only metric that seems to count in school systems these days, by purposely failing to record adverse events such as fights, suspensions and disciplinary infractions so that it appeared as though they weren't happening at all, despite warnings from everyone around him that the shooter was an unhinged ticking time bomb.
The fourth part offers some attempts at a solution, which includes revamping this entire broken system. The terrifying realization that should hit home is that this Broward County school system has been considered a "model" one, so its methods have spread to other districts throughout the country. If that's the case, it is doubtless just a matter of time before something like this happens again. This was, indeed, the perfect storm, that led to an unprecedented tragedy, but it's definitely one which could occur again.
In the decades after Columbine, which was indeed a watershed event, the fact that occurrences like this are still happening, and with increasing regularity, is inexcusable. As the authors note, other buildings are protected successfully on a daily basis: airports, federal buildings, courthouses, municipal offices and buildings, police stations, and a multiplicity of other venues. It's unthinkable that the same can't be said for American public schools. It makes no difference the type of firearm the shooter used.
#fixit
Personal disclosure: because it's an election year, and an important one, I've been reading much more about current events and "political" issues than I usually do - I typically choose to opt out of consumption of sensationalist media fodder paraded endlessly in a ceaseless 48-hour news cycle. This week it's a school shooting grabbing headlines, next week it's some scandal perpetrated by some mindless, moral-less politico, and the following week, it's nonsense about some vapid, plastic celebrity no one really cares about, but who is endlessly marketed and "sold" everywhere in an attempt to make it seem as through they actually matter. I've long since stopped watching "television": haven't had one in 7 years, but a colleague recommended this book to me, more for its method than its material.
I'm also always concerned that these types of exposes serve as little more than an "echo chamber," something I likewise try to avoid, but this one was well worth the read. I warn you, however, be prepared to be outraged even in an outrage culture, as the circumstances surrounding this tragic event are truly shocking... and unforgivable.
It was co-authored by the father (with contributions by the older brother) of one of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre (it was certainly nothing less). In the introduction, the latter, I think, said it best: "after my sister Meadow was murdered... the media obsessed for months about the type of rifle the killer used. It was all clickbait and politics, not answers or justice." If you're looking for justice, certainly better look elsewhere than the media circus puppets, with strings pulled by their corporate masters. This is definitely one book that will make your blood boil.
In short: the book addresses the nothing-short-of cover-up regarding the accountability of responsible parties to stop what was arguably, as the authors state, the most preventable mass casualty event in American history. It is comprised of essentially four parts: the first addresses the events leading up to the tragedy, and attempts by multiple parties, including a student journalist. The latter was attacked by the establishment for not having the "facts straight" with regard to their willful incompetence and attempts to downplay their culpability, including attempts to "pad" their "numbers" by simply not recording events that made their stats look bad (i.e., failing to record disciplinary events of the shooter and other problem students so that it appeared that bad behavior on the part of students had improved under their tenure, when clearly it had not).
The second part addresses the shooter himself - I am gratified to note: the authors go out of their way to avoid using his name, which should be the gold-star standard for all reporting of these events. It provides a respectful yet scathing biography of this clearly troubled individual, who was failed by the same system that failed his many victims, and which did nothing short of facilitate their murder, to the degree that I believe that one could make a case that some persons were so culpable that they could be considered accessories after the fact, having knowledge that the shooter had threatened to carry out the attack, on multiple occasions, and took NO action whatsoever.
The third part, to me, is the most damning, as it addresses the endemic failure of the entire school system and indicts the players who fraudulently attempted to enhance their self-aggrandizing positions by manipulating statistics, the only metric that seems to count in school systems these days, by purposely failing to record adverse events such as fights, suspensions and disciplinary infractions so that it appeared as though they weren't happening at all, despite warnings from everyone around him that the shooter was an unhinged ticking time bomb.
The fourth part offers some attempts at a solution, which includes revamping this entire broken system. The terrifying realization that should hit home is that this Broward County school system has been considered a "model" one, so its methods have spread to other districts throughout the country. If that's the case, it is doubtless just a matter of time before something like this happens again. This was, indeed, the perfect storm, that led to an unprecedented tragedy, but it's definitely one which could occur again.
In the decades after Columbine, which was indeed a watershed event, the fact that occurrences like this are still happening, and with increasing regularity, is inexcusable. As the authors note, other buildings are protected successfully on a daily basis: airports, federal buildings, courthouses, municipal offices and buildings, police stations, and a multiplicity of other venues. It's unthinkable that the same can't be said for American public schools. It makes no difference the type of firearm the shooter used.
#fixit
