I am convinced that the rash of school shootings (29 since 1996 by my count) is result of our aversion to real violence and our glorification of fake violence.
When I was a kid, you got bullied, you fought the bully, and the bullying would stop. You might lose the fight, but you stood up and fought. You'd get a two day suspension and the bully would get four days. A real fight was a couple of haymakers followed by a wrestling match. You might end up with a black eye and skinned knees for your trouble and if your Dad helped you out with your boxing or wrestling, you might even win the fight. Any bullying would stop after you stood up for YOURSELF.
This stopped being an option for most kids in the late 1980s as a zero tolerance towards violence began to sweep our schools. There wasn't a difference between the kids when they got in fight. You were both equally wrong. You were supposed to use verbal techniques to diffuse the situation. If you were bullied, you are supposed to find your friend, the Assistant Principal, and he or she would stop the bullying for you. Violence doesn't solve problems unless you're the police or the military.
Unfortunately, the bullying doesn't stop, and the kid that is getting picked on figures it the day after the Assistant Principal talks to the bully because he usually catches a lot of grief for being a tattle tale.
At the same time really violent movies started to hit the screen. Rambo, the Terminator, Commando, Predetor, Red Dawn all show violence as the ultimate solution. If you can't make them listen to reason, kill `em all. Half measures are for the weak and the authorities will not be solving your problem. Make the guilty pay using whatever means are necessary. A fair fight is for suckers. Violence should be overwhelming and very deadly.
So a kid that is being bullied decides to implement his own ultimate solution or he is trained to be a victim that can't handle anything without the authorities stepping in to save him.
Since Columbine things have even gotten worse. My kid is convinced he will be expelled from school if he fights...even in a clearly defined self-defense scenario. If someone walks up and punches him in the face, he is supposed to take it. I couldn't believe it. I volunteer in the library, so I have pretty good rapport with the folks at the school. I have talked to his teachers and the assistant principal, and my son's interpretation of the policy was essentially correct. Zero tolerance for violence and there is no such thing as self defense at school.
We live in a violent world, why would we possibly want to train a generation of victims and in rare cases, vigilantes? It strikes me as insane.