By Tahira Simon
Youth Radio

Gunfire kills kids everyday, but it's not headline news until some kid walks into his school and starts shooting. Only then do we talk about access to guns and safety in our public schools.

No one talks about it two months afterwards, which is sad because it certainly takes less than that for some psycho, neo-Nazi, emotionally deprived outcast to decide he's going to go on a killing spree.

What's even more troubling is the impact of the media. Obviously, kids today rely on the media for direction. Prime example in this case is the Littleton student who called her local TV news department -- during the siege -- from inside the school when she was unable to reach 911.

We actually turn to the media for help, and what we get is more gore, more detail and more incentive to go out and do it again.

I believe broadcast news is more to blame for the copycat crime mentality than rap lyrics or violent movies. And while the constant media coverage puts the young killers on a pedestal with a sense of power, it also numbs the rest of us.

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I didn't have any emotion about people my age dying until one Littleton student described how his friend had her head blown off after she said "Yes" to the question, "Do you believe in God?"

Maybe all the adults in this situation were already numb to the signs of danger that seemed to be right in front of them. These guys came to school clad in black trench coats year 'round, wearing swastikas and bragging about guns and bombs.

No adult -- not a teacher, counselor, principal or even parent -- thought to say, "You know, we need to talk." People say the parents of these violent teens are not to blame, but I disagree.

Parents are given too much slack these days for not parenting. They argue that their kids are out of control and won't listen. And as long as the kids aren't breaking any laws, the parents are, in turn, excused by the community.

I mean, how do you not know that your kid knows how to make explosive devices or that they've created a gang at school? How could this happen?

Youth Radio is a nonprofit organization based in Berkeley, California. Student-produced pieces and commentaries can be heard on KQED and KCBS in San Francisco, on National Public Radio and on the Pacifica National Network. Youth Radio also contributes to "Digital High," a service of the San Jose Mercury News, and to "Youth Voices," a project of Brandeis University.