Columbine School Shooting Essay

So, by discussing the threat, organizing a plan to deal with the apparent threat these defenders of justice make demands for social change to their representatives, neighbors and friends, and the media to recognize the severity of the issue and join them in the fight against the perceived threat to society. Upon close analysis of the events that were emphasized in the media, researchers have been able to prove that the information given out to the public was consistent with the framework that youth were becoming more violent. The context given with the coverage of such events (e.g., Columbine school shooting) helped garner the attention of the public and pounded into their minds the importance of increasing youth violence, especially among young adults of color. The fact that they emphasized

coverage of youth in the inner-city, who just happen to youth color, subliminally gave off the message that these young adults were up to no good and should be dealt with before the problem becomes out of control.

With many researchers emphasizing the growing numbers of minority youth within the inner-city, people found it logical to unite in efforts to publicly denounce their perceived deviant behavior that were putting the future of American society at risk.

Ultimately, these individuals galvanized to confront these “folk-devils” and denounce their immorality that was believed to threaten the stability of U.S. society. Those opposing the perceived threat of “superpredators” wanted to send a clear message: behavior contradicting those established by the community would not be tolerated and measures would be taken redraw the lines of morality consistent with accepted behaviors within U.S. society. The people that benefited from the

outcomes of this moral panic were the moral entrepreneurs that sought after the implementation of new rules that would influence a shift in thinking. In this case, the primary moral entrepreneur was Dilulio who was the professor that catapulted the issue of juvenile crime in the limelight and into the minds of the public. While his research methods and use of crime data has been proven to be inappropriately analyzed, the reactions he got from the public helped achieve significant social change he believed to benefit the rest of society. Dilulio’s goal to ostracize a group of people within society (youth) was effective in that it prompted the implementation of a wide array of punitive measures in the juvenile justice system. These measures did not only address how the justice system deals (punishes) youth, but permeated through other institutions within society (e.g., schools) creating a complex web of criminalization by both private entities and government interests. All in all, the outcomes produced by the moral panic of “superpredators” help us understand how deviance, power, and social exclusion can work together to create significant social change among a society to advance the agendas of those in the upper echelons of the business and government world.