Suburban Hell

Five years ago today, we all learned where Columbine, Colorado was. I remember reading the essays of Jon Katz in the aftermath of the shooting and getting more than a little annoyed with his persistent theme of “The World vs. The Geeks.” Likewise, I was annoyed with the mainstream media’s near-instant typecasting of the goths and the geeks and anyone else who wasn’t a jock or student council president as a borderline and potentially armed psychopath. Did anything really change because of Columbine? Kids still play violent videogames and yet most of them manage to refrain from going on killing sprees. The popular kids still torment the outcasts. Maybe Columbine was a function of its own context. An affluent, religiously conservative, mostly white suburb that, for reasons we still can’t explain, produced a couple of violent, nihilistic adolescent boys. And what’s really sad is that Columbine will continue to be exploited by politicians and activists of every stripe to promote their own narrow agendas, whether it be gun control or school prayer.
Here’s a good article about Interact Theater and their latest play. Interact is a highly respected local theater group that is made up almost entirely of people with various disabilities. I’ve written before about the disability hierarchy and Interact, through its work, is actively deconstructing that hierarchy. Very cool. I need to find someone who wants to see the play with me.