Posted on 06/06/2005 10:38:18 PM PDT by CHARLITE
On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee.
What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert!
These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:
"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.
"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.
"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.
"I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy-it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves.
I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today:
Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!
"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and reek havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact.
"What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws.
"Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.
As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA - I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!
"My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"
Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech. Please send this out to everyone you can
Thursday, May 27, 1999:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/scott.htm
Thanks for rounding out the full picture.
Reading the snopes article is enlightening, although it comes off a bit antagonistic to the man. I don't believe that it claims that he was the only parent to speak to members of the Congress; - only that his speech was quite profound and (to me), very moving.
Thank you again. Very interesting.
Char
OK. NOW I understand why I've hardly heard about this speech...
I agree, Mr. Scott's testimony is still eloquent and still rings very true today. The Snopes reference was just FYI.
Snopes tends to have a liberal cast. They don't debate what the man said, just that, "the media did not suppress what he said".
My experience tells me the media NEVER thinks it is suppressing what conservatives say - just that it isn't of any interest to their readers.
I'm sure they also believe the media does not dislike the military, or Bush.
He just told everyone that he doesn't even own a gun. Such a gun-free zone ad is bound to attract any criminals to his house Can you say victim zone?
He'd better remedy that situation and quick...
"Liberal cast" is an understatement. In the aftermath of the Columbine incident there was, as usual, an immediate flurry of media coverage which overwhelmingly attempted to frame the issue almost exclusively as a "gun problem" and blame the NRA. The MSM gave extensive coverage to any parents, government officials and so-called "experts" who made public statements which fit that template. The very fact of the anomalous nature which Mr. Scott's statement represented was itself "newsworthy" by any rational, honest and accurate definition of the word.
Snopes statement that "The media" didn't prevent anyone from hearing Mr. Scott's speech; most news outlets simply didn't give it much coverage because it wasn't particularly newsworthy. As noted above, Mr. Scott really didn't offer much of substance, and what he did have to say had already been said earlier and louder by many others... is extremely disingenuous.
There are lies of commission, and lies of omission. The MSM did not fail to give Mr. Scott's statement wide coverage because it wasn't newsworthy, they REFUSED to give it wide coverage because it didn't fit their template and agenda.
Have you ever seen those yard signs proclaiming "this is a gun-free household"? Not entirely uncommon in Minneapolis. (And they have burglaries there.)
No, but that's the stupidest idea I've ever heard of. It's us gun owners that protect the unarmed people because the perps don't know who is armed--unless you have a sign and then that makes the burglar's job easier. lol
Stupid they are! Why do you think they vote for Democrats?
Non coverage is an act of omission (or not acting), suppression is an act of comission, requiring active attempts to squelch the story.
Technically, they are correct in that they did not necessarily suppress the story, they just never gave it airtime.
No wonder they are so enamored of the guy who got so much mileage out of the meaning of 'is'.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.