The Dark Thoughts of a Child

Think about this, between 1999 and 2025, there have been an average of 6 active shooter events in K-12 schools per year, with exactly 55% of the shootings to date happening in high schools.

So, whether rich or poor, popular or unknown, scary or fragile, we live in a world today full of K-12 children who live lives filled with dark thoughts. Whether they are pressured by their parents and families to be the best at everything, by bullies who dislike them because they are considered too smart or by others who look at them as less than, our children can reach levels of darkness that are almost impossible to believe.

Sure, the best ways to mitigate the dark thoughts of our children that continue to lead to mass shootings at our schools simply requires a multi-layered approach by focusing on secure firearm storage, various threat assessment programs and mental health support as defined by Everytown Research and Policy. Well, I imagine there to be other interventions out there that are just as effective, if not even more effective. What say you? 

Well, hit that play button and catch a jarring and heart-wrenching story about rich and brilliant identical twins, separate mass shootings that are linked together, what could have already been done by certain agencies to mitigate mass shootings and why a specific individual's last words as it relates to mass shootings should result in major gun reform.   

Transcript

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Hey, what's up out there again, everybody? I'm your host, Greg Mac of the You Better Plan on the Podcast. Catch me every Tuesday at 12 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. You can also catch me live on YouTube at that same time. Or go to www.youbetterplan on the podcast.budsprout.com and catch me there on one of your favorite sites. Also hit that subscribe button. I definitely appreciate it. Now, let's move forward with something that's very intense and has really done a number in this country and around the world. And uh I want to talk about you know the dark thoughts of a child. The dark thoughts of a child. You know, on last night, uh I sat down for a bit and you know, I've been watching series like Game of Thrones and things of that nature, and tracking baseball, and among other things, tracking feel. But last night I put on a movie called The Honor Student. And it was very intriguing to me just to sit down and watch. I'd never seen it before. Um, and what ended up happening, let me just give you the layout of the situation. There's a set of identical twins. They're Asian kids and they're 18 years old, the last year of school, they're incredibly brilliant, up for valedictorian in high school, straight A students, so on and so forth. And then there's this good old English teacher that everybody loves. She's a part of the equation as well. Now, what happens is the brothers are at school, they come home, and the dad is really strict on them being straight A students and being brilliant at all times. Nothing less than an A is acceptable. Nothing less than winning all the major awards is acceptable for his kids. He's raised them that you are to be number one across the board academically, period. Cut and dry end of story. Now, one of the twins, for some reason, uh he's he's stressed, and he for the first time ever gets a B on a test. He comes home, he doesn't want to say anything, but dad finds out, and dad really lays into him as far as what he's done and how he's embarrassed the family and how his performance is less than. So the altercation takes place, this kid just rolls away from home. I'm gonna he said, if you ever get another grade like that, consider yourself removed from my home and disowned. So kid grabs his backpack and he heads out and he goes to the theater and decides to watch a movie. Now, while he's in the theater, everything's going well, the movie has started, you know, he's his mind is settled a little bit better. There is an older gentleman, he's in he's in his mid-20s, I believe, like 26, 27 year old. And no one notices. He's sitting in the movie at the very back, having popcorn or whatever he's doing. The movie's on, the movie's loud, and you know, no one is thinking about anything other than enjoying the movie. And it's got it's an action-packed thriller of a movie, guns firing, guns blazing, that type of thing. While the movie is about midstream, this gentleman gets up and he has a pistol with a silencer on it. And all of a sudden, nobody notices he begins to shoot people in the back of the head. Just goes up behind the people on the back row and starts shooting them in the back of the head. And he's making his way around the theater, and then people start to realize someone is shooting because they see a couple of people go down. And as always, you try to pow your way out of the door, and he is taking people down at an alarming rate. The twin brother does not realize what's going on until it's too late, and just as he turns, he takes a shot to the head, and the shooter continues to shoot and shoot and shoot. And then what always seems to happen when they run out of the situation that they're in to try to get away, they take their own lives. Now, what happens after this? Time goes by. The father continually pressures the other twin to do the things that he needs to do to keep the family going. He needs to be number one, he needs to be the valedictorian. He has put absolute pressure on him. And the, I guess the saddest part to this thing is the father is thinking that, you know, he he seems to view the twin that was killed in a better light than his brother. And the brother sees this and knows this by the way the dad talks to him. And everything he does, he can do better, even when he's done the absolute best you can do. 100% on the test means, well, where's the smiley face on the test that shows you did way better than everybody else? And that's the standard that the family has. Mom and dad, but especially his dad. And he's trying to explain to his dad, you know, dad, I'm doing the best I can. Dad doesn't want to hear it. It's what you're doing. And, you know, you you need to be more like your brother, who seems to be apparently a little bit smarter, a little bit brighter, a little bit more polished, but not by much. It's very close, you know. But this dad and mom, but specifically the dad, is really intervening in on everything and checks on, calls the school, and gets calls from the school just to make sure they're doing what they're supposed to do. Well, a transition in the movie happens. So the twin at home he starts to do detailed research on the exact weapon that the shooter used. And he does research on the shooter himself to find out the details and how easy it is to get a weapon, and how easy it is to get magazines and ammunition and vest online. So he's such a very intelligent kid that he manages to get everything he needs and actually get it shipped to himself using false identities and the things that he needed to do. He was very brilliant at it. Now, he has planned for pretty much almost a year to do something special in honor of his brother's memory, his identical twin that he loves dearly, that he spent all his time with, that he cherished in a big, big, mighty way. So he gets everything he needs, and he plays the cello, by the way. Very dynamic cello player. He hates playing it, but dad told him this is what you're gonna do, so that's all he's been doing. Very smart student, very liked at school, very well liked. In fact, there's a a girl about his age who really likes him and wants to ask him to the spring formal, and she has that in mind. Well, he has his books, has his cello, and inside that cello, he has several weapons. Shotgun, AR-15, and the exact same pistol that the shooter used that killed his brother at the movie theater. Now, his intent is I'm gonna go to school and do something special. He's already thought about the classroom that he wants to be in, the teacher that he wants to be around when it's happening. He knows all the periods inside and out, so he's planned this thing. He gets to school, he goes through his day, and he realizes that the English teacher would have an empty classroom because she is done at that point in time and does not have a class during that period. And he knows that she's typically in there doing grading homework and doing various other things. Well, the teacher on this particular day has an important custody hearing that she needs to get to. So she's already been cleared to take off and leave, and that's her plan. Well, he knocks on her door and he tells her, I really need to talk to you. This is something important. Really need to talk to you. So she gives him a few moments and say, I really have to leave. So they get inside the classroom, close the door, they sit down. And she's not aware of anything too negative other than maybe he's just stressed out and just needs some conversation. Well, what does he do? He tells her that he's been made aware that someone's going to shoot up the school. Well, obviously, her thoughts completely change on what she needs to do and where she needs to be at that time. So she decides that she wants to make a call to let her lawyer know the situation and that she would need to change. She wouldn't be able to make it. Well, he realized if she gets on that phone, she might say the wrong things and that might just thwart his plan. So what does he do? While she has a back turn about to make the call, he said, I wouldn't do that if I was you. She turns around and he has the pistol in her face and threatens to kill her if she makes that call. So she doesn't make the call. Then he takes her keys and her phone and he locks the door, and he sits her down and he tells her, I have a special plan for today for specific students. And that plan is I have target nine students. He takes out the yearbook and he has all nine faces circle. And they are family members of congressmen and senators because this is a very highly esteemed academy type school where nothing but the best students go that's high profile and it's private. So he has targeted specific students. And he did this because they have parents that's part of the NRA or part of the uh the government side who has not done anything, as far as he's concerned, to ban illegal weapons or ban the way people are easily able to obtain weapons and ammo and all these mass shootings that's been going on. He feels like there's not enough being done. So his plan is that he tells the teacher in detail, I'm going to force the government to make a change. But see, you know, this is not Sandy Hook or Columbine, where the students have been bullied or been or a little bit deranged or mental health issue. I don't have any mental health. I'm going to bring a student, I'm up for valedictorian, and so on and so forth. So I'm not crazy. So you're going to tell them, I'm going to let you live so you can tell them that he was not crazy. He targeted these students because the government has failed to do their job in getting rid of these weapons of mass destruction that continually kill innocent people. And you've done nothing about it. You watch these mass shootings go down at these schools and you've done nothing. So his plan is I'm going to kill your children to teach you a lesson, but I'm going to do it as not a student who is deranged or mental health issues. I know exactly what I'm doing. I know exactly who I'm going to kill. I know exactly the time that I'm going to do it, where they're located, and how they typically come out of class. And I'm only targeting those students. Hopefully, no one else gets killed in the process. He has really thought this down to a science. He even wrote it all out and showed her the entire script. And he told her, you know, don't make a sound, don't yell, don't scream. Now, to cut further into the story, he's preparing, you know, it's about seven minutes before it's time to do his business. He's preparing to do his thing. The young lady that actually likes him knocks on the door. No answer. Tells the teacher to be quiet, I'll shoot you, and then I'll have to shoot her. And then she's leaving, she's walking away, and then her phone rings, and the lawyer is calling once again. So she comes back. So he realizes I gotta do something before she says something is off. So he lets her in, hides the weapon. He hides the pistol behind his back. She comes in and she really likes him. She even spoke to the English teacher about him. I really would love for him to take me to the spring formal. And then she forgot her book. So the teacher hands her book, but the English teacher put a note in the book that he has a gun, get help. He asks her if he can see the book and he shakes it and the paper falls out, and then she reads it. And she realizes, oh my God, he has a gun. So she's gonna try to get out of there. But he shoots her point blank in the head, locks the door back. And then when the teacher has an advantage, or at least she thinks she does, she has this object on her desk and she throws it, hits him in the head, and knocks him down. So she jumps over the desk and she attacks him, knocks the gun out of his hand. But he's a big, strong kid. And eventually he overpowers her. He knocks her out. And then he uses zip ties and a mouth guard to cover her mouth and her feet zip ties. So she can't move around and she can't make a bunch of noise. And he tells her, you know, I should have killed you, but I chose not to. And I don't want to because you're going to tell my story. And then she realizes, you know, I cannot get free. I cannot say anything. And then he wants to continually talk to her. So he takes the mouth guard off of her and allows her to speak. And she's trying to tell him this is not the way to go. This is not how you do business. But he does not care. He plans to execute his plan and have her tell his story to the government, to the members of the NRA, that your kids are dead and this is your fault because you've done not enough or next to nothing to mitigate these continual mass shootings, allowing people to illegally obtain weapons very easily and getting ammo and vest and going out and just killing mass amounts of people. He's going to prove his point no matter who says what. And at the end of the day, this is what he does. He puts the mouth guard back on her. The bell is about to ring in three minutes. He positions himself. He gets his AR-15 out. He knows exactly the classroom that's right there. The teacher cannot get free. She is just begging and pleading all she can, tears flowing, trying to get him to stop what he's doing. You know, you have a dead young lady, 18-year-old girl that likes him, shot in the head, and she's dead on the uh chair that's in the oh, I think there's a couch in there in the classroom, and she's lying there dead in a pool of blood. He opens the door, the weapon is on fire, he has his vest on, he has his magazines, and he goes out into the hallway. That bell rings, and he knows the specific students that's coming out, and he told the teacher, hopefully no one gets in the way because I only intend to kill these nine people. Now, where the movie cuts off at, it just stops because you hear the sound of gunfire. And he executed his plan. So in telling you this story, parents, you know your children better than anyone. Or at least you should, if they're yours, grandchildren, whoever they may be. I need you to take the time to not just blast your children like this father did and think that they gotta be perfect because they're not. You need to take the time to make sure that they are mentally stable, that they're in good spirits to the best of your ability. And if you sense that something is wrong, you need to do something about it. You cannot wait around. This dad knew his son was under extreme pressure by himself because of what he demanded of him and his kids. The mom as well, and the family. That's what they thought. And it led to a senseless killing. And it doesn't say how many students he killed, but he definitely killed a number of students, specifically the ones that belong to the government people and the NRA folks that are responsible for these weapons, as far as he was concerned, to prove his point. Now I imagine the teacher told the story in whatever light she told it in to let them know this is why he did this. So I'm telling you today, folks, families out there, your father, mother, guardian, watch your child because they have dark thoughts, especially when there's immense pressure on them to perform a certain way, or the way you treat them, or the way you've seen that they've been treated. Do something quickly, get them some help. Work hard and diligently in making sure that they get the help that they need. And again, you know your children better than anyone, and you know when there's something wrong. You need to make sure you talk to them, you love them harder than you've ever loved them before. Because this is not going to stop. And this kid was proving a point to whoever needed to hear this. And yet we still need to continually do a better job in terms of these weapons that's getting out of hand. In fact, right here in our community, about a mile away, we had a young male, shirtless, running around a pair of shorts with an AR-15, just walking to the neighborhood. Nobody's ever seen him before. And it wasn't a closed community uh neighborhood like mine. It wasn't gated, but it's still a really nice community out by the big park. And he was going to the neighborhood trying to get into people's homes. And when they went and opened the door, he was just firing shots into the door. One gentleman had his garage open and he was on the news. And the guy was coming towards him, and he realized he had a weapon. He closed the garage, went upstairs, had his family get down. And the guy fired about 10 shots into his home. And he was on some type of drug, who knows what? Ecstasy, maybe, who knows? It's still being investigated. At any given moment, someone could show up and show out with a weapon and just start firing. And we're not doing our part to mitigate things enough, in my opinion, because it continues to happen. And yeah, there are people who know how to get a hold of weapons and commit violent acts. But there's ways that we got to jump on this. Our government really needs to do its thing. Parents, talk to your children repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly. Talk to your children about these situations. When you get out and walk into a store, take a look at your surroundings. When you get out and go to your job, anywhere you go at any given time, someone could do harm to you with an automatic weapon of some sort, shotgun, who knows. And usually, these killers, these people committing violent acts, there is a mental health situation. The gentleman that shot up in our area, apparently he suffered a heart attack, is what's being stated because of what he was on when they took him down. He died en route or either at the hospital. But, you know, what got into him? What happened? Let's be cognizant of our surroundings and make sure we do a better job of protecting our families. The dark side of children is real. And if you don't pay attention to your child or your loved one or your friend or someone else's child that you know and you know something's wrong, talk to that other parent. We gotta do more. I'm watching more and more. I'm more cognizant of my surroundings. I've always been because I've been in the Marine Corps and I know how things go, and I've been around things that have been really difficult, you know, you know, and maybe, maybe I have PTSD. Who knows? But whatever the case is, whatever you do, think about your life and the lives of your children. Watch what they do a little more carefully these days. Watch how they speak to you, watch how they speak to other people. If they're going in their room all the time, closing the door and being in the dark, something could be very wrong. And it's up to us to stop the madness. Period. Cut and dry in the story. Listen, I love people. I love everybody. I got a big heart for the world, even our enemies. Because I know my God loves all, so I gotta love all, even when they do wrong. But the dark thoughts of a child is real and deadly. And if we don't do something about it, it's going to continue to get worse. I love you all. I appreciate you, I respect you, every parent, good or bad, I love you. So do better and do more. Now, with that said, take care of yourselves out there. Stand tall, stand gracefully, and stand in Christ. Because the world is different, it's difficult, it's deadly, it can be very harmful, but at the same time, it can be very beautiful if we all do our part to be better people. Especially when it comes to our children. God bless you again. Always remember life is worth living. Again, you can catch me every Tuesday at 1 be a specific time.