Zane S.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, we achieved a new level of paranoia and over-protection with regard to teens. Almost immediatly after the shootings, it was realeased by the Washington Post that the shooter was a fan of the popular FPS, Counterstrike. Even though it was eventually found that the shooter didn't even own the game, the ball had already begun to roll. A high school student of Asian-American descent had his Texas home raided by police after it was discovered that he had created a map in Counterstrike's map editor that resembled the layout of his school. No guns were found but a couple mock swords were, prompting the police to arrest the teen. This is what happens when the media reports something without proof and without regard for the consequences of their actions. More often than not, teens and teen cultlure are the victims of such scapegoating.