boys like Dylan Klebold or Eric Harris, or Kip Kinkle of Springfield, Ore., who killed his parents and two classmates in 1998. Are their parents to blame when these kids become killers?(Garbarino, Pg. 35)'' James Garbarino has learned as a researcher and an expert witness in youth homicide cases the answer is usually no when it come to blame being placed on loving parents. '' Most children are like dandelions; they thrive if given half a chance. Some are more like orchids. They do fine while young enough to be nurtured by loving parents, but wilt as adolescents sujected to peer competition, bullying and rejection, particularly in big high schools.(Garbarino, Pg.35) ''''In adolescence children respond to the influences of peers and the larger culture in the neighborhood and the nation(Garbarino, Pg.35). In the U.S. the youth homicide rate is about 10 times higher than in Canada(Garbarino, Pg.35). The culture of adolescence today contains elements that are so nasty that it becomes difficult for parents and professionals to distingutsh between what in a teenager's talk, dress and taste in music, films and video games indicates psychological trouble and what is simply a sign of the times. Most kids who subscribe to the trench-coated Goth lifestyle, or have multiple body piercings, or listen to Marilyn Manson, or play the video game Doom are normal kids caught in a toxic culture. But, ''Intelligent kids with good social skills can be quite skillful at hiding who they really are from their parents.(Garbarino, Pg.35) '' Teens and children may hide things from their parents to avoid punishment, to escape being identified as crazy, or to protect the parents they love from being disappointed or worried about them. Dylan Klebold successfully hid his inner turmoil from his loving parents. How many parents are capable of thinking the worst of their son? That he harbors murderous fantasies, or that he could actually go as far as acting th...
