"The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload
And nobody’s gonna go to school today
She’s gonna make them stay at home
And daddy doesn’t understand it
He always said she was good as gold
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown?"
On January 29, 1979 a sixteen year old girl in San Diego, took aim at a school playground from her home across the street, and started shooting with the rifle she had been given for her birthday. Two adults were killed, eight children and a police officer were wounded. Why, she was asked.
"I don't like Mondays."
Over thirty years later, we ask the same question, why? It's not likely we will ever know why the chip inside Adam Lanza's head got switched to overload. And while the voices become louder for more stringent gun control, discovering the cause for these increasing mental issues is far more important.
In this age where 1 in 88 children is identified as being under the autistic spectrum, where 5.2 million kids between the ages of 5-17 are diagnosed with ADHD, where so many, so many more have mental problems, diagnosed or not. Something has happened to the younger generations, something is causing the disintegration of the minds of our children.
Maybe sometime before another senseless killing takes place, we can get our legislators to stop adding pork to build bridges to nowhere, and start putting some real money to the multitude of mental health issues affecting this country.
Bob Geldof wrote the song "I Don't Like Mondays" after the 1979 shooting. Sadly, it is still relevant today.
