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<Editor's Note:  The content of this article is a bit off from the norm.  It has nothing to do with Magic and is an opinion column being written by Kevin.  The views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily the views and opinions of Pojo.com or anyone else affiliated with the site (though I think you'll find quite a few people who DO agree).  The subject matter contained in here is certainly not of a laughing matter .  We will be discussing school shootings & religion.  If you are offended, please turn back now.  Otherwise, you have been warned and I encourage you to read this very well written editorial.  Thank you.  -Scott>

I'm going to do something a bit unusual in this column. I'm not going to talk about Magic. There should be another article of mine up today that one will have the normal garage posting, but some things are more important than Magic.

I want to talk about a hard issue today. I won't get preachy, I won't shove my view on anyone, but I'm going to speak clearly and plainly and not cut any corners. I respect you too much.

For the last two days, a school in America has had gunshots fired. Two are dead, several are wounded. This has not been limited to public schools, on Thursday it was a Catholic school. Why do I want to talk about this? Because I am similar to the people holding the guns.

White male. Single. Quiet. Keeps to himself. Artistic. Interested in computers. Has a difference of opinion with school and classmates. Likes movies, "violent" video games, hardcore music, and Magic: The Gathering.

Are my classmates and teachers afraid I'll walk in to class with a .45 and put holes into them? I don't know. They've never said anything to me about it. I don't think I would, even if I was on a rampage about something.

There are a lot of people like me out there. You might be one of them. Someone might be afraid of you. You might be afraid of what you might do.

I understand what you're going through. I don't want to sound like some guidance counselor or shrink. I don't think Ritalin or Prozac works. I think modern psychology isn't there to help the patient, but for the shrink to get paid $300 an hour. Don't think I'm here to get us all to hold hands and sing Kum Bye Yah.

I will say this. The hobbies and stereotypes I listed above are going to come under attack. Schools and parents need a scapegoat to pin these shooting on. Hollywood. Marilyn Manson. Quake III. You name it; it's going to get blamed. Amusement isn't the problem.

People are.

There are many philosophies, religions, and bits of pop culture that teach that in his heart, man is basically good. He wants to do good things, think good thoughts, and live a good life. I'm not that blind. 

People are basically evil. They were born screaming and will die bitter. They are selfish brats who are only motivated by greed, lust, and pride. Oh, we can hide it well. Do some chores. Buy a homeless family a loaf of bread and some peanut butter. Go to church/temple/mosque/synagogue/mass on Saturday or Sunday. We still do bad things. We still sin.

I know I do. I get mad at what's going on around me. Not just mad, but horribly hateful to people, ideals, anything. I want to walk up to the front of my Spanish II class. I want to look every student in the eye and scream and cuss and reach into my pocket and pull out a pistol and….

But I know it's wrong. It's wrong on several levels. It's wrong to them. They have just as much right to live as I do. It's wrong against God. I don't know if you believe in God, Jesus, a Messiah, Buddha, nothing or what. I do. I know that God said I shouldn't murder with my hands or in my mind. I do anyway. Its called sin, Faithful Reader, and it's the worst thing to be in any life. It just so happens to be in the world. In everybody. I'm not smart enough to figure this out. That's because the evil blinds me. But God shows me where I am doing wrong. Not in a dream. Not in a vision. I don't write holy books or commentaries or tracks or Left Behind. It's in the Bible.

Yes, that's right. The Bible. That book they won't let you take into a public school because it's "ignorant medievalism" or "against the science of evolution" or "mean" to people. That's what keeps me from walking into school in a black trench coat and turning the school into rubble.

"But, Kevin, I thought you said that there was shooting in a Catholic School! Catholic's have the Bible!"

I'm not gonna debate religions here. Yeah, they have the Bible, but that doesn't mean all the students have the same faith, or that it even got taught there. I don't know the school, I can't say.

I wonder if they had the Ten Commandments posted up in the school. I wonder if the girl who pulled the gun ever walked by and read "Do not murder". I don't know. It's just speculation.

Did you know that they took prayer out of public schools in the '60's? Do you know that they are trying to ban prayer before and after sports events? At graduation? I don't remember any school shootings before the '60's. There was one at Kent State University, but that was during the Vietnam War. If someone believes that God mad them in His image, sent a way to have their evil forgiven, and takes care of them, why do the public school keep their students from talking to Him? If that same student put the Ten Commandments up in his locker, they would make him take it down. "No, Herman, you may not put those up there. We don't want anyone to be offended or hurt."

Do not murder.

I'm a sinner.

Like I said before, there is going to be a lot of things said about the hobbies we share. It's gonna get blamed, and boycotted, and banned from school. What's going to fill that void? Not religion, they won't let that in there. They think that some doctor can worm inside your head and make you be nice. They won't let a Powerful and Holy God do that task, because this other guy has a pH. D.

Did you know that psychiatrists have one of the highest divorce and suicide rates? I thought that if anyone should be able to overcome the difficulties of life, it would be a shrink. Guess I was wrong.

There you have it, plain and simple. A world full of people they are afraid might shoot up their precious school. They will put up metal detectors. They will post guards. They will band everything remotely related to violence.

But they cannot ban the human mind. They cannot change hearts.

God can.

So why write over 1,000 words on this? Because I see the world where you and I live in, and I get sick to my stomach. To think that the shooters could be in a near by school. That one of my friends could get hurt. That one of my friends might kill someone. That I might kill someone. I see that world, and it hurts. I found a solution that works. I said I wouldn't force anything on anyone, but if you want to know more, you know how to reach me.

Kevin Williams
Kevin@pojo.com