Matt Parrott offers a Hoosier State Update, then interviews Prof. Andy Nowicki about his new novel, The Columbine Pilgrim.
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Mr. Parrott,
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this interview with Mr. Nowicki. To be frank, I did not quite know what to expect after reading his essay on the subject of bullying, and seeing that he described himself as a “Reactionary Catholic.”
The thoughtful things being said throughout the interview reminded me of something I listened to years ago. A “far-left” commentator was talking about the shootings at Columbine, and one of the focuses of his presentation was the subject of bullying. He listed a few of the things that the shooters reportedly endured during the years before they committed their hideous crime.
For the most part, his observations were of the “liberal” kind that one would expect. However, I mention this speaker here because of something he said that really stuck with me. He stated that when he was young and in high school (that would be several decades ago), none of the bullying that those two murderers experienced would have been tolerated in the slightest by the public school. In other words, there would have been severe consequences, like getting kicked off a sports team and being suspended or expelled, for calling someone a “fagot,” for urinating on another student, for physically harassing someone, etc.
I believe it is safe to assume that that school, during the time this speaker went there, would be viewed today as being extremely “conservative,” for a host of reasons. But, as noted above, that school actually did protect “the misfits” by sending the message to all of its students that cruelty would not be tolerated.
A sincere thank you to you and Mr. Nowicki for this interview.