Recently I attended my 50th high school reunion. (Yes, I know, I’m old.) I attended two of my high schools reunions. One here in Omaha in person and one in Columbus Ohio virtually via Facebook

You see, I moved to Omaha my junior year of high school. Being the new kid Junior year is not easy. All the cliques had been formed, and as a short heavy-set student who played third chair trumpet in the marching band, I was not one of the cool kids.

I remember adults telling me that high school would be the best years of my life. Thank God they were wrong.

I thought about that as I read about the shooting at Northwest High School. Fourteen-year-old Ramon Jefferson is accused of shooting 15-year-old Jamorion Fant in the school hallway.

Ramon’s mother has said that her child was bullied in school. I can relate. I too was bullied in high school. I was bullied in two different high schools in two different states.

I wondered if I had easy access to guns if I would have shot a tormentor. Or if my bullies had access to guns, would they have shot me?

In hindsight, I realize that I had some real anger issues as a kid growing up. As an adult, I’ve learned to control them, but as a young adolescent male, I didn’t know how. I got into numerous schoolyard fights. I got my ass handed to me plenty of times.

The teenage years are tough.

All I know about this situation is what I’ve seen in the press. I don’t know the alleged shooter or his victim. But I feel sorry for them both.

While the victims of bullies will deal with emotional scars, the bullies themselves have their problems that they need to deal with. What kind of low self-esteem issues must they have to torment another student mercilessly? How does tearing someone else down like that make them feel better about themselves?

I also feel sorry for the teachers and the administrators that have to work to keep peace in the classroom. It’s got to be tough and frustrating for the adults who spend so much time with these students to get them to keep the peace.

I wonder if I had easy access to a gun would I have tried to shoot my bullies? I’d like to say I wouldn’t, but if the truth be told there were times when I’d be sitting in class, and I’d fantasize about it. I very well might have been in the same situation Ramon Jefferson found himself in. As they say… “There but for the grace of God go I.”

I could go to the usual platitudes and blame social media, video games, music, movies, or any of the other societal factors that might come into play that can influence a young adult. But every other kid in the school is subject to those same influences and they didn’t shoot anyone.

I believe it boils down to education, counseling, and better mental health options. It boils down to teaching respect for others. To live and let live.

We’re not going to get rid of all the guns, but we need to stop glamorizing them and do a better job teaching gun safety. Educate kids at an early age that violence is never the solution to a problem even if that’s what they see on TV, in the movies, or on the streets.

I wish for a speedy recovery for Jamorion Fant both mentally and physically. I pray that the punishment that Ramon Jefferson gets is not only fair but enables him to turn his life around as an adult. He deserves a shot at life.

I tend to try to look forward rather than backward, but this summer as my reunions were being held, I couldn’t help but think of the times I found myself in a similar situation as what transpired at Northwest High School. I’m so glad those days have passed.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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