AirmetTango
Forum Supporter
This article popped up in my news feed today about a tragedy that I certainly never heard about before:
America's Deadliest School Massacre
The horrific events that unfolded that day are unimaginable to anyone, but especially so from the perspective of a parent. Toward the end of the article, it mentions that the school stood and continued to be used up until the 1970's before being turned into a park. It wasn't hard to find the place on Google Earth, and a little more research showed that besides the cupola, there is also a small memorial plaque which lists the names of those who died. But the plaque doesn't specifically mention that the park is where the school stood.
Anyway, it got me to thinking, if I were just passing through that town and not familiar with the local history, I may have happily detected that park. But I wouldn't dream of it now - to me, it would be as taboo as a cemetery. It's interesting how a little historical knowledge about a location can completely change your viewpoint about it.
I guess some folks could argue that the violent deaths at the school site aren't much different than, say, a civil war battlefield. But to me, it's definitely different - maybe because it's such a major, ugly event for one small town to endure, maybe because so many children were involved, or a little of both.
What do you all think? Would you hunt that site? Or let the souls rest in peace and move on to the next site? I know I would say "rest in peace, children of Bath", then move along...
America's Deadliest School Massacre
The horrific events that unfolded that day are unimaginable to anyone, but especially so from the perspective of a parent. Toward the end of the article, it mentions that the school stood and continued to be used up until the 1970's before being turned into a park. It wasn't hard to find the place on Google Earth, and a little more research showed that besides the cupola, there is also a small memorial plaque which lists the names of those who died. But the plaque doesn't specifically mention that the park is where the school stood.
Anyway, it got me to thinking, if I were just passing through that town and not familiar with the local history, I may have happily detected that park. But I wouldn't dream of it now - to me, it would be as taboo as a cemetery. It's interesting how a little historical knowledge about a location can completely change your viewpoint about it.
I guess some folks could argue that the violent deaths at the school site aren't much different than, say, a civil war battlefield. But to me, it's definitely different - maybe because it's such a major, ugly event for one small town to endure, maybe because so many children were involved, or a little of both.
What do you all think? Would you hunt that site? Or let the souls rest in peace and move on to the next site? I know I would say "rest in peace, children of Bath", then move along...
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