James Glassman

While some argue that recent incidents of school violence represent an increase in youth brutality and crime, others maintain that such occurrences are isolated and infrequent. In the following viewpoint, James Glassman maintains that school shootings fail to reflect a growing trend of juvenile violence, and that statistics instead have shown a substantial decrease in youth crime. Glassman is a columnist for the Washington Post.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What does the author mean by “a sense of proportion”?
2. What are two reasons the author gives for the substantial press coverage violent incidents receive from the media?
3. How does the author define a “social synecdoche”"

In May 1998, a skinny 15-year-old whose self-described hobbies included “sugared cereal [and] throwing rocks at cars,” fired 51 shots into a...