Bill Clinton: “Yes. Let me say this: I really respect all of you very much to have said that this is a matter of personal…”

“Yes. Let me say this: I really respect all of you very much to have said that this is a matter of personal responsibility, family responsibility, and you don't want to blame the culture. I respect you for saying that--I don't want to blame the movies or blame the video games; what you've said and how you've talked with your mother and everything. But I think you have to recognize--let me just say, for example, when I was your age, if anything, the racism was more pronounced; the social hierarchies in the schools were dramatic, between those who were in and those who were out; people fought regularly on the school grounds, and they were vicious to each other and--but you didn't have as much gun violence. And I think it is unquestionable that more people have more access to more weapons, and more people at an earlier age can move from profound alienation and misery into using violence against others than was the case 20 or 30 years ago, because they either have--they have more opportunities and because they've been desensitized and maybe because they don't have a chance to sit down with a mother or a father the way you do every night. So the only thing I'm saying is, I think it's important not to oversimplify this. And I hate it when people blame someone else and don't take responsibility for what they did, but I don't think we can be blind to the fact that there are more opportunities and there is a greater openness to taking violent action on the part of alienated people today than there was 20 or 30 years ago. And I think the experience that these children have before, maybe-- maybe even when they're very young, before they form proper barriers in life about what's right, what's wrong, what can or can't be done, makes them quite vulnerable. Go ahead. Who was next? This young man. [A student said there might be a backlash against people who were into the Gothic culture and rock music that would be blamed for instigating the situation in Littleton. He also expressed concern that students might be suspended on the spot for angry words.]”