And in regards to
Hippie's high school teacher shot before class: Did this happen in
Arizona? Because if it did, you must have missed the follow-up stories. The teacher shot herself to highlight the lack of security in the school. She also blamed it on a
latino male in a predominantly rich white area of Arizona. She apparently was sending threatening letters to herself for years. Beyond the question of "How the hell did someone like that get to be a teacher?", it's an interesting example of the
media causes this perception of violence. Sure, the first story is widely spread, but how many people saw the
retraction?
flamingweasel's writeup is pretty accurate as well - the War on Drugs is really a war on poor people who can't afford expensive lawyers to keep them out of jail.