Since the Parkland Shooting, there has been an ABUNDANCE of debate circulating the topic of gun control. I have heard arguments ALL over the place ranging from ones involving abortion to GMOS. The one that gets me the most is one that I personally believe to be the most dangerous of all:

"If he hadn't had been bullied, he wouldn't have shot up the school."

This makes me shake to my very core. This argument makes the claim that if everyone were nice to one another and bullying didn't exist, we wouldn't have a mass shooter problem.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

I will be the first to agree that bullying has numerous side effects that can lead to horrific things such as self harm, broken confidence, suicide, and more. But at the end of the day YOU are the reason you are where you are. YOU are the reason for each and every one of your actions.

To reiterate: bullying can contribute to a personality filled with hatred, rage, and the feeling for revenge. But it is NOT the ultimate reason a shooter decides to pull the trigger. The shooter decides to pull the trigger because of his or her own thoughts and mind. They are the reason mass shootings happen. Not the guns, not the bullies. The mass shooters themselves are the only ones to blame.

The people who will try and dispute that and say that "Oh no, so and so made me do this" and "I did this because so and so wanted me to" and "I can't do this because I had x, y, and z happen to me" are the ones who this article is directed to. Stop making excuses.

You are going down a dangerous road when you say that bullying causes mass shootings. The whole "walk up not out" movement is the epitome of this belief. To argue that the murderer who brutally slaughtered 17 students in cold blood is the result of a faulty system who allowed him to be bullied is absolutely absurd and I, for one, will not stand it.

Let's humor this idea for a minute and say that it is the direct fault of the bullies that Cruz shot up the school. (It's not, but let's just humor it) Even if it WERE the bullies' fault, they get to go on living their lives. Cruz is going to die from the death penalty. The bullies are going to move on with their daily tasks. Cruz will go down in history as one of the most hated men.

What kind of a defense is that? That you can do whatever it is you please as long as someone "makes you do it."

Responsibility and accountability are two things that this generation are greatly lacking. There are actions for consequences and many do not understand this concept. You can't always control what happens to you, but you sure as hell can control how you react to it.

The world owes you absolutely nothing. Your friends, classmates, peers, companions... they all owe you absolutely nothing. You are not entitled to anything under earth's blue skies.

From someone who endured her fair share of bullying in life, I can personally say that life is 99% of how you react to it. We are raising a generation of people who are used to coming up with EVERY excuse in the book as to why they are the way they are. They refuse to acknowledge the fact that they, themselves, are the reason they are the way they are.

We are raising a generation of people who feel entitled to right any wrongs that happen to them in any way they see fit, and THAT is why we have school shootings. NOT because of bullying and other tragic events that may happen to us in this lifetime.

Don't believe me? Still think it was bullying? The Virginia Tech shooter killed 33 students because girls didn't want to go on a date with him. He felt ENTITLED to have a date with a girl and because he didn't get what he wanted, he brutally killed 33 students.

The Columbine shooters were mad they "were left out of so many fun things." They felt ENTITLED to go to these events and when they didn't get their way, they plotted for a year to commit the biggest mass murder spree in history.

The Pulse nightclub shooter felt as though he had the RIGHT to murder same sex individuals because he didn't believe in homosexuality.

The Sandy Hook shooter's motive is unknown, but it is suspected the opened fire on innocent children because he was an "outcast."

See a trend? Each and every mass murderer took out their rage on innocent people because they felt as though they were entitled to do what they wanted. We are raising a generation of individuals who feel as though they can do whatever they please and they can right any wrong done unto them. It needs to stop.

The "Walk Up Not Out" movement means well. People who think bullying causes mass shootings mean well. But this is a dangerous idea that will lead us down an even more dangerous road. If we continue to give these shooters a pass because they have endured hardships and bullying, we are teaching people that it's okay to fix whatever has been done to you in whatever way you please. That it's okay to commit a mass shooting as long as you've been bullied. That it's not REALLY the shooter's fault, it's the bullies'.

It's a dangerous idea and I will not remain silent about it.