"Are America's kids becoming killers?," asks a headline on Rev. Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network internet site. Drugs, the abolition of ritual prayer in the public schools, Marilyn Manson, single-parent households, working parents, gangs -- even the Jerry Springer show -- are all being cited as causal agents to explain this week's shooting deaths in a Littleton, Colorado high school. Other sensational accounts blame "Goths," a music and fashion subculture whose participants usually dress in black and enjoy the music of certain rock bands, the easy availability of guns, or a sense of widespread alienation said to exist throughout the nation's grade schools and high schools.

   "The landscape is now hauntingly familiar," insists CBN reporter Kim Ferrall, citing shootings in Kentucky, Oregon, Arkansas and elsewhere.

   But is it really a landscape filled with violence, or one of hyperbolic reaction from media, political and religious figures and a golden rolodex of self-described "experts"?

   FBI statistics show that in 1997, the number of juveniles involved in violent crimes declined by 4%. And only about 5% of youngsters are responsible for the bulk (70%) of all crimes attributed to young people. In addition, 90% of high schools and grade schools across the country did not report any violent crimes -- which can include everything from cold blooded murder to an amateurish fist fight in a locker room.

   ¶    The hyperbole is not stopping the saturation media coverage, though, of the Columbine High School slayings, nor an almost ghoulish fascination with the "Trench Coat Mafia." We continue to monitor reports from around the country where the wearing of so-called "trench coats" is being banned. Media also focuses on the innumerable "memorial services" which include prayer, homilies from religious and political leaders, and fervent appeals to "put god back in our lives."

   ¶   AMERICAN ATHEISTS condemned the "finger-pointing" taking place over the Colorado tragedy. "Tragedies such as this often cause people to reach out for immediate answers,and this often leads to scapegoating," declared an organization press release sent out today. "This was evident after the 1997 shooting in Paducah, KY, where original (later proved false) reports linked the accused with Atheism,and there were cries for school prayer and blasphemy laws... It's happening again, only this time the anger is being directed at a different group: the Gothic..."

   ¶    From Denver, Colorado State Director Margie Wait reports that the "Teen Mania Ministry" is targeting the city for an upcoming prayer warrior rally to "heal" the aftermath of the Littleton slayings. Conventions of various groups are being canceled, and local media is preempting national program feeds to focus on the seemingly endless round of church activities and religion-saturated memorial gatherings.

   ¶    While media is being criticized for the alleged violent content of many programs, shows which are often praised by the religious community and have supernatural/faith-based themes may be exhibiting a morbid fascination with the darker side of life -- an accusation hurled uncritically at youngsters. CBS has announced that it was pulling an episode of "Promised Land" because the plot involved a shooting in front of a Denver school. Network spokesman Chris Ender said that network executives made the decision following reports of the Columbine High slayings. "It seemed like the right thing to do."

   ¶    The WB network is already considering pulling an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which happens to include a fantasy about school murders. And the provocative Fox Network almost yanked a segment on "The New Faces of Hate," which focused on a youthful neo-Nazi leader in the Bible belt who happens to have a site on the internet.

   ¶    The same list of alleged villains has emerged from the Littleton episode as did in earlier incidents of school violence, especially the 1997 slayings in Paduchah, Kentucky. Early reports in that case identified the 14-year old suspect, Michael Carneal, as an Atheist who harassed a school prayer group that gathered in the lobby of Heath High School for displays of public religiosity. Attorneys for the victims' families have filed suit using the "deep pockets" theory; they allege that the movie "The Basketball Diaries," the video game "Mortal Combat" and several adult web sites supposedly motivated Carneal to open fire; a whopping $130 million in damages in being sought from major entertainment conglomerates including Time Warner, Sega, Sony, Nintendo, and Polygram Film Distribution.

   ¶    More of the same can be expected in the fallout from the Columbine High incident. "A Deluge of Lawsuits Foreseen in Littleton," was the headline on one story in today's edition of the Washington Post. "In the past, parents of the killers were sued under their homeowners policies, which typically provide only about $300,000 in civil liability coverage. But with dozens of potential claims, experts predict lawyers will search broadly for deeper pockets." One attorney mentioned gun manufactures, and an "internet angle -- where this fascination with Hitler came from."

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