Cities of Violence: Santee, California; El Cajon, California; Littleton, Colorado. These are names of American cities and towns where violence has spread deep into the American heartland, where families settle to raise their families far from the violent big cities. Andy Williams, Jason Hoffman, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold; the names of students who came to their schools with weapons to kill the students and staff they believed were responsible for their melancholy. What are the factors that motivate these suicide attempts? Society tries to convince itself that it must be Hollywood, with its violent entertainment and its glorification of violence. Another scapegoat are video games with all their bloody and realistic nature or perhaps even music whose lyrics are considered by the majority to be riddled with suicidal or homicidal messages aimed at today's youth. Politicians, parents, law enforcement, and society are asking, “What are the factors leading to increased violence among our children?” ". The most compelling causes of violence against our children lie not in the entertainment industry but in us. The main source is killers' depression due to peer rejection, breakdown of the family unit due to divorce, and easy access to weapons. According to some researchers, the main cause of violence is centuries-old traditions of bullying and cliques. system in high schools. Jerry Adler states in his 1999 article, The Truth About High School, that these are so-called "rights of passage" that all American students have also been exposed to. “These factors have existed since the invention of high school and adolescents form cliques and mentally classify them as in adult society [which is] dominated by hierarchies” (Adler 56). As in most high schools in the country, athletes dominate the social ladder and enforce the hierarchy, which explains why they are at the top of the food chain. “It is quite common to see jocks picking on the big kid, the wimp, or anyone who is different” (Adler 56). So what causes aggression and violence among lower hierarchical levels? It often involves scapegoating, in which adolescents are bullied by and in front of their peers by a higher hierarchical group, leaving them excluded and humiliated. In an online survey conducted by the San Diego Tribune, statistics show that "87 percent of students believed school shooters were motivated by a desire to get revenge on those who harmed them and 86 percent said that teenagers resorted to violence because other children were picking on them. by making fun of them or intimidating them” (Eckert 2).