Sociological Analysis of the 'I Don't Like Mondays' School Shooting

This assignment analyzes the school shooting incident at Georgia State Elementary School involving Brenda Spencer, who fired shots with a gun given to her by her father. The paper discusses the controversial nature of the song 'I Don't Like Mondays,' inspired by the event, and its commentary on gun laws and school shootings in America. It explores the sociological context, Brenda Spencer's background, and the impact of the incident on public perception and gun control debates. The assignment also references related incidents and statistics, highlighting the rise in gun violence in schools. Furthermore, it examines the father-daughter relationship, easy access to guns, and the role of media in popularizing the incident. The analysis includes references to the original articles and sources used to understand the social, cultural, and legal ramifications of the school shooting.

Part A
1) the song talks about a school shooting incident at Georgia State Elementary school, where
Brenda Spencer, a 16-year-old girl fired shots with a gun given to her by her father as a
Christmas present. She ended up killing two adults and nine children.
2) she replied that she really disliked Mondays and did it to “cheer the day up” and said she
chose to “start shooting” (Sandiego Union Tribune, 2019).
3) The song became popular all over Europe except in America as they knew the inspiration
from where the sing came up. The story was too close to their home and painted a grim
picture of gun laws and school shootings. Even Brenda’s father wanted the sing to be banned
in America. The song was controversial because it talks comments on how callous the gun
laws are in America and the culture that it supports which allows a father to gift her teenage
daughter a rifle.
4) Geldof was touring in Atlanta when the incident happened. He came to know about this
incident through a Telex machine.
5) Brenda Spencer was a 16-year-old girl who lived with her father and two other siblings. Her
parents got divorced seven years before the incidence and her father won the custody of all
three children. She identified herself as a homosexual “since birth” (Sandiego Union Tribune ,
2019). She was heavily dependent on Alcohol and other drugs including marijuana. She had
an injury in the temporal lobe and was once also arrested for shooting through a window in
her school to hunt a bird and for burglary.
6) Babyface Killers: Horrifying True Stories of America’s Youngest Murderers
7)
8) The event was not unique anymore as there had been several classroom shootings. almost
ten years later, another school shooting happened in Grover Cleveland Elementary killing five
student and injuring over thirty. Reports suggest that there were 94 gun related violence in
school (Vox , 2018).
Part B
The shooting incident by a female teenager shooter is quite rare and school shootings were a rare
incident. However, gun related crimes were on the rise as the laws provided free purchase of
rifles and ammunition. The gun was gifted to Brenda by her father, who wanted her to practice
shooting with it (Madfis, 2017). She was quite interested in hunting birds and her father wanted to
encourage it. It is quite bizarre and perplexing to comprehend why a father would gift their
teenage daughter a gun out of all things. It is an oblique commentary on the American federal
systems as well as the American public who supported and still in support of gun laws.
The song was largely credited for making the incidence famous and Brenda’s family tried to ban it
in America. Brenda however, wrote to Geldof, the singer and composer of the lyric, thanking him
for making her famous. Geldof later regretted writing the song as it made Brenda famous and it
seemed like this was what she wanted throughout (Ash & Saunders, 2018).
However, gun related crimes in academic institutions are on the rise. In 2018, 55 people were
killed by in school shootings including the killer themselves (Vox , 2018). The reason behind the
shootings are still cloudy but it is clear that the lenient gun laws and easy access to ammunition is
contributing to the problem.

Reference
Vox , (2018), 2018 was by far the worst year on record for gun violence in schools, Retrieved from
https://www.vox.com/2018/12/10/18134232/gun-violence-schools-mass-shootings
Sandiego Union Tribune , (2019), 40 years ago, Brenda Spencer took lives, changed lives in a mass
shooting at a San Diego elementary school, Retrieved from
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-brenda-spencer-school-shooting-
20190129-story.html
Ash, G. E., & Saunders, J. M. (2018). From “I Don’t Like Mondays” to “Pumped Up Kicks”: Rampage
School Shootings in Young Adult Fiction and Young Adult Lives. Children's Literature in
Education, 49(1), 34-46.
Madfis, E., 2017. In search of meaning: are school rampage shootings random and senseless
violence?. The Journal of psychology, 151(1), pp.21-35.