Assorted thoughts on a few subjects....

First, thanks for all the responses on the columns of the last two weeks.

I was surprised by the amount of responses on the Columbine massacre. I received e-mails on that column that entire week, with obviously well thought out responses. I do have to say that some of the responses from high school students who could understand the pain that these marginalized students felt were chilling to read.

I'll repeat my messages to parents from that column again (in short). TALK to your children. LISTEN to your children. Don't solely blame mysterious outside forces because it's easier, but take responsibility for your children yourself. Insist that your school district, whatever the cost, employs qualified mental health professionals to deal with students with serious needs. If you don't want another Columbine massacre in your OWN backyard, these are the steps you (and all of us) will have to take.

Then there were the responses from some parents on the Rick Rude column, dealing with Rude's death and GHB use within the business. I had one mother tell me she was becoming afraid to let her child watch live wrestling TV or PPVs...not for the usual reasons, but because she also saw someone dying live on the air in the near future. She didn't know how she'd explain that to her children.

I know people from at least WCW and ECW read this column regularly, so let me suggest they pass on the following thought to their bosses:

Eric, Vince, and Paul, how would YOU explain it to her child?

Second...in other news, WCW is making another one of its brilliant personnel moves yet again. According to comments made on their folder on 1wrestlingtalk.com, Colin Bowman and Patty Therre will soon no longer be Editor-in-chief/Publisher and Executive Editor of WCW Magazine. Reasons were not given for the move.

I can tell you Colin Bowman, while being a very real person, is a class act personally. I can certainly tell you he's gone well out of his way to be kind and helpful to myself, my younger brother, and Kathy Fitzpatrick, NWA office staffperson and former writer for this site on numerous occasions. I've no doubt there are many others I don't know about for whom he's done the same kinds of things.

Colin is a very real person, though. There are Colin's legendary road stories; a few of which I've only gotten to hear secondhand. Even heard secondhand they're a riot. Colin, you're welcome to contribute them anytime you'd like, and come up to Philly on your Harley for a beer...or two...or three...or....well, more. On us.

Finally...the wonderful world of idiots who like to hack websites.

This past week saw the "hacking" of the ecwwrestling.com and 1wrestling.com sites run by RDR Online Services, hacked into by a group listing itself as "Hacking for Drunks". How cute.

I don't have to agree with a lot of what Bob Ryder and Dave Scherer say editorially. Regular readers of AS I SEE IT know I often don't. They know there are other justifiable reasons for less than charitable feelings between myself and others on this site toward Ryder and Scherer. They further know the justifiable reasons for less than charitable feelings between myself and many others on PWBTS toward Paul Heyman.

But what these hackers, these idiots, are doing goes well beyond personal feelings of myself or others on PWBTS toward Ryder, Scherer, or Heyman. Hacking is nothing more than deliberate disruption and/or destruction of websites (which are personal and/or corporate property, by the way) just to show it can be done.

Whether or not such actions are done to someone I personally agree with or like or not, this hacking is wrong. It's also illegal.

Bob Ryder has indicated that he has provided what information he's been able to obtain on the identities of the hackers to Federal law enforcement authorities. Here's hoping these hackers sit in jail for awhile; or at least get a probation that takes their cyber-toys away from them until they learn to temper their technical skills with some degree of responsibility and respect for the law.

Until next time....

If you have comments or questions, I can be reached by e-mail at bobmagee1@hotmail.com