Denial : It starts right here. Name your topic !

Winning Isn't Everything? Our obsession with victory fuels steroid use
Dallas Morning News Editorial
07:00 PM CST on Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Denial.
That's where we seem to be – parents, coaches, school administrators, adults generally – concerning the problem of steroid use among high school students. In two recent stories, reporters Gary Jacobson and Gregg Jones talked to students from several schools who said steroids are common, while coaches and parents professed ignorance and disbelief.
So, what does denial tell us? It tells us that we've got an addiction. Not an addiction to steroids; they're just a symptom. An addiction to winning, and, in particular, winning at sports, from Little League on up.
An addict will sacrifice anything – home, family, security – to acquire the desired hit. Are we willing to sacrifice the health and even the lives of talented high school athletes (and the non-athletes who emulate them) for the exhilaration that comes with championships and college scholarships and perhaps even the dream of a pro contract?
Oh, we're not pushing the stuff on them. When did high school kids ever need adult encouragement to experiment with drugs? All we have to do is look the other way, while they willingly, even eagerly endanger their own health in pursuit of the glory that comes with being a winner.
The situation is doubly troubling, considering the time, money and energy we spend to warn kids against the dangers of alcohol and other illegal drugs. Why are we, for the most part, resoundingly silent on the dangers of steroids, which are as serious as many other substances? Could it be that we in the adult world experience a payoff from steroid use that's absent with the rest?
Fine, you say. What can I do about it?
For starters, go to www.taylorhooton.org and read the research about the liver damage, impotence and depression associated with steroid use. (The site honors Taylor Hooton, a Plano West Senior High pitcher and covert steroid user who took his own life the summer before his senior year.) Take note of the symptoms. Think carefully about whether those symptoms fit any kid you know. If so, talk to the kid and talk to the relevant authorities. Really press for answers.
Because denial is deadly.
source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/020905dnedisteroids.4c13a.html
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UIL considers testing statewide for steroids
Group says report of use may prompt schools to request intervention

03:29 PM CST on Saturday, February 5, 2005
By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News
The University Interscholastic League will consider instituting a statewide steroid-testing program, UIL athletic director Charles Breithaupt said Friday.
Past UIL surveys have indicated that schools do not want the organization involved in testing for steroids and other drugs. However, Dr. Breithaupt said, that might change with news of the Colleyville Heritage case, the first report in the state of high school athletes admitting steroid use.

"If our schools want us to step in and be the deterrent, then so be it," he said, adding that the UIL's legislative council and its medical advisory committee would study the issue. He expects steroid use to be a major point of discussion during the UIL's summer meetings.

source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spe/2005/steroids/stories/020505dnsposteroidside.939dd.html
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Bangs in uproar over 3 bodies
By Celinda Emison Reporter-News Staff Writer
October 28, 2003

......................Denial........................
" It ’s not what you expect to hear coming from around this community, "

Bangs residents expressed disbelief that such a crime could occur near their community, located 10 miles west of Brownwood.

" We talked about it in chemistry class," said Amy Fuqua, a junior at Bangs High School. "It’s very freaky. All the kids said they could not believe something like that could happen in Bangs."

" My thinking was those things happen in a big city, they just don't happen in a small town like Brownwood," said Don Greeley, an evangelist at Brady Avenue Church of Christ. " We're just a good, quiet conservative community. It's a good place to live and raise your kids. And it was just a shock."

..........................Reality..........................
Steve Harris, who owns Steves' Market Deli in downtown Brownwood, said he was not surprised by such a discovery.
" The same things happen here that happen in big towns but a large number of people are in denial," he said.
source: http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_state/article/0,1874,ABIL_7974_2381324,00.html

Things Like That Do Happen Here
The New York Times Sunday, June 7, 1998
" Live here long enough and you discover that at the heart of small-town life there is special form of communal cowardice. It's called "being neighborly," a coded phrase for enforced silence about our sins, failures and nasty secrets. This small-town omerta enshrouds all acts, from child abuse to abuse of our countryside." (and the animals !)

source: http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=25&row=1