Everywhere I go, there are shooter drills.
We've had one at our hospital. My kids have had them at school.
I'd like to say that this is a ridiculous overreaction to something that's really rare, but I can't entirely say that. Yes, it's really rare. There have been over 50 school shootings this year, which isn't very much compared with the number of schools in the country, but it's not winning the lottery rare. It's probably more common than being involved in an airplane crash.
I just find it really depressing that the country has gotten to the point where we have to do this. When I was a kid, we weren't having shooter drills. There's obviously a problem, yet we've elected a President who is potentially going to loosen the gun restrictions that most people in this country want. That's what bugs me--that the vast, vast majority of people in this country are more worried about mass shootings than they are about their second amendment rights being taken away.
I don't understand how the solution to increasing mass shootings is to teach people what to do when it happens and just accept that there's nothing we can do to stop them.
Well, a whole generation of kids had "duck and cover" drills at school in the USA, and yet we never had any bombs dropped on us.... so, I would say that the rarity or likelihood of an occurrence is not necessarily the driving force for whether or not we have drills.
ReplyDeleteProbably are more school shootings than there are fires in schools. I think it's worth doing both.
ReplyDeleteThat couldn't possibly be true.
DeleteWhy? I can't remember ever reading or hearing a news report of a fire in a school.
DeleteOh. I guess you're right. NFPA.org says US FD'S responded to an estimated avg of 5100 fires per yr in the US from 2009 to 2013.
DeleteCommon things are common. I've had fires in my home but fortunately no mass shootings :)
DeleteDrills are just a way to feel more in control instead of just being scared. It is sad and may not help in a real situation, but really not a bad way to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI could relate to webhillizzy. At least it allowed us to leave the classroom for a few minutes and break up the day. What the hell would we have done if nuclear war really broke out?
ReplyDeleteHow ironic to post this with the events in Ohio today. You are right, it is sad this is even an issue in today's world.
ReplyDeleteMy 1950s-era house has a bomb shelter. Air vented no less. (I guess they didn't care about radiation?) As Anon 6:32 said, doing something reduces feelings of vulnerability even if what you've done is damp, claustrophobic, cramped and ultimately pointless.
ReplyDeleteOK, somebody mentioned the events in Ohio. Prayers and thoughts for the injured and all the families.
ReplyDeleteLike other posters, I did "duck and cover" drills in elementary school. And when in the Midwest, we did tornado drills.
Did we REALLY need to do them? NO. (When I learned more about nuclear warfare, I decided I did NOT want to survive.)
But I understand another poster's point about feeling more in control. And you know what? When my kids were in school, I gave them the advice that I was learning from the police --Run, Hide, Attack. I may have the words wrong, but the idea is there. In other words, run from the trouble if you can. If not, hide. And if you can't hide, attack the @#$% trying to hurt you. Survival is not guaranteed, but maybe you can slow down/stop the attacker so others are not hurt.
Now that I think on it, having to do so is sad, but not all that different from my teachers talking about "Duck and Cover."
My daughter's elementary school had an active shooter incident within one block of their school two weeks ago. This happened during lunch recess when the majority of the kids were outside. They cleared all unsecured areas of this large campus within 45 seconds. I hate that they have to do this, but it worked. :/
ReplyDelete"the gun restrictions that most people in this country want"
ReplyDeleteSpeak for your own little microcosm. The fact is that you can't point at a single mass shooting where the perp wasn't already in violation of a number of gun laws. More gun laws will have no effect, except to further disarm people like me who are your FIRST line of defense against maniacs who want to shoot up the schools.
Look around your friends and colleagues. None of these people would be any more dangerous if they routinely carried a firearm on their person. Chances are some of them do already and you have no idea. disarming the rank and file population with ridiculous "gun free" zones does nothing but advertise a hunting ground for a psycho who wants to avoid return fire. Predators always avoid hard targets, and prefer the defenseless, disarmed victim.
The solution to mass shootings is to train people to defend themselves without help, and kill the perp before it becomes a mass shooting.
Whatever else, it's a fact that the majority of Americans support stricter gun control:
Deletehttp://www.cnn.com/2016/06/20/politics/cnn-gun-poll/index.html