School Shootings, what can we do?
October 19, 2006
The increase in school shootings over the past few weeks, which oddly comes at the same time as election season, raises questions that should have been answered years ago during the Columbine shootings. How can we protect targets of school shootings?
I’ve been though the drills myself, for the most part they are complete bullshit. The drill at my high school was that you kill the lights, and hide in a corner where you couldn’t see into the classroom from the window on the door. On paper it sounds like a wonderful idea, but the problems I had with such a tactic were:
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Unless the shooter is an outsider, they will know this procedure. A student would take advantage of the situation too increase the number of kills they could get off.
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Anyone not inside a classroom, or unable to get into a classroom, would be trapped outside with no way in. He would, of course, be a prime target.
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Related to the second point, the shooter could duck and hide inside a classroom, where he would take cover with that group, and easily kill them in a sneak attack.
Of course all those fears would be debunked if the person decided to fire shots into a crowed hallway, instead of attack a single classroom and then be locked out of the others.
What is being presented now is a movement to arm teachers and teach students self-defense. Giving teachers guns is the more radical approach, but the better option that has most people support is to train students how to react to a gunman. By tossing books, book bags, and chairs at him, over powering him, and stopping him from doing damage.
Which ever way you support, the end result is the same. Preventing deaths by allowing the potential victims to take the responsibility into their own hands, not only stopping the a gunman from doing harm to the person who takes up that responsibility, but also stopping him from doing any harm to others.
At $15 a student, the price seems far worth it. But a gun in every classroom, while less cost effective (which leads to more wasted tax dollars) will perhaps turn off anyone from even trying to commit the act in the first place.
Two good articles on the topic:
