Heartbreak and Political Hay

In regards to the recent rash of school shootings, I find it ironic that it is the last one, the one at the Amish school, that has garnered the most attention and discussion. I feel this way because the Amish are the least likely to do anything about such tragedies. They are pacificistic people, who shun modern conveniences and technology. Can you imagine being "buzzed in" to an Amish schoolhouse? Yeah, me neither. On the other hand, I think the Amish will continue to accept the consequences of living by their choices.

But of course the government must step in for the rest of us to "fix" the mess that it created in the first place. Now this is hearsay from the radio, but it seems a government representative from Wisconsin is already calling for school personnel to have access to guns. I was greatly hurt to hear Mark Schwab, filling in for the regular drive-time radio host on WTAM 1100, say that people who support this idea belong on "The Dukes of Hazzard." So much for reasoned discourse. At that point I got disgusted and turned off the radio, but thought better of it and turned it back on to hear what else was said. A caller was trying to explain to Schwab and sidekick Allison, who I don't think was hired for her brains, that there are some teachers who work as park rangers during the summer, and are more than capable of handling guns. After the caller convinced the bright lights at WTAM that teachers can indeed be compatible with other interests and professions, Schwab started on how he can't wrap his brain around the other logistics involved with such an idea. Such as where the gun(s) would be stored, who would have charge of and access to them, etc.

Well, I have one simple answer for some of this problem. Surely there are already some teachers in the public schools who have concealed carry permits. Let them start carrying their guns to school. Then, the gun will be stored: on their hips, and the persons in charge of the gun will be: themselves. Yes, there are big scary laws and scary signs about schools being "gun-free" zones. Well, that didn't scare any of the people who decided an unarmed school was a good place to start shooting their gun, did they? For that matter, most of the school shooting incidents I recall end with the shooter turning the gun on himself. So they really don't care anymore what the penalties are for bringing a gun into a sacred gun-free zone, do they?

Yes, there are other options that might bring the appearance of protection to a school. Already when my children attended parochial school several years ago, the school doors were locked and I had to be "buzzed in." There was also a camera at the school door so the school secretary could see I was an innocuous-looking mom, not a big scary guy with an M-60 slung over my shoulder. However, this will only give the appearance of protection.

For starters, my children's school did get a bomb threat called in. Following safety protocol, the school was evacuated and the children hiked through fields and back pathways to the local public high school to wait for their parents, while police searched the school. Now, I'm not suggesting they should have let the children stay in the building after a bomb threat was called in. However, the result was a long line of children accompanied by a smaller number of adults traipsing across an open field. That screams "target" to anyone sick enough to shoot school children anyway.

And yes, we can lock the children in the school building promptly at the beginning of the day. Will that completely stop anyone from getting in or out? Will the mailman and delivery people need to be issued a special pass to permit them to take their deliveries in? Or will there be a special bullet-proof room something along the lines of an airlock? UPS man gets permission to take the packages into the room. Once he leaves, the door locks again and the school secretary can enter to get the packages. Nifty. Be prepared for your local school fees to get hiked. Again.

In short, I'm disgusted with politicians trying to make a political "score" off of people's natural fear for their children. Stay out of it! I'm also disappointed in the knee-jerk responses of someone that I thought was a little bit smarter than that. Schwabie, I thought I knew ya.