04-19-2007, 10:07 AM
A slight change of direction. My opinion on gun control was stated by others. But on the topic of "Preventing School Shootings".
I agree with you Jack, not much has changed since Columbine. Since 9/11. We're all supposed to be "more aware" and apparently living in fear is the "plan". But why not be a bit more proactive. I think the school saying that it's really like a small city, trying to excuse themselves from being able to do much, is pretty lazy.
I agree, a single, motivated crazy person cannot be stopped. Couldn't we at least mitigate the damage without spending much? We have all gotten used to doing fire alarm drills, why not a "crazy guy loose on campus" drill? They have a fire system, they have PAs, they have air raid sirens! Couldn't we use a combination of those things, and tell people that when they hear whatever that is, stay the hell where you are, lock your doors. Opposite of a fire drill, that's it. Send out an email, have a drill now and then, no big deal. Now the crazy guy will still be able to kill someone, but maybe not quite so many people.
Go one step further? How about a short self defense class as part of a PE program? This should be done in high school and/or college, hell, PE is already a requirement. Basic self defense. A lot of women do something similar to avoid getting raped, why shouldn't we all? How to act when this or that is happening. Go practice putting out a fire. How you should act when you hear gunshots. How to disarm a guy with a pointy stick. Freaking rush a guy when he's reloading! Basically how to overcome fear to get something done before it gets worse. It's all common sense stuff if you have time to think about it, but if you don't practice it, you freeze when it actually happens. Low cost, high returns. There's no reason why most of us should go running and screaming when something goes down, hoping that the cops or Kaan shows up.
I agree with you Jack, not much has changed since Columbine. Since 9/11. We're all supposed to be "more aware" and apparently living in fear is the "plan". But why not be a bit more proactive. I think the school saying that it's really like a small city, trying to excuse themselves from being able to do much, is pretty lazy.
I agree, a single, motivated crazy person cannot be stopped. Couldn't we at least mitigate the damage without spending much? We have all gotten used to doing fire alarm drills, why not a "crazy guy loose on campus" drill? They have a fire system, they have PAs, they have air raid sirens! Couldn't we use a combination of those things, and tell people that when they hear whatever that is, stay the hell where you are, lock your doors. Opposite of a fire drill, that's it. Send out an email, have a drill now and then, no big deal. Now the crazy guy will still be able to kill someone, but maybe not quite so many people.
Go one step further? How about a short self defense class as part of a PE program? This should be done in high school and/or college, hell, PE is already a requirement. Basic self defense. A lot of women do something similar to avoid getting raped, why shouldn't we all? How to act when this or that is happening. Go practice putting out a fire. How you should act when you hear gunshots. How to disarm a guy with a pointy stick. Freaking rush a guy when he's reloading! Basically how to overcome fear to get something done before it gets worse. It's all common sense stuff if you have time to think about it, but if you don't practice it, you freeze when it actually happens. Low cost, high returns. There's no reason why most of us should go running and screaming when something goes down, hoping that the cops or Kaan shows up.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a van is a good guy with a van