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Well I’m guessing this is going to be used by the NRA to say ‘told you so’
Yeah, I saw that. Seems rather convenient timing for the "arm the teachers" types.
It seems a common ploy in recent mass shootings to change the narrative away from gun legislation to blaming the first responders for any perceived mistakes.
"Active Shooter: America Under Fire" was a superb documentary series - seeing it from the point of view of the first responders. Not joyful entertainment, but worth watching to get more of an understanding of how hard that job is.
Well I’m guessing this is going to be used by the NRA to say ‘told you so’
Finally! A single story involving a shooter being stopped. Praise be!
Against a background of what, 200 per year of shooters not being stopped?
They're never going to accept gun control. Never.
So having armed teachers is probably the answer for good or bad. increasing the numbers of armed security is probably not a good thing with these guys being on minimum wage and maybe more prone to attracting the wrong sort when you're offering little money as they do, so at least the teachers are pretty well paid, plus are there for the job and probably love their students. So having teacher packing heat is the lesser of two evils.
That said, teachers are under a lot of pressure, and pressure can make people lose the heid so to speak. So an armed teacher could go off the rails and gun down their class. Less likely,but still possible.
This was an interesting vid. Obviously most of us are accepting that the US has this 2nd amendment thing, but other than hearing it quoted so often, we still dont know that the gist of it really is. So I found this point quite informative.
Satire really cuts through sometimes…
https://twitter.com/mcsweeneys/status/1534559626196406275?s=21
But it avoids the uncomfortable truth that restricting access to stupidly powerful weaponry might have helped more than redneck deputies kicking a door in.
I read a heartbreaking piece about two of the kids who were shot. The wounds inflicted by those rifles were so severe, ID’s had to be confirmed using DNA analysis! 😢
Here’s the piece about one of the children who was shot, and the injuries caused:
The McConaugheys also spoke with cosmetologists who specialize in mortuary makeup who dealt with the bodies of the students and teachers in Uvalde.
The fact that Maite was identified mainly by her sneakers and other students by DNA tests is because of the sheer violence inflicted by the AR-15-style rifle used in the mass shooting.
McConaughey said, "They needed extensive restoration. Why? Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an AR-15 rifle. Most of the bodies so mutilated that only DNA test[s] and green Converse could identify 'em."
As prior reports have stated, the AR-15 rifle was a weapon designed for war and to inflict maximum damage.
This fella talks a lot of sense, in a way that might just get through to a few who wouldn't listen to the same POV if it was a politician saying it.
They’re never going to accept gun control. Never.
...
So having teacher packing heat is the lesser of two evils.
Is it though?
I read somewhere a while back that the accuracy rate of trained armed responders in a live shootout scenario is (IIRC) something like 18%.
You might want to read that again. That's trained professional shooters, not Mr Jeffries in Geography. I appreciate that I may be missing something fundamental here but I'm not immediately seeing how more off-target bullets is going to improve the situation.
Call me Mr Crazypants but, have they considered locking the doors? Take "... with a gun" out of the equation for a moment, what's a complete stranger doing wandering around a school unchallenged? Why can he just walk into a classroom?
How many teachers would want to carry guns? It rather goes against the ethos does it not?
Cougar, Mr Jeffries in Geography spends an hour a year at the gun range and has a pair of camouflage trousers - so it's ok, he is trained.
How many teachers would want to carry guns? It rather goes against the ethos does it not?
Well, this is America, so the answer might be "a surprisingly large amount".
I appreciate that I may be missing something fundamental here but I’m not immediately seeing how more off-target bullets is going to improve the situation.
Dont you watch the movies? The good guys never miss.
The reports from WWII etc about accuracy and also willingness of many people even whilst getting shot at to shoot people doesnt give faith in the lets arm all good guys approach.
what’s a complete stranger doing wandering around a school unchallenged? Why can he just walk into a classroom?
It has been suggested that schools get basically turned into prisons with single entry/exits with armed guards.
You would need a perimeter fence in many cases eg my secondary school had several different blocks with kids constantly going between them so you couldnt just lock the doors but would have to wrap it all in a secure area.
You would need a perimeter fence in many cases eg my secondary school had several different blocks with kids constantly going between them so you couldnt just lock the doors but would have to wrap it all in a secure area.
There is quite a large delta between the concept of a school where anybody with a machine-gun can walk about freely and a prison.
Schools (at least in Scotland) have been secure for the best part of 20 years - using either RFID passes like most offices or numeric keypads.
Cheap, easy and effective to implement. But let's be honest, the yanks won't do logical when it comes to shooting children. They are after all an acceptable price to pay for the rednecks to keep their toys.
Every school my kids have been at, or that I've visited, here in the UK, has had a perimeter fence and supervised entry and exit points. None were perfect, but as we don't have easy access to automatic weapons, it's not such an issue
Minus the armed guards that doesn't sound any different to a school in the UK (or at least Scotland).
EDIT: beaten to it, several times.
So having teacher packing heat is the lesser of two evils.
All well and good when you're picturing some NQT that goes to the gym several times a week and plays call of duty.
Less useful when it's a 63yr old teaching Home Economics through glasses made from milk bottles.
Some dark satire here interviewing NRA Convention attendees in Texas shortly afterwards:
Every school my kids have been at, or that I’ve visited, here in the UK, has had a perimeter fence and supervised entry and exit points.
Only a small minority of the ones I have worked in have had this.
Less useful when it’s a 63yr old teaching Home Economics through glasses made from milk bottles.
Yep, and likely they would kill some of the kids in the crossfire, panic. As we know though the likes of Ted Cruz tells us it is the violent criminals and mentally ill that are the problem. Nobody seems to ask what they are doing about that though do they and how about strict gun controls while you sort out the root cause?
There was a statement went viral on the internet in the days following the Texas tragedy quite specifically aimed at the Republican gun nuts who are anxious to ban abortion and crush women's rights while also saying that it's impossible to control guns and that gun rights are sacrosanct.
“How about we treat every young man who wants to buy a gun like every woman who wants to get an abortion:
1. Mandatory 48-hour waiting period, parental permission, a note from his doctor proving he understands what he’s about to do, a video he has to watch about the effects of gun violence…
2. Close down all but one gun shop in every state and make him travel hundreds of miles, take time off work, stay overnight in a strange town to get a gun.
3. Make him walk through a gauntlet of people holding photos of loved ones who were shot to death, people who call him a murderer and beg him not to buy a gun.”
That video p7. Wow brilliant but terrifying!
There was a statement went viral on the internet in the days following the Texas tragedy quite specifically aimed at the Republican gun nuts who are anxious to ban abortion and crush women’s rights while also saying that it’s impossible to control guns and that gun rights are sacrosanct.
I always found the pro-life, pro-gun types to be a bit of a dichotomy. Like, what, you're worried you're going to run out of targets?