I am still disgusted this morning - crap like this shouldn’t happen. Within each of us is a desire for something better, a new world. We really are aliens and exiles in a strange world that is godless, rudderless, aiming for the abyss. Our souls cry out for redemption, renewal, groaning for something better.
In the meantime, we are stuck with what we have. Only WE can incrementally chip away at the evil culture in which we live. Only WE can decide, each for ourselves, to treat others with kindness, patience and love. Only WE can pray, and once we’ve prayed, vote for candidates who will advocate for a return to what’s good and right and true.
Don’t be misled - laws will never re-create Eden. Despite our best efforts, our world will continue to devolve into chaos, anarchy, and death. This is nothing new - humans have been living this cycle over and over and over again for thousands of years, with different weapons, different politicians, different labels. It’s not going to stop.
So what CAN we do?
The only ultimate solution for high homicide and mass-shooting rates is a return to common-sense decency, morality and collegiality. Anything else is just a bandaid.
The force employed by the evil must, and morally may, be met with equal or greater force by the good. The Just War theory speaks to this at the nation-state level in regards to war. It can be projected to the individual, in my view. It would be insanity to remove from those good people in our world their ability to protect themselves and others.
Recognize that no test for “mental illness” is going to be the end-all solution for this. (See the attached article - very good summary.) Our law-enforcement agencies are going to want greater ability for surveillance so they can detect and deter people like Salvador Ramos. Boy if this doesn’t sound like an infringement on unreasonable search and seizure, which sounds appalling. But I think some reasonable tools that still uphold constitutional freedoms is in the wind.
While all this is working out, I am going to be mourning the ongoing death of a culture and world I grew up in. As we continue to hurtle headlong into the chaos of moral relativism, I simply have to hang on to what I know is right and true, and keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith. He is our only hope.
@Elza1, I shared your viewpoint, still do to an extent, but…it is not so simple. 1st, there could be a number of students shot by their teachers, defensively and justifiably. I say this based just on my local anecdotes and news. No adolescent gangster and psycho left behind though.
2nd, recent revelation of how many teachers themselves promote hateful ideologies or are predators. I don’t know if I agree with putting a gun in the hands of someone like this. Full transparency and accountability to parents must happen first.
I’ll go a step further… I think a lot of large cities turn a blind eye to routine violence in specific neighborhoods. They see it as mostly gang violence, even if innocent people are killed in their homes. You might occasionally hear the “self-cleaning oven” theory. It’s disgusting.
I grieve when I see a tragedy like this. It’s senseless. My prayers go out to the victim’s families. Gun-free zones allow these guys to rack up big numbers, like a game. Guns don’t kill people; people do. The sad fact is those bad guys will get guns, legally or not, if they want one. If more good guys were armed, something like this could be avoided or at least brought to a quick resolution.
In MHO, I believe the government should abolish all gun-free zones. The shooters mainly select these areas because they can inflict a lot of damage before someone can respond. They are their target areas.
The good guys are the ones hurt by the proposed gun control. The bad guys don’t give a damn; they won’t adhere to the law and will continue to cause harm when they want. I hope the lawmakers keep this in mind as the barrage of anti-gun legislation begins.
I must admit that I believe some uneducated legal gun owners don’t practice gun safety which leads to guns getting into the wrong hands. I am an advocate for required training for individuals who carry. I don’t know how to implement any program that will accomplish this without being too restrictive.
Thanks for letting me vent/rant about my thoughts.
From what I have seen and read many if not most of these pathetic people don’t plan on coming out alive. Though many chicken out on their death wish in the end and surrender.
At any rate the common denominator is that they are losers who want to be famous for accomplishing something. They think killing a lot of unarmed people somehow shows they are powerful and important. Unfortunately the news and social media obligees them by playing along with their sick deluded fantasy and making them famous. Which just leads to more and more copy cats.
Cant and won’t argue these points… today’s teachers are evangelists of hate and disinformation… but cant be fired because of --wait for it… wait for it… UNIONS.
You raise some good points and have given me something to think about.
FWIW, I have long maintained that any teachers who are authorized to be armed should remain completely anonymous. Perhaps this flies in the face of full transparency, but that’s kind of the point. If someone is pondering a massacre at my child’s school, I want them to know that someone may be shooting back; but I don’t want that someone to know who might be shooting back. Throw that uncertainty into the calculus while these ****s plot their crimes and I expect they’ll look for another target.
This might lead to some changes in the school safety realm, or perhaps this school wasn’t following current guidance. It’s hard to say, there are too many variables and I don’t want to Monday-Morning Quarterback decisions they had only seconds to make.
Those paying attention, though, know that guidance regarding school shootings changed dramatically after Columbine. Sheltering in place used to be the first course of action, now it’s the last resort. It makes me so angry to think of those children trapped in a room with this monster.
I think this is vital for both the staffs safety and the uncertainty it would create for someone considering this.
I had this conversation once with someone with experience in school security. Their preference was to have staff members who were not in constant interactions with students to be the armed response and not teachers. The reasoning being students would eventually figure out which teachers were carrying and might try to get the firearm.
And of course the whatever staff does carry would need to be exceptionally well vetted and trained.
Interesting take. If I were to go back into teaching (I did my time), I think I could carry every day without anyone finding out. I would take a few extra precautions than I do with EDC. But I absolutely agree that whoever is chosen should be well vetted and trained. My ideal situation would involve a partnership between the local schools and local law enforcement. The local police or sheriff department would be responsible for providing uniformed security as needed, vetting teachers or staff, getting them trained, and keeping them trained/certified. Each school district / department might have a slightly different solution than others.
No law changes or gun restrictions are going to stop these mentally unstable killers. Let’s get a professional law enforcement person and properly trained, vetted, and armed citizen staff at every school along with airport style security. Stop pissing away our tax dollars on nonsense and it will be easy to pay for. California has a $98 billion surplus left from Covid funding let’s start with clawing that back and not sending $40 billion to Ukraine.
There are many international heads of state calling for the U.S. to restrict firearms, as is the Pope.
We’ve heard this album before, unfortunately. Next, they will claim that anyone who opposes “common sense” gun restrictions is guilty of murdering school children (instead of, you know, the he-who-shall-not-be-named who told anyone who would listen that he was going to kill people).
These blue communities are not just turning a blind-eye to these events, they are willfully and gleefully enacting policy that promotes criminality. When you don’t hold criminals accountable they continue to be better criminals. I’d love to know how many people have died (good or bad people) because some criminal was given a break when they should have done time.
I guess the short example I posted of how these people should be treated to deny them the notoriety they crave totally fell through the cracks. However being “shot dead” is a solution that may be a deterrent to others.
Same in Oregon. Except last fall our state legislature decided to allow local jurisdictions the opportunity to make schools a little safer for the active shooter. Now schools “may prohibit if posted” — and some have.
