tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post5616790464053373668..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: Bang Bang Crazy, Part 13: Stand and TeachJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-67328491627268507712023-04-23T21:14:25.230-05:002023-04-23T21:14:25.230-05:00I worked 7 years in an inner city school. I was hi...I worked 7 years in an inner city school. I was hit in the head with a chair. I've had things thrown at me. I've been threatened. All this was from elementary school students. It NEVER occurred to me to carry a gun. I wouldn't go back in a classroom now for love or money. No not even a gun would change my mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-35241051036821160752023-03-31T23:18:29.581-05:002023-03-31T23:18:29.581-05:00It's all band-aids for a broken bone. Because ...It's all band-aids for a broken bone. Because the majority of people don't understand the problem, the issues, they only know the surface reflection, and they don't want to hear from someone with more knowledge because that is too much work, and will disturb their nice comfortable worldview.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-38786856683063907972023-03-30T16:06:12.984-05:002023-03-30T16:06:12.984-05:00In re-reading this after Nashville I'm struck ...In re-reading this after Nashville I'm struck by all of those experts challenging Jim who don't even seem to consider if teachers want to be armed. I would predict a mass exodus of people leaving education if we're expected to go to firearms training/how to shoot an armed intruder training. As if the usual expectations weren't more than enough. My last second of work will be when we're expected to be armed or if even anyone else in the school is armed. I'll quit. I often think of what Hawkeye said in M*A*S*H:<br /><br />I'll carry your books, I'll carry a torch, I'll carry a tune, I'll carry on, carry over, carry forward, Cary Grant, cash-and-carry, carry me back to Old Virginie, I'll even 'hari-kari' if you show me how, but I will not carry a gun.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-16871240262043431122023-03-30T13:03:37.519-05:002023-03-30T13:03:37.519-05:00I was a corpsman in the Navy. I never handled a we...I was a corpsman in the Navy. I never handled a weapon that wasn't filled with lead. How does a myself school teacher use the restroom in a stall designed for middle school kids. Where does the rifle on the sling go? How would I reach down to pull my trousers and skivvies down? Do I hand the rifle on a hook on the door. If I don't have a sling but just a strap for my rifle so I rotate the rifle on the strap so it's on my back. I'm assuming the barrel goes up, not down into the potty chair. If, while reporting the rifle to use the restroom, I accidently discharge the weapon, because I've accidentally shot a truck before while I was sitting in the cab, and I responsible for the damage or is this just an oppsie? So many questions.<br />When I read addendum #2 I think I'd rather be chasing a ball in an open space somewhere. I'm not above running around in the woods, but when I have been it's in search of am abandoned Playboy. Just don't tell that lady pay to the Concerned Citizens in Meridian, Idaho. They'll want to ban woods because that's where the groomers and perverts live. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-32120276815322015462023-03-30T12:19:22.458-05:002023-03-30T12:19:22.458-05:00It is clear, that all the questions you have posed...It is clear, that all the questions you have posed, and the supporting rationale based upon your expertise and experience, must be given to CONGRESS to read, evaluate, and if necessary, bring you into the conversations. The people in CONGRESS, or any pundit, are NOT capable of thinking the way you are. Their motivations are not to solve the underlying problems, but to keep us chained to an ideology that serves only them, and the self serving people that want to make sure that they won’t be inconvenienced from their cruelty and hatred.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-70005571373601076492022-05-27T09:37:26.314-05:002022-05-27T09:37:26.314-05:00Reading this again years later. It's sad that ...Reading this again years later. It's sad that this has aged well and is still highly relevant today. Thank you for your words and articulation into something that's just unfathomable to me as a teacher. The call to arms for teachers is rising again. These words are the ones that should tamper it down. Reason and logic should prevail. But sadly, we've lost so much ground in that arena.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-7157774962222972332018-08-23T17:19:23.856-05:002018-08-23T17:19:23.856-05:00I had to return to this post and get the link to a...I had to return to this post and get the link to add to discussions of Betsy Devos's latest proposal to use funds previously allocated for mental health issues to buy guns for teachers.<br /><br />Everything you said would happen did, and not only is the NRA pushing like mad for arming teachers... idiots want to use tax dollars to do it. Tax dollars. TO PURCHASE PRIVATE FIREARMS. For school teachers. The NRA is creaming its collective panties.<br /><br />Please, keep writing. I'm supporting you to the extent of my financial ability. We desperately need your voice for a hundred reasons, one of which is the way you can counter the vague "militaristic rah rah" bullshit of people who post on Twitter in favor of guns-as-panacea because they fetishize the military and think these sorts of tweets make them sound manly. I respect the service of the military... but military *wannabes* like the ones approving of guns in schools are dangerous morons whose "admiration" is an insult to the dignity of those who in fact do the job. The dignity of the military so well displayed by, for instance, the Khan family represents the best of the human spirit... in contrast to the worst, a President who boasts he's "better at military" than anyone actually IN the military.<br /><br />Off to nudge up my Patreon contribution. You're important.MrsChaos Manorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09133347357749122010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-56076399627324281742018-06-02T13:14:47.449-05:002018-06-02T13:14:47.449-05:00I've taken to sharing this under posts about a...I've taken to sharing this under posts about arming teachers or school districts whose boards decide that every day should be 'Take Your Gun To Work' day. <br /><br />What I hope is that people will read it and understand the very real issues that must be resolved before arming teachers with water pistols, never mind firearms.<br />Juliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11903520021007690557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-34164084216536495382018-05-02T17:40:59.662-05:002018-05-02T17:40:59.662-05:00Spot on brother. Keep up the good work... hopeful...Spot on brother. Keep up the good work... hopefully the people that *need* to read your stuff will. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10268542468578381144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-34130620501502453692018-04-14T21:27:57.247-05:002018-04-14T21:27:57.247-05:00Thank you. You bring up so many good points, some ...Thank you. You bring up so many good points, some of which I had thought of but so many more that I had not - I mean, who vets the vetters of instruction? Quis custodiet ipsos custodes. Thank you for your well thought out, reasoned and experienced comments. I would love for this to be the last you write in the 'Bang Bang Sanity' series, but I feel that is a forlorn hope. Thank you.BRYCE O PLATThttp://dogbreath.biznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-81934985550278598802018-04-12T14:04:40.739-05:002018-04-12T14:04:40.739-05:00I am saddened by how frequently you are right. I&...I am saddened by how frequently you are right. I'm sure you've seen this already. <br />I haven't fact checked it yet but the story is from the Miami Herald (Don't know if they are reliable)<br />https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/parkland-teacher-volunteered-carry-gun-school-leaves-loaded-weapon-public-restroom/ <br />HRHSofyaEQ...Thank you for doing what you do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-3123928577425254682018-04-11T12:27:20.927-05:002018-04-11T12:27:20.927-05:00Too many times in my life I've said one thing ...Too many times in my life I've said one thing to someone and they've immediately come back and said that I said something different. They almost always double down and INSIST that what I said is not actually what I said, but that I said something else. I find this behavior most commonly among conservatives (usually the most hidebound ones) but occasionally find it among progressives and liberals (and libertarians).Rebel Libhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14856052894035989473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-64268839748564486372018-04-03T14:12:46.015-05:002018-04-03T14:12:46.015-05:00Just as an aside, that could perhaps be added as a...Just as an aside, that could perhaps be added as an edit under the discussion about the Maryland school shooter. It has now been determined that the school resource officer did not shoot and kill the aggressor. The shooter took his own life:<br />https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2018-03-26/sheriff-maryland-school-shooter-took-his-own-lifeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-71463757194092640282018-04-01T23:03:27.590-05:002018-04-01T23:03:27.590-05:00Why is it that morons with no clue about their fa...Why is it that morons with no clue about their fantasy solutions are always the first to start things they know absolutely nothing about. The first step in applying their amazingly stupid solution is the one that kills it. Why do they think teachers will willingly walk into classroom while armed. I spent 28 years in high school classrooms and the first time someone had told me to walk into my room carrying. is the day they would have had my resignation. In my opinion any teacher that would be willing do so should not even be in a classroom.<br />Also the ignorance displayed in the replys shows that these morons are simply giving copycat answers from talking points and have no actual knowledge. School resource officers are not teachers, they are trained police officers. we have them in my county and they are supplied by either city police dept or the sheriff's officejohn fowlernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-79698093697770423482018-03-31T00:55:59.321-05:002018-03-31T00:55:59.321-05:00@Hugh Wallace
You might be thinking of this piece...@Hugh Wallace<br /><br />You might be thinking of this piece from ABC News.<br /><br />https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8QjZY3WiO9s<br /><br />https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rLN6_s66wTg<br />Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00615241119955671008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-81698546797675429942018-03-31T00:48:57.917-05:002018-03-31T00:48:57.917-05:00Indeed. I had quite a few troubled kids walk thro...Indeed. I had quite a few troubled kids walk through my doors. A few of them are in jail now. I still remember their names...though some of them are adults now, I still remember them as 10 year old boys and the knowledge that I could not save them from their fate will forever haunt me.<br /><br />I cannot conceive of shooting any of them. Ending their life would end my own, because I could never live with myself.Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00615241119955671008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-86214744038176578512018-03-30T22:52:13.869-05:002018-03-30T22:52:13.869-05:00You put a lot of careful thought into this, thank ...You put a lot of careful thought into this, thank you.<br /><br />I am a former teacher. The thought of arming teachers horrifies me. Good teachers are ones that bond with their students, even the “difficult” ones. Especially the difficult ones, because any monkey with a textbook can “teach” bright, motivated, eager kids. They want to learn, and they’ll do so no matter what you do. The worst teacher in the school gets the AP classes. The best teacher in the school gets the Special Ed kids and the Troublemakers, because THAT teacher has the ability to build relationships, and teach, the kids no one else can.<br /><br />If you put a gun in that person’s hand and force them to shoot a child...probably on of their own kids...you might as well chamber one extra round for them to fire into their own skull. They’ll never be able to live with the psychological trauma.<br /><br />Another factor people need to consider (and one I wish could be explained in a way that those who have never experienced it could understand) is that “Common Sense” goes right out the window when the adrenaline kicks in. Threat Assessment disappears. Safety, Peripherial Vision, Rational Thought....they all disappear. You cannot think. Your frontal lobe shuts down. You become a threatened animal. With a deadly weapon.<br /><br />You can be trained out of that, but it takes considerable effort. The older you are, the harder it is to break that reaction. You spend a lot of time puking or shaking (adrenaline reaction is NOT fun). And as you pointed out, it’s a “use it or lose it” ability. Unless you keep high-stress training, that reaction will return. No teacher has the time for that, and no school district is going to pay for it when they realize how much that kind of ongoing training will cost. It’s not cheap.Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00615241119955671008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-78935682277308993982018-03-30T16:29:07.688-05:002018-03-30T16:29:07.688-05:00A number of years ago we had a problem in this cou...A number of years ago we had a problem in this country with shooting...and even bombings in court houses. Did the ever present armed police presence prove to be a deterrant ? .... it did not ...<br /><br /> thats why we now go through metal detectors to report for jury duty.<br /><br />Only eliminating the possible prescence of a gun in the building prevented shootings.... and deathRichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14185398986884217662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-67204482097463853302018-03-30T09:28:40.271-05:002018-03-30T09:28:40.271-05:00Jim I'd be interested in your perspective on t...Jim I'd be interested in your perspective on the recent gun control activism by the Stoneman Douglas shooting survivors, particularly people like Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg.<br /><br />I think they've got a chance to make a serious difference, they certainly seem media savvy enough to dodge a lot of the usual pitfalls you've pointed out, but as you've also said the issue is often getting to have any sort of conversation at all. Owenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00778165911280801237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-68449499681312576452018-03-29T11:04:35.872-05:002018-03-29T11:04:35.872-05:00Hey Jim, another update.
It turns out that the sc...Hey Jim, another update. <br />It turns out that the school officer in MD *didn't* kill the shooter. When confronted by the officer the student shot himself. The officer did shoot, but hit the gun, according to the NYT. Now, I doubt he was *aiming* for the hun, or the hand - so I'd personally call that a miss. <br />https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/us/maryland-school-shooting.htmlJane Lindamoodnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-22305429648660877632018-03-28T02:50:48.878-05:002018-03-28T02:50:48.878-05:00As a teacher, I can confindently say that if you a...As a teacher, I can confindently say that if you arm thousands of teachers, then the next school shooting will be by a teacher. There are some days when that one kid or that one new asst principal is getting on your very last nerve. It takes one, of the thousands, armed teacher to just lose it and create a tragedy. I remember one shop teacher who was told "fuck you," one too many times from this asshole kid and he beat the shit out of him, beat him with a pallet. He was ex-military, the perfect candidate to carry a gun. I'm glad he didnt have a gun. Deescaltion would go out the window too. Hall fights would result in drawn guns and accidental shootings. akryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08918903273685793431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-46303530767034831212018-03-27T11:52:34.326-05:002018-03-27T11:52:34.326-05:00What really gets me is this: "It’s one thing ...What really gets me is this: "It’s one thing for a cop to leave his service piece in his desk drawer when he goes to the can, it’s something else entirely when a teacher does it in a room full of kids."<br />I'm worried about the kid who takes the teacher's gun and starts playing with it - accidental shooting - or purposely tries to shoot others. You know it would happen - both scenarios. If it's not strapped to the teacher for the whole school day, this risk goes way up. Even if it is, even if the teacher is trained in this 'curriculum', they're likely not trained, say the way a cop probably is to be hypervigilant, to know how to react if someone tries to take away their gun. Again, I have no problems with the SRO or cops being on campus. I want teachers to be focused on teaching and the million other things they do to help our kids on a daily basis. I don't want them to have to worry about having to kill one of their students.Karen Schmeelk-Conehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901081198522634377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-20940318547206211752018-03-27T06:16:33.604-05:002018-03-27T06:16:33.604-05:00Since this post was written, it has been reported ...Since this post was written, it has been reported that the shooter, while hit by the sheriff, ultimately took his own life. <br /><br />http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-great-mills-shooting-update-20180326-story.htmlJoshua Alan Enslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17477478383405717179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-21640423737425086102018-03-26T20:36:06.196-05:002018-03-26T20:36:06.196-05:00This also describes perfectly the "measures a...This also describes perfectly the "measures against voter fraud".<br /><br />Huge changes to fix a small problem, the only difference here is that the "flaws" ARE likely the intended outcome of those clamoring for this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-41676773262911767442018-03-26T20:34:14.752-05:002018-03-26T20:34:14.752-05:00If anything, this entire article shows how arming ...If anything, this entire article shows how arming teachers was never a solution nor was it ever intended to be one, it was only ever meant as an excuse, as a DEFLECTION from the problem that arms some additional people as a result.<br /><br />Courtesy of the NRA.<br /><br />Of course, the gun humpers fall for it and in their attempts to "justify it", they prove how bad an idea it is by cheerfully admitting that:<br /><br />1.) The whole thing practically leads to a militarization of the teaching profession, and perhaps the schools themselves. Most poignant is when they start talking about "chain of command" and such. Sounds like a military more than a school now.<br /><br />2.) They admit that the atmosphere in the school will become one of unease and paranoia. With all the armed individuals walking about, they are most certainly correct in this. That's not a good thing at all.<br /><br />3.)The highlighting of the "armed guard" an interesting take especially when they guy who posts and LAUDS the guard gets it all wrong. The arming teachers nonsense was suggested by the gun humpers after PARKLAND and there they CASTIGATED the guard on hand said that his cowardice was REASON for arming teachers!<br /><br />Because they are expected to perform much better than guards apparently.<br /><br />Now after Maryland they have a 180 about face...without realizing that by doing so they undermine their initial reasoning for arming teachers! After all, if guards CAN do their job, why arm teachers instead of having more trained and armed guards? If they CAN'T do their jobs how can arming teachers ensure the job WILL be done?<br /><br />4.) And of course, they devolve into insults when they have nothing (which is all the time) as they always do. <br /><br />The fact is, none of them thought it through, all of them simply salivated at the thought of more macho guns around, and when they DO try to think it through, they succeeded in showing us all why arming teachers was never a solution and always an excuse to deflect from things like discussions on gun regulation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com