Wednesday, May 25, 2022

More safety for the schools to repel intruders

I got a driver's license in 1956 and didn't have an accident, not even a fender bender, until 2021. That same accident which left me bruised and frightened, probably would have killed me in 1956. In fact, auto fatalities are half what they were in 1956--23.7 per 100,000 to 11.67 in 2019 (2020 and 2021 were bumped up due to Covid and are outliers). Cars are half as dangerous, despite the millions of more vehicles on the road and silly teen-agers behind the wheel. Cars, roads and bridges are much, much safer--I was driving a 22 year old SUV that had airbags (my only injuries), seat belts and padded dash; the bridge had concrete barriers which kept me from drowning in the river and the woman who stopped to help had a cell phone to call for immediate help (the black ice was still as dangerous as 1956 because some things don't change). The salt truck was behind me, instead of in front, but at least others were safe.

School safety is the same way. Although the President wants to make this a political issue to satisfy his base, it should be a safety issue. The President should be comforting and consoling not ramping up hatred. He continues to belittle the police even after we've seen such bravery yesterday. Even as all the data show minorities are more likely to be the aggressor in racial crimes. Children are much safer at school than anywhere else--we learned that during Covid when hunger, mental health issues, and on-line frustration and bullying increased because of school closings. However, young men like Salvador Ramos who are mentally ill are still dangerous, just as black ice on bridges is as dangerous as 55 years ago.

Arm the teachers. Train the staff. The Robb school had a lot of safety protections, but the fence was extremely weak. I really have no idea about schools in my own community, but I intend to ask. I hope all schools and churches and other soft targets continue to recognize that they are targets for hate and evil. It's not the 1950s or 1960s.

Although social media can shut down a president, it also allows dangerous and out of control people to post their intentions. At least they should be allowed to alert authorities in the community.  And have you noticed the media is not focuses on Ramos' ethnicity?

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