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This the first article of a series I update each school year in the hope parents across America will demand their school boards and educators take the threat against our schools seriously enough to employ more than “Gun-Free School Zone” signs and feel good/do little “safety” drills.  Prior to the eternal Covid-19 pandemic and the Antifa/BLM anti-police riots, there were increasingly positive signs in this direction.  Sadly, as I reported in Defunding School Police: Feeling Safe From Reality in August of 2020, some school districts, apparently primarily in metropolitan areas, are kicking school resource officers out of their schools, a trend that, sadly, continues today.  Particularly in Democrat/Socialist/Communist ruled cities, the police don’t have enough officers to assign any to schools.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the Uvalde, TX attack is forcing a long overdue reevaluation of just what does make schools safe.  For the second article of this series, next Tuesday, I’ll analyze the three more recent attacks that should, for rational people, focus any debate on reality rather than virtue signaling: Newtown, Parkland, and Uvalde.  There are very specific lessons these attacks teach us, if we’re willing to listen—and act.

This is deeply ironic in that one of the primary arguments of leftist educrats against effective measures of protecting students and staff has been the presence of one or two school resource officers—uniformed law enforcement officers from local agencies—spread over every school in their district.  As I’ll explain in the articles that follow, they’re better than nothing, but not much.  Circa August, 2022, in those districts that continue to fashionably spit on the police, there is nothing between armed madmen and students and staff.  But at least they can wave their woke, rainbow flags over the graves of the dead, while they virtue signal about how they got guns out of their schools.

The wounding of 17 and the murder of 17 students and adults at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018 renewed the usual calls for completely ineffective, feel-good measures–particularly gun control–that only inflame passions and contribute nothing to saving lives.  So too was it after Uvalde, and as usual, they “learned” all the wrong lessons.  Usual too was the renewed attack on “assault weapons;” the killer used a legally purchased AR-15 variant.  With the advent of the Biden Meat Puppet Administration, anti liberty/gun cracktivists have redoubled their efforts.

At one time, D/S/Cs understood gun control was political suicide, but no longer.  They’ve gone all in on abolishing the Constitution and the rule of law. In June of 2022, the Supreme Court, in the Bruen decision, made even clearer the Second Amendment acknowledges the individual right to keep and bear arms, to carry them for self-defense with few “sensitive” places excepted, yet many D/S/C ruled states and cities continue to pass anti-liberty/gun laws and regulations they admit are unconstitutional.

Not long after Parkland, a May 18, 2018 attack on a medium-sized high school at Santa Fe, Texas, left 10 wounded and 13 dead.  The outcry over this attack was substantially more muted and short lived than that over the Florida shooting, no doubt at least in part because the killer survived–-neither his gender, race nor politics provided political ammunition to help the anti-liberty/gun narrative–-and used two of the most common firearms: a pump action shotgun and a .38 caliber revolver. There was no “assault weapon,” to blame, no “high capacity magazines,” and because the 17-year-old shooter took the weapons from his parents without their knowledge or permission, there was no narrative support for demands to raise the age limit for the purchase of long guns, or for “red flag” laws.

The Trump Administration successfully suppressed much terrorist activity, but under Joe Biden, the future is frightening.  Mr. Biden has not only turned Afghanistan over to terrorists, they now have an entire nation/caliphate—once again—to train and plan attacks against the “Great Satan”—America—and the “Little Satan”—Israel.  In his rush to import as many foreigners beholden to the welfare state as possible, who hopefully will vote for D/S/Cs, Biden has abandoned the usual vetting process.  We have no idea of the real identities and intentions of the hundreds of thousands of people Biden is importing, over the Americans he stranded, into America.  Surely, many of them are terrorists–we’ve identified some, belatedly, already.  Our southern border remains wide open, many terrorists have been caught at the border, but innumerable terrorists have surely gone undetected and live among us, waiting to be activated.

The FBI admitted, during the Obama Administration, to investigating active terrorist cells and plots in all 50 states. One may safely believe this has not changed, and perceiving Biden to be weak and incompetent, terrorists will be highly likely to seek out soft targets throughout America. Few targets are softer than schools.  Tragically, the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies now seem focused on Americans who did not vote for Biden—“domestic terrorists/insurrectionists/white supremacists”–than actual Islamic terrorists.

Regular readers know I’m a recently retired high school English teacher.  I know the educator mindset. Many recoil in horror at the mere thought of a firearm on school property. Some even oppose armed police officers, because the mere presence of guns, even in the hands of the police, who they also hate and fear, somehow mystically disturbs the vibrations of a pristine educational atmosphere.  As a former police officer, I know, in our divided nation, many citizens share that reflexive response. Such responses spring not from reason, but from emotion, ill-considered, non-falsifiable political philosophy, and a potentially earnest desire to “do something.” The cop in me–always just below the surface–wants to tell those people to wake up and do what works.  The educator in me realizes that providing an engaging opportunity to learn may be the only potentially effective way of changing minds and saving lives.

Sadly, where establishing actual school security is concerned, methods and means that will not only deter attacks, but end them when and where they begin, most educators will never accept anything more effective than virtue signaling unless it is forced on them by their employers: the public.  Thus, this series.

The Douglas High School Campus
credit: goolemaps

Tragically the Obama Administration set the worst possible tone by working hard to make it impossible to discipline the worst juvenile criminals infesting many schools, in effect decrying bullying, while simultaneously ensuring it will occur. This was the case at Parkland, a district run by an Obama acolyte, which continues to have an all-encompassing “restorative justice” program that prevents the punishment or removal of the most dangerous adolescents.  The Parkland shooter spent considerable time being “helped” by that program.  Robert Runcie, the Parkland Superintendent, continues to double down on failure.

The Biden Adminstration, in concert with blue states, is once again imposing those horrifically failed policies, actually encouraging violence in schools.

An essential question, the most important question, is what is any school prepared to do when all else fails and an armed attacker is about to begin shooting?  For most American schools, the “run, lock doors and hide” model is their only answer.

There is nothing inherently wrong with running from a deadly threat, doing what one can to lock classroom doors, and trying to hide, but because schools are not designed for security–for the most part, they can’t be–such measures all too often only slightly delay the inevitable.  At Parkland, some of the wounded and the dead were hit when the shooter fired through classroom doors and windows.  A shooter with the foresight to bring along a crowbar could easily, and within seconds, force open virtually any door or shatter any window.

Modern School Killer Repellent
credit: http://www.drpulse.com

Some suggestions for responding to armed school attackers have degenerated to farce, such as the Alabama middle school principal who advocated stockpiling canned food in classrooms to be issued to students, who would throw the canned fruit and vegetables at an armed maniac. One can only imagine the effectiveness of this tactic if the students functioning as little catapults are six or seven years old.  Two Pennsylvania school districts are also innovators.  One is issuing five gallon buckets of rocks–rather than canned veggies–handfuls of rocks to be distributed to kids to fend off armed attackers.  At least it would be less expensive.

Teacher Jon Cacchione, overwhelmed with enthusiasm…

Another has bypassed the kids entirely and issued itty bitty wooden bats to teachers.   I’m not kidding.  Yes–they’ve gone batty.

Post-Parkland, other brilliant solutions have included metal detectors, transparent backpacks, and “bullet proof” backpacks.  All of these methods, and more, are “feel safe, ” virtue signaling bandaids on potentially mortal wounds.  The difference between feeling safe and being safe is always measured in the bodies of wounded and dead teachers and children.

credit: opentheworld.com

Anti-liberty/gun educators and legislators are knowingly dooming some number of students and teachers to serious injury or death in any school shooting.  They are, for reasons of fear, woke political correctness, lack of knowledge, or victim/identity politics, condemning to death people who otherwise might live.  By default they tacitly accept some unknowable level of injured and dead.

At the Parkland attack, a number of coaches were designated “security” guards.  Unarmed, two hid like everyone else.  They survived, but were soon fired, apparently for not dying in vain.  Obviously, their employer expected them to die to vindicate progressive articles of faith.  One tried to confront the attacker and was killed, but at least he wasn’t fired.  He was proclaimed a hero, which is surely slight compensation for his family.  Thus do we see the consequences of purposefully denying good guys the means to stop killers.

Let’s examine the potential threat.  How significant is the contemporary threat of school shootings in America?

A partial list of American mass and school shootings from 1996 until Parkland is available at Infoplease.com.   However, one should not be fooled into thinking America is uniquely dangerous. The school shootings with by far the largest body counts have not occurred on American soil.  Statistica presents this graph:

It suggests as of May, 2022 there were 119 “shootings” in American schools in 2022. That sounds alarming, yet to that point, only one was an active shooter incident.  But what about the other 118?  Statistica notes:

The source defines a shooting as any time a gun is brandished, fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason.

Obviously, this method of documenting “school shootings” is far from accurate or even truthful.  Media accounts of any politically charged issue should be believed only after careful consideration. Much of what the media reports as “school violence” or “school shootings,” is anything but, and actual school attacks remain, thankfully, noteworthy for their rarity.

In August of 2018, even National Public Radio, a proudly progressive outlet, discovered the truth, as The Washington Examiner reports: 

 The U.S. Education Department released a study earlier this spring reporting that during the 2015-2016 school year, ‘240 schools … reported at least 1 incident involving a school-related shooting.’ [skip]

NPR decided to call each one of the schools that the Department of Education had on file as experiencing a school-related shooting. They called for months. Repeatedly. Of the nearly 240 shooting related incidents reported to the federal government, NPR was able to confirm just eleven.

Most of the ‘shootings’ just didn’t happen. In 161 cases, NPR reports, representatives from schools or school districts said nothing happened or something had happened but it didn’t actually meet the government’s definition for a shooting. This standard isn’t super technical either. Any given educational professional with a college degree should be able to grasp the government definition, which is any discharge of a weapon at a school-sponsored event.

Many of those eleven were not what anyone would consider a mass shooting at a school.  Some were merely someone reportedly firing a gun near a school, or on a playground after school hours, and many weren’t remotely confirmed. Dr. John R. Lott debunked a media-hyped report claiming 31% of the world’s mass shootings have occurred in America.  The Washington Examiner reports:

An authoritative fact check of a media-hyped report that 31 percent of the world’s mass shootings have occurred in the United States has found that just 1.43 of the killings happened in America.” [skip]

‘Attacks in the U.S. are not only less frequent than other countries, they are also much less deadly on average,’ said the Center’s President John R. Lott Jr.

The original claim came from a study by the University of Alabama’s Adam Lankford.

Lankford’s study reported that from 1966 to 2012, there were 90 public mass shooters in the United States and 202 in the rest of world. We find that Lankford’s data represent a gross undercount of foreign attacks. Our list contains 1,448 attacks and at least 3,081 shooters outside the United States over just the last 15 years of the period that Lankford examined. We find at least fifteen times more mass public shooters than Lankford in less than a third the number of years,’ wrote Lott.

And his report included endorsements. Paul Rubin, an economics professor at Emory University, said, ‘Because of faulty research, it is widely believed that a disproportionate share – 31 percent – of the world’s mass public shooters occurred in the United States. In fact, John Lott’s careful analysis of a very large data set – 437 – pages – shows that the proper number is about 2 percent, less than the U.S. share of world population. One can only hope that this important research will correct the record.’

And he included the backing of College of William & Mary Professor Carl Moody, who said, ‘The assertion that the U.S. is responsible for 31 percent of worldwide mass shooters is patently absurd.

Lott’s characteristically careful analysis represents the triumph of fact over political propaganda.  Prof. Lankford has refused to comment on Lott’s analysis.  Lott’s abstract and entire report are here.  

It would also be worth your time, should you think America is uniquely dangerous, being filled with gun nuts and all, to visit this classic video by Bill Whittle.  

 Final Thoughts:

Mark Twain said: “There are lies, damned lies and statistics.”  What can be reasonably taken from accurate, non-politicized evidence is kids are–statistically–quite safe in schools.  This is unsurprising.  Schools generally take pains to ensure the safety of the children entrusted to them.  They are, for the most part, continually and closely supervised by people who care not only about their intellectual growth, but their physical safety–except where active shooters are concerned.

School attacks remain, thankfully, rare, however, most schools in America are using only passive, “feel good/feel safe” methods to give the appearance of safety.  Such methods do nothing to deter shooters, and they do less than nothing to stop them when deterrence fails, as it must with appearance-seeking, rather than substantive, methods.  

Unfortunately, there is, for most schools, nothing to prevent, or stop, armed attacks.

There is an ancient Chinese curse: “may you live in interesting times.”  We live in interesting times indeed.  Domestic killers have always been with us as the residents of Sante Fe, Texas, Parkland, Florida, Newtown, Connecticut and Uvalde, Texas know as fact rather than remote possibility.  The undeniable fact, statistically speaking, school children may be as likely to be hit by a meteorite as shot in a school attack is surely of no comfort to the kids and teachers shot in school attacks, nor to their families.

Our times are more interesting by far because Islamic terrorists around the world would love to attack soft targets—such as schools—on American soil. Temporary President Biden’s Afghanistan debacle will greatly increase the risk of Islamic terror attacks against Americans. Attacking schools is a very old tactic in their infernal bag of demonic tricks (go here for a fictionalized, but entirely plausible scenario).  A novella of the same theme by William Forstchen is also very much worth your time.

The simple and low or no cost expedient of allowing teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns, unmistakably saves lives.  Consider the May, 2021 case of an Ogden, Utah teacher:  

The scene unfolded at a Utah elementary school on Tuesday, where the unidentified teacher, who has a concealed carry permit, was watching the students from inside the school when he noticed the suspect, Ira Cox-Berry, approach an 11-year-old girl.

‘An employee was watching the kids from the inside and observed the suspect walk up to this 11-year-old girl (on the playground) and put his hands on her in an attempt to take her,’ Eynon added. ‘He ran outside, the employee did, and confronted the suspect. At that same time, the girl had the ability to pull away from the suspect.’

The teacher was able to get about 20 students off of the playground and into the school. But Cox-Berry tried to punch a window of the school to gain access, prompting the teacher to pull out the concealed carry weapon and call 911.

Police soon responded and arrested the suspect after a struggle. Eynon added that Cox-Berry ‘was high, high on some type of narcotic.’

Only a tiny fraction of a single percent of school children will ever be injured or killed by a tornado or fire while at school, yet we take reasonable precautions because we know that while rare, tornados and fires are always possible.  The same is true of school shootings—and other attacks as in the Utah case–yet we don’t take every reasonable precaution we could and should, and hordes of “consultants” are making a very good living handing out less than optimum–and in some cases dangerous–advice.

We need security-conscious principals and teachers. We need schools designed with security in mind.  We need effective plans, not only for tornadoes and fires, but for school attacks.  Those plans should include designing school facilities to make things as difficult as possible for shooters, including attacking shooters when all else has failed and there is no alternative but passively dying.

However, our planning must recognize that attacking armed shooters empty handed will tend to produce only dead adult heroes and dead kids.

Where we have failed, where we knowingly continue to fail, is in refusing to implement a policy that will not only deter school shooters, but will provide the only real and practical possibility of immediately stopping school shooters, potentially stopping them before anyone is hurt.

Why plan to require slight female teachers and school children to, unarmed, attack armed killers with classroom implements or canned goods when we can ensure they never have to make such a desperate, doomed play for their very lives?

At the least, what I suggest would make it possible no child would ever have to rush an armed killer with nothing more deadly than a ruler or can of peas in their shaking hand.  It’s a policy that will cost schools little or nothing, and will actually enhance overall public safety, yet it is reflexively, and often violently, resisted.

In discussing potential research paper topics, arming teachers against attackers always came up. My 16-17-year old students had no doubt: if a killer entered their school, they’d want their teachers armed. In that certainty, they are wiser than a great many supposedly educated adults.

I hope to see you here, gentle readers, next Tuesday, and for the Tuesdays that follow for the rest of this series. Thanks for reading this scruffy little blog, and your comments are always welcome and appreciated.