So, here in Arkansas tonight, there are a bunch of parents weighing their options. They’re considering whether or not they will send their kids to school tomorrow.
They’re not debating because their kids have spiked a fever or had a bout of vomiting. They’re not worried their kid has a cold or the flu and they might pass it onto some other kid.
They’re thinking of a threat made online about a mass shooting that could happen at their kid’s school. They’re trying to decide if what is most likely just a really awful joke could actually be real, and if it’s worth keeping their kid home—just to be on the safe side.
For the first time, I have a child in school. So, I’m one of those parents.
People make bogus threats to schools, places of worship, companies, government agencies, and organizations every day. No one can ever predict which one of those threats will amount to anything.
I worked in a synagogue for two years. On two different occasions we evacuated our building because of bomb threats. Luckily, they were just threats.
I’m not keeping my kid home. It’s not because of some principle like choosing not to live in fear or anything noble like that. I’m playing the odds. The threat is non-specific. It included the schools in Kentucky, which were under threat today. I haven’t heard any reports of a school shooting there today.
I think my daughter and her classmates are going to be fine at school tomorrow.
But I’m still pissed. I’m pissed that a threat like this could be credible. I’m pissed that any of us have to weigh our options when it comes to whether or not our kids will be safe from being gunned down while they’re learning how to write their name or how to do algebra. I’m pissed that nine days into kindergarten my daughter already knows where to hide from a bad guy at her school.
And I’m pissed at anyone who isn’t pissed that this is an acceptable reality in America.
If I can believe polls the majority of Americans—including gun owners—want common sense gun reform. So, I don’t know why nothing’s been done.
In this free country, I have to worry that my kid might get shot at school. In this free country, I’ve stopped taking her with me to the most convenient grocery store, and I avoid going there myself on the weekends now, because wouldn’t that be the most likely time for a shooting?
Many of us are trying to be more aware in public places. Where are the nearest exits? Is there someplace close to hide or get under cover.
The big argument against common sense gun reform in America is that we will be giving up some of our freedom.
Aren’t we already doing that?
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