We listened to the accounts of the tragedy in a state of disbelief and sadness. The vulnerability of our children to psychopaths is obvious, but can we do more to protect our most innocent?
I listened to a local administrator describe the standard procedure under lockdown conditions and I had an ill-feeling of dread. The safety measures the schools are advised to take are now well-known to the potential homicidal maniacs who walk our streets, and now, there is the opportunity to capitalize on information that should be classified.
Lockdown procedures include locking the classroom doors and gathering the children in a corner. Fine, but are the doors still made of wood? If a shooter wants into a classroom, it is simple procedure to fire a few rounds into the wood around the handle and kick the door open.
Once access is attained, a few more rounds will obliterate a teacher and the children gathered into a corner. Remember, a psychopath is not necessarily stupid or a poor marksman; however, a poor marksman will appreciate the convenance of target opportunity (the herding of children into a corner).
If we are really interested in the welfare of our children, let’s think more about steel doors and access to the outside rather than teacher pensions. Recent mass killings provided the shooters with a semi-contained shooting gallery. Do we really want to make the perfect killing field for a more methodical and efficient killer?
There will be many vets using the GI Bill to become teachers, is it practical to have these particular teachers, who are familiar with weaponry and emergency procedures, to be armed with special Concealed Carry weapons and training? I am thinking of the children, and herding them into a corner like sheep in an abattoir is a disaster waiting to happen.
There is a period of time before authorities will arrive, assess the situation, and take appropriate measures to capture or kill the shooter. During this interval, the number of classrooms that can be oped and the number of children that can be murdered is too horrible to comprehend. It is important to remember, the psychopathic killer is not necessarily a blithering idiot; some of them are capable of being well-prepared and efficient in their savagery.
A professional horseman for over 50 years, Skook continues to work with horses. Skook has finished an historical novel, Fifty Thousand Years, that traces a mitochondrial line of DNA from 50,000 years ago to the present. The story follows a line of courageous women, from the Ice Ages to the present, as they meet the challenges of survival with grit and creativity. These are not women who whimper of being victims, they meet the challenges of survival as women who use their abilities without excuses or remorse, these women are winners, they are our ancestors.
Fifty Thousand Years is available in paperback and e-book, it is getting great reviews. You can purchase a copy here; Visit me on Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dylantheauthor