VA Tech Shootings

My condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

For whatever reason it has been tough for me to work or socialize today thinking about this. As a mom, I am already struggling with getting ready emotionally to send my first kid off to college in a couple years (my thinking is to work through these things early, it will be easier that way). So I have been reading some articles and sifting through things emotionally.

In the last year we have had two incidences at the kids schools (yes in Iowa). One there were shots heard outside of my daughter's high school. It was reported, the police investigated and found/arrested the shooter several hours later, but they kept up heavy patrols...it wasn't school related at all and I heard about it from the kids when I got off work. Kudos' to the police who not only checked out the High School but went four blocks to the north to check on the Jr. High where two of my boys go.

The second was at the Jr. High. Some Jr. Smartass brought his unloaded gun to school. My mom had taken one of my kids to a doctor's appointment for me and was returning him to school and noticed a lot of police vehicles in the parking lot. Although she walked into the office with my son instead of dropping him off at the door as usual, I feel my normally smart mom made a mistake here. She could tell there something up by the way the people in the office were behaving. She overheard a conversation where a secretary was giving instructions to a teacher that she shouldn't go down that hallway until further notice (the police and admin had the kid downstairs in the councilors office at this point but still). If it were me, out of instinct I would of lied and told them that my second son had an appointment so they would of sent for my son and I would have skedaddled with both of them for the day. No one needs to tell me that a lot of cops = bad thing. But she dropped my first son off and called and told me about it so I got to watch footage of some cops pulling out big guns of the trunk of the car in the background while a reporter is asking whoever is in charge why they needed such large firepower (listen lady, if someone calls the cops reporting a firearm in the school, they BETTER respond with large guns...or I am having a little talk with the city). Anyway, alls well that ends well but a couple of things I am mulling over teaching the kids. I thought this article had some good points.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18174900

Let me add one more...in an emergency don't look blindly to an authority...think for yourselves. If the authority has what sounds like a reasonable plan, fine. If not, come up with your own. Seriously, we seem to rely on our authority figures to come up with all the answers for us. Guess what? Even if there are good plans in place there is no way to predict every eventuality or to know how someone is going to respond in a real crises. We4 can sue the bejesus out of the school system or whomever later, but it doesn't get us your life back. So...if the teacher tells everyone to stay in their seats and someone comes through the door with a gun, don't sit there and remain a stationary target! Maybe discuss with your friends how if this happened you one of you would try and distract the guy while another couple of you try and take the dude down from behind. Maybe it won't end well but you have to try!