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> School shootings are not a leading cause of death for kids in the USA. Instead, they cause terror: freaking active shooter drills, metal detectors and securit
by jMyles 7y ago
> School shootings are not a leading cause of death for kids in the USA. Instead, they cause terror: freaking active shooter drills, metal detectors and security theater, armed campus officers, all the crap that I really don’t want my kids to go through.
Shooting incidents don't cause those things. Administrators and school boards who are unwilling to engage in thought leadership do.
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoThe public demanded it! You can’t just be an administrator and say, “well, school shootings are bad, but statistically they aren’t a problem, so we don’t need to do anything.” Well, you can try to make this argument, but you’ll be out of your job quickly. Kids die in auto accidents at the rate of auto accidents, a tragedy, a common tragedy, so no one pays much attention to it. But school shootings, they aren’t common at all, they are horrific, and no one wants to be caught doing nothing about it, and since we can’t get rid of the guns in the USA, active shooter drills it is.
- untog 7y agoTo follow on from "the public demanded it" and bring it back to the original article... why is the media publishing these photos? Because the public want them to. The vast majority of newspapers are profit making enterprises, and they're giving customers what they want. Blaming the media here feels like missing the forest for the trees.
- jMyles 7y ago> You can’t just be an administrator and say, “well, school shootings are bad, but statistically they aren’t a problem, so we don’t need to do anything.” FWIW, you are talking to the son of a school administrator who did just that. (or, more specifically, who facilitated the introduction of text alert systems, security systems, etc, but who successfully resisted metal detectors and active shooter drills)
- ipython 7y agoWhat’s your solution? Not being snippy just honestly interested.
- opportune 7y agoThe solution is to not do anything about it. An absurd amount of money is wasted on ineffective mitigation strategies to protect against something less common than getting struck by lightning
- umvi 7y ago> The solution is to not do anything about it. I agree in many cases, but it's a circular problem: 1. Shooting event happens 2. Media whips up national frenzy, people start calling for politicians to do something 3. Politician's Syllogism happens due to pressure from #2 4. Repeat 1-3 The only way to break the cycle is to remove step 2.
- mises 7y agoI sort of wonder: if we didn't publicize these the way we do, would it occur at the same rate? Terrorism happens so people can inflict terror. Less the terror, maybe it would reduce.
- ipython 7y agoI wonder about this as well... but I am afraid the real answer lies with an underlying lack of meaning, lessened emphasis on community and lack of empathy. We like to treat the symptoms but the root cause is so removed we can’t even begin to identify it let alone address it.
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoEvery single other developed country has successfully dealt with this problem in another way besides censorship.
- ipython 7y ago