Another Day, Another Shooting... And It Needs To Stop!

You know, I just don't know.  As my work day was winding down today, I saw the notification on my phone that yet another shooting has happened in Northern California, and again it involved innocent children.  That is the part that gets me every time.  I just can't make any sense out of how killing innocent people, and especially children, brings closure to a person.  I don't understand how someone is supposed to hear an individual and what they are trying to say when they make the CHOICE to commit such horrible acts.  That's right, it is a choice.  How does one make a choice to take away a child's opportunity to fulfill their dreams, to take away their families, and for them to not be able to bring their talents to the world where that talent could've been the most positive change for humankind.  The elementary children were doing what they were supposed to be doing, going to school and going through the process of learning skills and learning about themselves.  I work with students everyday with one goal.  That goal is to help give them the skills to be a better person, to express feelings appropriately, and hopefully that allows them to be better set up to take advantage of those opportunities that come along to help them become more successful.  I don't know if I have the words to truly express how I am feeling, but I just struggle with these situations.  One of the reports that came out hours after the initial report, is that there would have been more victims at the school, but they had options with their lockdown procedures.  They had the information and they locked down the school appropriately, which authorities have already stated that those choices had saved a number of lives.  The sad thing is that when I was in school, we didn't have to perform lockdown drills.  Not only do we have lockdown drills now, but there have been enough of these incidents to be able to learn from them.  Schools are now changing how they do their lockdown procedures in schools and it is making a difference.  I don't know if the school or schools that successfully locked down used a more traditional style of lockdown, or if they used the newer style that is more effective, but lives were saved.  I will be curious to learn more about that.  What baffles me the most is that nothing changes.  I am not here to be political, because it is not my right to state how anyone else views things in the world.  I will say that this is not a political issue.  This is a matter of people's lives.  We have children that get killed in these acts of pure stupidity before they even have a chance to chose a political side in life, so it is not about politics here.  We watch 49 people get killed in Orlando, we watch 58 get killed with over 500 injured in Las Vegas, and still nothing.  I am a problem solver when there is an issue.  To solve a problem it starts with a conversation.  What concerns me is that it doesn't appear that a conversation has even started.  It shouldn't matter which party you favor, how much money one has, whether your male or female, or transgender, gay, lesbian, white, black, or any other nationality, it is time to sit down and start talking and problem solving.  Disagree in those conversations, that's fine, but at least be respectful enough to have the conversation.  I don't have the answers and it is not my place to say what we should do, because I am just one opinion, and it will take more than one person to problem solve this situation.  Fortunately, I have been trained to know my options in a situation of an active shooter and I am grateful for that.  I hope that I am able to teach those options to the people I care about and I hope to do it soon.  The schools get the media attention because the innocent children being killed should get the attention, of everybody.  The reality is that these active shooter situations can happen anywhere.  They happen more in private businesses than they do in schools.  In fact, at last check, 40% of all active shooter situations are in private businesses.  I already mentioned a nightclub in Orlando and a concert in Las Vegas, but they have also happened in restaurants, at a political event in Arizona, at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and I am not even done processing the one that happened just nine days ago in a church in Texas that killed 26 more people, and a high number of children.  That is just a few mass shootings that don't involve schools. Today's shooting involved a guy that went to seven different locations before being fatally shot. It blows my mind how someone got to seven different places before being caught, but it tells you that each situation is different and it can happen anywhere.  I end this with the message that I am not going to give up.  I am not going to change my plans because of the what ifs.  I hope that I never have to be in a real situation to use the skills I was trained in.  I don't wish that on anybody, especially innocent children that deserve to live a long and full life.  As after every active shooter situation is learned about, I hope the conversation can begin. Be Kind To Everyone.

A.L.I.C.E

ALERT     LOCKDOWN     INFORM     COUNTER     EVACUATE

Endorsed By FEMA, Department Of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, and many more.