School Shootings

[Farawyn]

Sad that we may need a category for this.

Another school shooting in NoCal.

Thinking of NoCalMimi and hoping she's okay.

[Farawyn]

"Thoughts and prayers"

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

so as timliness would have it, we are spending half the day training for an "active shooter" situation. As i sit here i am making a curtain for the giant window for the new door that got installed in my office. My old door was solid and wouldn't have needed a curtain, but that is besides the point. It is apparently my obligation to make a covering for this window, but then i wonder - wouldn't having the window covered after a threat is announced indicate that someone was present and inside to cover it?

Bah - sorry - i'm just rambling now.

[LikeTheDeadSea, MSN, RN]

It's so hard to balance a mindset related to these events.

The Mister Rogers quote about "looking for helpers" usually made me feel better, and I'd focus on those who responded, and try to gear my attention to those staff members who gave their lives to protect their students. I'm no longer finding comfort in these stories, they dishearten me. There are simply too many and I get genuinely upset that there have had to be this many people who give their all to protect children in school. I can't focus on these heroes without thinking about the list of others in recent years.

I hope that my colleagues are never a part of something like this.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

Last night I thought about the configuration of my office (two offices in a larger third office; there is no exit but the front door for all three. If I hunker down where my desk is I have the benefit of a second locked door but the liability of no escape. I'm gonna hide behind a filing cabinet with my stapler, my walkie, and anything else I can throw....

[Farawyn]

Has anyone seen the clip?

I'm so sorry I did.

I don't think anything is going to change.

[kidzcare]

"Thoughts and prayers"

"Policy change and legislation"

We've tried thoughts and prayers. They haven't been enough. There were police officers (good guys with guns) at the school and it wasn't enough. We need swift action before more children are slaughtered.

If this was your child's school, would you want a change of laws?

If your child watched their classmates die, would it comfort them to hear that the shooter has the right to bear arms?

If your were planning your child's funeral today, would you change your mind?

[kidzcare]

Has anyone seen the clip?

I'm so sorry I did.

I don't think anything is going to change.

I've watched it a dozen times with tears in my eyes. Those poor kids will be affected for the rest of their lives.

My friend who was at the concert in Vegas, terrified and running for her life, is a mess. She is one of thousands who will never be the same.

[OyWithThePoodles, RN]

so as timliness would have it, we are spending half the day training for an "active shooter" situation. As i sit here i am making a curtain for the giant window for the new door that got installed in my office. My old door was solid and wouldn't have needed a curtain, but that is besides the point. It is apparently my obligation to make a covering for this window, but then i wonder - wouldn't having the window covered after a threat is announced indicate that someone was present and inside to cover it?

Bah - sorry - i'm just rambling now.

Our training has teachers sliding red or green cards under the door to indicate if there are any injured in the class. This has always confused me. Wouldn't this just tell the shooter "hey, I haven't been in this room yet! Score!" In Mr. Poodles school they aren't allowed to cover the classroom windows, even in an active shooter situation as it is against fire code. I'm sorry, but fire code be damned in that situation.

Has anyone seen the clip?

I'm so sorry I did.

I don't think anything is going to change.

I've tried limiting my viewing of the news. This Momma, school nurse, teacher's wife anxiety is already through the roof. So incredibly heartbreaking.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

Has anyone seen the clip?

I'm so sorry I did.

I don't think anything is going to change.

Sadly, Far, our society has changed too much. We don't want people to feel bad to confront the facts. We don't want to "go back to those (insert negative attribute here) times". Truth is, these things didn't happen back then. My classmates had access to guns and never dreamed of this, there was a respect for life. There was a respect for each other. There were outlets for male aggression, it wasn't punished away, boys were boys. Preschool boys weren't told to use their words when their brains can't function that way, then get punished for not being able to do it. We don't want parents to feel bad, so selfish decisions like divorce (I am also divorced, pointing at myself here) that affect boys worse than girls ( do the research) and neglecting their children for their own pursuits further degrade these boys. I can't imagine going through puberty today, with all this testosterone telling me to be aggressive and the conflicting asexual agenda being pushed. Pair this with the disproportionate college figures, boys are becoming more despondent. This is but the tip of the iceberg, but until we address these root causes, there is little expectation for change.

[kidzcare]

This is but the tip of the iceberg, but until we address these root causes, there is little expectation for change.

In the mean time, we need to restrict the access to weapons can cause massive destruction. They are not mutually exclusive.

[Farawyn]

In the mean time, we need to restrict the access to weapons can cause massive destruction. They are not mutually exclusive.

This. When I say this, I get, "so you're not about the root problem???"

Yes. I am. I'm a mom and a nurse and I work in a school. I deal with "the root problem" every day. There are a lot of despondent kids.

Thank God all of them don't have access to guns.

That being said, guns are WAY TO EASY to obtain legally. Stockpile. Because it's your right.

Is it not those kids' right to go to school and be safe?

The social ills are only going to get worse as Not My President's GOP cuts and cuts and cuts $$$ for social programs.

Get rid of the guns.

[OldDude]

In the mean time, we need to restrict the access to weapons can cause massive destruction. They are not mutually exclusive.

Not gonna happen...the abyss between the corrupt and self serving politicians on both sides of the aisle can never be bridged on subjects like this...sad but true.

What can happen, in a relatively short period of time, is a law enforcement officer, armed to the hilt, be a permanent fixture at every school campus...two or three for big campuses...be there before the first person and be there after the last person. You could fill positions immediately with retired law enforcement officers who still hold their licenses and start a the process of recruiting and training officers for future assignments at the campuses. Public service announcements should inform the community of the presence of armed police officers on each campus and each door of each school should have a sign with the same warning. This is a "clear and present danger" that could happen at any moment at any school, anywhere, so dealing with the reality of the situation in a realistic manner is the only real option. Yes this would have to be paid for...big woop - don't buy new football uniforms next year.

Now for the problem...the cutting of mental health care over the years and the continued lack of mental health care options has led to a mental health epidemic across the country. This is where the politicians can have a possibility of agreeing on something - state and federal. And until mental help is available there will continue to be those who utilize an inanimate object as an instrument of death, horror, and agony. But even if the help would be available tomorrow to all, it would be years before a positive affect would set in.

The only option, to me, until such a time, is to assume the mentally ill will continue to obtain some instrument for killing and prepare to attempt to thwart the threat when it appears.

God help us all!