School Shootings

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Sad that we may need a category for this.

Another school shooting in NoCal.

Thinking of NoCalMimi and hoping she's okay.

Specializes in School nursing.
AYE!! Sorry...it's done,unannounced to staff, during in-service or teacher work days...no kids in the building. I knew what I meant...:dead:

Okay, that makes so much more sense to me now! I was picturing parent and kid freak outs with this.

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I am desensitized to this.

If Newton did'nt change things, nothing will.

Another white male, 15, with a gun. It's the American way.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

i can;t say i am desensitized. but i will say that my world view has changed. I feel like in any location I am in that is not my own home, that i am mindlessly going through a checklist, looking for emergency exits and taking mental snapshots of anyone who may be acting a little off or any situation that feels wrong. There was a shooting at a car wash one state over and on the high way about 40 minutes from my house yesterday. I don't believe that schools have cornered the market on shootings, but i do believe that unrestricted access to violent video games and glamorized ideations of violence in music and movies etc have cetainly left their impression.

I know, the nay sayers will say that we grey up with Bugs bunny blowing up Elmer Fudd with dynamite. sure, this is true. I loved those cartoons and still do. I certainly never grew up wanting to imitate those type of activities. But, I also think it's also very different watching an animated bunny and man vs a realistic first shooter game. I think that is desensitizing to some extent.

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i can;t say i am desensitized. but i will say that my world view has changed. I feel like in any location I am in that is not my own home, that i am mindlessly going through a checklist, looking for emergency exits and taking snapshots of anyone who may be acting a little off or any situation that feels wrong. There was a shooting at a car wash one state over and on the high way about 40 minutes from my house yesterday. I don't believe that schools have cornered the market on shootings, but i do believe that unrestricted access to violent video games and glamorized ideations of violence in music and movies etc have cetainly left their impression.

I know, the nay sayers will say that we grey up with Bugs bunny blowing up Elmer Fudd with dynamite. sure, this is true. I loved those cartoons and still do. I certainly never grew up wanting to imitate those type of activities. But, I also think it's also very different watching an animated bunny and man vs a realistic first shooter game. I think that is desensitizing to some extent.

And we didn't watch for hours and hours on end. When tv was done, you went outside to play.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

exactly. Infact, cartoons were usually just limited to Saturday mornings a few hours sprawled on the living room floor with a bowl of cereal. I clicked around a bit this past saturday just for nostalgia's sake as the good old channels (2,4,7) and no cartoons to be found. I guess the cable channels have made that unneccessary.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

I don't know what the answer is. I really don't think we can "educate" the problem away; as Flare referenced above...constant immersion in fantasy combined with little or no boundaries or enforcement of limits in the home, I think, could blur one's perception of reality. Kids today are bombarded with media stimuli from such an early age. It's sickening to me. Rampant drug availability doesn't help. Participation ribbons and not teaching kids that "losing" is a reality of life and is an incentive to do better and achievement doesn't help. We've evolved that every social conflict involves some sort of "bullying" or "vicitimization" nowadays - that doesn't help.

I'm not sure having armed school personnel on every campus would "prevent" an incident. I would think having the kids walk through a metal detector, like at the courthouse, would offer some deterrence but you can't "bulletproof" an entire school campus unless it's entirely underground or you have some completely windowless structure - plus there would be howling about the cost, as if that's relevant to "your" child's life. Guns will forever be available so that will always be part of the equation; as well as bombs and other imaginable, or unimaginable, methods of death and destruction.

With the interruptions, it's taken 2 hours to put this together so I apologize if I've gotten disjointed or strayed from a common theme - or it could be dementia creeping in.

I think if it was left up to me to "do" something I'd go with the metal detector setup in conjunction with armed personnel placed in one common entry into the building...to hell with the cost. At least it would be common knowledge you just couldn't freely waltz into the building with a gun tucked under your shirt.

You guys know I'm a Bud Light drinking, church going, gun toting, pickup truck driving, old redneck so this post doesn't surprise you...but what do you guys think?

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Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..

I think if it was left up to me to "do" something I'd go with the metal detector setup in conjunction with armed personnel placed in one common entry into the building...to hell with the cost. At least it would be common knowledge you just couldn't freely waltz into the building with a gun tucked under your shirt.

You guys know I'm a Bud Light drinking, church going, gun toting, pickup truck driving, old redneck so this post doesn't surprise you...but what do you guys think?

A quick google search shows that they are under $5,000.00 cheaper than I thought honestly. I think this could help somewhat. But honestly, wouldn't the gunman just shoot the person "manning" the detector then continue on his rampage? I don't know the answer either.

Anyone here go to a school where they implement metal detectors? How do your students feel about it?

I hate that our schools are becoming more and more like prison everyday...

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
A quick google search shows that they are under $5,000.00 cheaper than I thought honestly. I think this could help somewhat. But honestly, wouldn't the gunman just shoot the person "manning" the detector then continue on his rampage? I don't know the answer either.

Anyone here go to a school where they implement metal detectors? How do your students feel about it?

I hate that our schools are becoming more and more like prison everyday...

There is that possibility. I guess I'm thinking that doing something is better than doing nothing. I too would like to hear from someone who has the metal detectors in place.

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None here.

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Specializes in School nursing.
None here.

None at my school either.

Like I mentioned upthread, police prep the schools in my area by basically stating that statistically it is most likely a shooter would be one of our students than anyone else. And that there is only so much a school can do. We finally got security cameras installed in our hallways about a year and half ago. Our front door is double lock system, but someone could shoot their way through the lock easily I'm sure. We installed bullet proof glass on the front entrance, but again so much one can do.

But we've caught kids with knives - usually trying to show them off and the penalty for that is pretty harsh (can equal expelling a student, even from a public school).

And video games are just so very violent. For no good reason. Seriously. We care more about kids being exposed to sex and nudity in the US than to violence when in other parts of the world it is the other way around. But that just my opinion, of course.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

I think this really is brilliant. After the morning I've had with indifferent and unaccountable staff, my skeptical side is trying to take over. But, you know what? I'm going to copy the link and email it to my entire campus. If one teacher took it up and one child was "saved" it would be worth it. I'll let you know what responses I get...if any.

Thank you OWTP!

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