We can stop Al Qaeda, but not a campus gunman?
February 21, 2008
Recently I saw a video on CNN.com of some law enforcement official giving a press conference at Northern Illinois University. He said, as has been said after previous school shootings, that the hard truth is that we really just can't do anything to stop these sorts of things. They're going to happen. The best we can do is contain them quickly.
I also heard that a suggestion has been made (by whom I don't know, though I'd really like to find out; I hope it was not by anyone with much power) that to counter the increase in shootings on campuses, we must have all professors carry guns.
Does this scare anyone but me?
Maybe I'm crazy, but first on my plan of action would be to figure out why two campus killers ordered their guns on-line from the same website.
But for now, I won't get into the gun control debate. Instead, let's pretend for a moment that I accept that there's "nothing we can do" about school shootings.
Okay then, what the heck is this War on Terror all about?
How is it that we can't stop campus massacres, but we can vow to wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth?
I hate to break it to you people (by which I mean the Bush Administration mostly), but terrorism is always going to be around. Al Qaeda only needs to have one teacher left to spread its views. Even if you got that last teacher, someone else will spontaenously come up with the idea to drive a car loaded with explosives into a hotel. And guess what? They're not all in the Middle East. Remember Timothy McVeigh and Oklahoma City? Remember how the people who committed Japan's most serious terrorist attack were Japanese?
So why is it that our president can declare war on terrorism, but then as school shootings become more and more common, our law enforcement officials can simply say "there's nothing we can do to prevent things like this from happening?" You can't have it both ways.
Personally, though I am not particularly afraid of either one, I'm more concerned about being shot on an American campus—especially one where all professors are armed—than I am about being blown up by a terrorist.
And you know what? Even if either one does ultimately happen to me, I don't want to spend the days leading up to it living in a culture of fear. I hate the fearmongering done by the current administration and others. That's just what the terrorists want: the actual killing is just a bonus. What they want most is for us to be terrified that they're lurking out there, just about to blow us up or bring our airplanes down. They must be grateful to our leaders for their help in spreading the fear. I hope the next administration deals with terrorism not by launching a "war," but by handling it as quietly as possible in the background, letting us know only when there is a real, immediate threat, and when foreknowledge could possibly save lives. No more of this free-floating orange alert anxiety.
At the very least, if we're going to have guns readily available, we need to at least get rid of the culture of fear. If my professor has to have a gun in his pocket, it's not safe to come to class.
What "safe" means, I don't know.
Comments and Responses
Laura says,
Q - Why does Bush say he can eradicate terrorism when a police officer says we can't prevent school shootings?
A - Because Bush has more to gain by saying he can do it. Because the policeman has nothing to lose by saying the truth. Because Bush hasn't had to deal firsthand with terrorism. Because the police officer (most likely) has had to do with shootings (whether school or other variety).
I don't agree that all ________ should carry guns. There are some people who shouldn't have guns. There's many professors who fall asleep during class. Guns are a tool and when used incorrectly can have dire consequences. I don't know what a good solution is, but the cop is right - we CAN"T prevent them. We can have measures to prevent the likelihood of it, but we can prepare and prepare and either through freak circumstances or sheer determination, if someone wants to come onto a school or anywhere else with a weapon, they can do it. It may not be a gun, but if someone is determined to kill or harm, they will.
And I doubt the culture of fear will ever go away. Americans (I can't speak for other countries) have a culture of mistrust and paranoia. We also want immediate results.
As I've said before, I'm not sure what will be a good solution that will work long term and sufficiently take care of all the side issues involved, but this is what came to mind while reading your post. (And I'm glad you're not one of my friends that attacks everything I say. I feel free to express myself here woohoo!!!!! /dork)
Jessie replies,Oh, no, on the contrary, I see nothing in what you said to attack. (And I'm honored that you feel that way about posting on my page!) I always appreciate the good mental exercise your replies to my rants give me.
You're absolutely right, of course, about why Bush can say what he does why the law enforcement officer has nothing to lose by telling the truth. My rant wasn't directly meant for them, though -- it was meant for all the people who support Bush's policies on this subject. If some of them insist on supporting the War on Terrorism, then I am not going to go easy on them if they then agree that there's nothing to be done about school shootings.
Personally I do want to see more common sense gun legislation (licensing and background checks). I think that there's a good chance that such a law could have made it more difficult for the recent campus killers (both with psychological disorders as I recall) to get guns, and it's easier to kill with guns than with anything else.
I do agree with you that these things CAN'T be totally prevented. I just wish that truth didn't lead to a culture of fear that can be so easily manipulated. If only people would think more. Even if they didn't come to the same conclusions that I do, I'm sure they'd come to something better if they just thought a little bit.
Katie V. says,
Agreed. So silly for every professor to carry a gun.
Anni says,
I totally agree.
On a message board I go to someone made the comment that things like this wouldn't happen if God was allowed back into schools and the country. That definitely made me go "Waaaa?"
If anything I wish logic was let back into this country...
Katie S. says,
All very good, valid points here Jessie. Yay for common sense.
The sad thing is, we can't keep people from wanting to cause harm, whether they're terrorists or school shooters. The best we can do is try to be ready for possible trouble, and not in a constantly on-alert state, either. That situation just wears everybody down, in my opinion. We need to do more research on what we're up against, and be as prepared as possible to deal with it.
Now, I'm all for people who want to own guns for self-defense (and can do so while maintaining the proper respect for a deadly weapon) doing so, I think the statement that every _____ should own a gun is...not sensible. No, not everybody should own a gun. Some are not mentally equipped to deal with that responsibility. Many do not want to. That's for them to deal with.
Fred says,
Great essay.
They're really the same thing, aren't they? A solution to school shootings can be scalable to be a solution to terrorism. What could that solution be? Hmm.