Quote:
Originally Posted by thinkxingu
...Prevention is the key, with a keen backup plan. ...
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In my opinion, that is magical thinking. We have no way to identify exactly WHO these shooters will be. We have no methods of prevention that absolutely, positively work. A system that is flawless in design still takes time to fully respond. Even if we did have means to identify and prevent, the implementation would be carried out by human beings who are guaranteed to make mistakes and be unreliable. NO system, especially a human based one, is flawless. Beyond all that, attempts at building such a system are expensive, ponderous, and require a degree of regimentation that probably will not be achieved in a school setting and will likely have negative psychological effects as well. Going to school in a reverse prison is not a healthy atmosphere.
Even arming willing teachers and staff is not a "solution". It's an attempt to shift the balance from a situation where the victims are helpless to one where there is a chance that the shooter may be stopped before too much tragedy unfolds. We KNOW this can work. Armed citizens have stopped criminals. Not ALL criminals, but some.
Wouldn't it be better if the carnage in Parkland was limited to 5 or 2 instead of 17 because the perpetrator ran into someone inside who could fight back and the shooter was killed or repelled? Some adults died trying to protect students. Wouldn't it be better if one of them could have done so more effectively instead of being helplessly slaughtered waiting for a "system" to work; which it never did?