Turn every school into a fortress.

aristotle

Veteran Expediter
Looks like we've finally done it: come together [in our own special ways] and solved the problem. ;)
Now we just need to convince the conservatives to spend money on mental health issues, and liberals to face the reality that gun control controls only the law abiding among us, which endangers the rest of us further.
Oh - and convince Aristotle that men aren't the answer, because, really: how many of the mass murderers were women?
:rolleyes:

Troubled young men are the problem as most mass murder incidents are committed by men. Young men do not fear women, maybe they should, but they don't. An increased male presence, particularly the presence of armed men devoted to protecting children at schools, would make a huge deterence to would-be shooters. Arm the Good Guys and the the Bad Guys will go sniveling away as the cowards they are. Either we get real about this, or watch more funerals for slaughtered children. This is not a difficult call.
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
How about allowing the school officials and teachers who are capable and competent, and wish to do so, to carry their choice of weapons.

jimmy

How about allowing the school officials and teachers who are capable and competent, and wish to do so, to carry their choice of weapons as well as properly trained and licensed parents.
That's the complete answer. There is no reason to limit school carry to teachers and administrators when there are competent parents who should also be allowed to carry. That increases the potential for stopping a disastrous event as well as further discouraging it from ever happening.
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
I disagree to this! Teachers work with kids, and kids are courious, so having guns in the class room would be unsafe to all. Also first reaction is get cover, not aim and shoot. it is nature.

You don't have guns in the classroom, you have a gun on your person, properly concealed and unknown to curious children or anyone else unless and until it's needed.
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
All else being equal, women are better shots than men. Women have better fine motor control. That's a physiological fact. There's no reason a properly trained woman won't respond equally to a properly trained man and when she does she'll likely outshoot him.
 

Pilgrim

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
I'm still not sure about the wisdom of sending our kids into an armed camp every day beginning at age 5. Granted, security at schools could be better and there should be means in place to defend against armed attackers. However, this problem starts with the mental illness of the people that commit these acts. This Lanza boy was known to have mental problems. We haven't heard yet to what degree or at what age his mental problems began to manifest themselves, but I'll bet his parents and teachers knew early on that something was wrong. It's also likely that none of them could do anything significant about it because of the backward and misguided policies our society has in place that deal with mental illness.

If a kid comes to school with a contagious disease, he gets sent home for treatment and doesn't come back until he's well. The same should apply to those that have mental problems, especially the young students that are prone to violence or uncontrollable bursts of anger. Our culture needs to shed the stigma of disgrace and shame that's currently attached to mental illness, and start dealing with it like any other disease. That way these nut cases can be treated or removed from society before they cause harm to themselves or others.
 

aristotle

Veteran Expediter
Society can either wring its hands for the next 20 years or get real about protecting school children, right now. This should be a wake-up call to defend the most vulnerable segment of our population. Don't like the idea of guns in school? What's better.... more slaughtered children while we talk endlessly? We have a choice to defend the kids. We have a duty to protect them.
 

AMonger

Veteran Expediter
Don't like the idea of guns in school? What's better.... more slaughtered children while we talk endlessly? We have a choice to defend the kids. We have a duty to protect them.
This brings to mind the saying of L. Neil Smith: "Gun control is the idea that a woman, raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose, is morally superior to a woman, alive and well, with a gun in her purse."
Apparently, that warped idea extends to the classroom. Apparently, to gun controllers, a schoolroom full of slaughtered children is superior to a teacher with a gun strapped to her thigh.
Liberalism is, indeed, a mental disease.
 

RLENT

Veteran Expediter
I'm still not sure about the wisdom of sending our kids into an armed camp every day beginning at age 5. Granted, security at schools could be better and there should be means in place to defend against armed attackers.
While we may disagree about many things, your caution in this regard is actually very wise.

The premise is worthy of a little thought as to what all the possible unintended consequences could potentially be ...

However, this problem starts with the mental illness of the people that commit these acts. This Lanza boy was known to have mental problems. We haven't heard yet to what degree or at what age his mental problems began to manifest themselves, but I'll bet his parents and teachers knew early on that something was wrong.
He apparently had Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism which is not linked to violence ... however that doesn't mean that the "help" (in the form of "medication") that some well-intended individuals may have proscribed might not have turned him violent ...

It's also likely that none of them could do anything significant about it because of the backward and misguided policies our society has in place that deal with mental illness.
Agreed ... although perhaps not exactly in the same vein that you mean it ...

Consider the following from the Wikipedia page on "medication" for Asperger's Syndrome:

Medications
No medications directly treat the core symptoms of AS. ... The atypical antipsychotic medications risperidone and olanzapine have been shown to reduce the associated symptoms of AS; risperidone can reduce repetitive and self-injurious behaviors, aggressive outbursts and impulsivity, and improve stereotypical patterns of behavior and social relatedness. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, and sertraline have been effective in treating restricted and repetitive interests and behaviors.
I have linked both of the Wikipedia pages for risperidone and olanzapine above - due to the adverse side effects involved with both (aggression and suicidal thoughts are two), as well as the past unethical (criminal in my opinion) activities of makers of these products, in downplaying the possible side effects to an unwitting public.

Additional info from the "Medications" section of the Wikipedia page on Asperger's syndrome:


"Care must be taken with medications, as side effects may be more common and harder to evaluate in individuals with AS, and tests of drugs' effectiveness against comorbid conditions routinely exclude individuals from the autism spectrum. Abnormalities in metabolism, cardiac conduction times, and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes have been raised as concerns with these medications, along with serious long-term neurological side effects. SSRIs can lead to manifestations of behavioral activation such as increased impulsivity, aggression, and sleep disturbance. ... Sedative side-effects in school-age children have ramifications for classroom learning. Individuals with AS may be unable to identify and communicate their internal moods and emotions or to tolerate side effects that for most people would not be problematic."

SSRI's are the same class of drugs as Prozac (the original selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) ... and the problems with this class of drugs are generally well enough known that I did not bother to link to any of them.

Here's what really ought to be being looked at - and these are just the known (and documented) incidents of senseless violence that are linked to psychiatric drugs and schools ... be sure slide the slider bar to the right for the description or characterization of the event:

School ShootingProzac WITHDRAWAL2008-02-15Illinois** 6 Dead: 15 Wounded: Perpetrator Was in Withdrawal from Med & Acting Erratically
School ShootingProzac Antidepressant2005-03-24Minnesota**10 Dead: 7 Wounded: Dosage Increased One Week before Rampage
School ShootingPaxil [Seroxat] Antidepressant2001-03-10Pennsylvania**14 Year Old GIRL Shoots & Wounds Classmate at Catholic School
School ShootingZoloft Antidepressant & ADHD Med2011-07-11Alabama**14 Year Old Kills Fellow Middle School Student
School ShootingZoloft Antidepressant1995-10-12South Carolina**15 Year Old Shoots Two Teachers, Killing One: Then Kills Himself
School ShootingMed For Depression2009-03-13Germany**16 Dead Including Shooter: Antidepressant Use: Shooter in Treatment For Depression
School Hostage SituationMed For Depression2010-12-15France**17 Year Old with Sword Holds 20 Children & Teacher Hostage
School Shooting PlotMed For Depression WITHDRAWAL2008-08-28Texas**18 Year Old Plots a Columbine School Attack
School ShootingAnafranil Antidepressant1988-05-20Illinois**29 Year Old WOMAN Kills One Child: Wounds Five: Kills Self
School ShootingLuvox/Zoloft Antidepressants1999-04-20Colorado**COLUMBINE: 15 Dead: 24 Wounded
School StabbingsAntidepressants2001-06-09Japan**Eight Dead: 15 Wounded: Assailant Had Taken 10 Times his Normal Dose of Depression Med
School ShootingProzac Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL1998-05-21Oregon**Four Dead: Twenty Injured
School StabbingMed For Depression2011-10-25Washington**Girl, 15, Stabs Two Girls in School Restroom: 1 Is In Critical Condition
School ShootingAntidepressant2006-09-30Colorado**Man Assaults Girls: Kills One & Self
School Machete AttackMed for Depression2001-09-26Pennsylvania**Man Attacks 11 Children & 3 Teachers at Elementary School
School Shooting RelatedLuvox1993-07-23Florida**Man Commits Murder During Clinical Trial for Luvox: Same Drug as in COLUMBINE: Never Reported
School Hostage SituationCymbalta Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL2009-11-09New York**Man With Gun Inside School Holds Principal Hostage
School ShootingAntidepressants1992-09-20Texas**Man, Angry Over Daughter's Report Card, Shoots 14 Rounds inside Elementary School
School ShootingSSRI2010-02-19Finland**On Sept. 23, 2008 a Finnish Student Shot & Killed 9 Students Before Killing Himself
School Shooting ThreatMed for Depression*2004-10-19New Jersey**Over-Medicated Teen Brings Loaded Handguns to School


Continues in next post ...

 
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RLENT

Veteran Expediter
School ShootingAntidepressant?2007-04-18Virginia**Possible SSRI Use: 33 Dead at Virginia Tech
School ShootingAntidepressant?2002-01-17Virginia**Possible SSRI Withdrawal Mania: 3 Dead at Law School
School Incident/BizarreZoloft*2010-08-22Australia**School Counselor Exhibits Bizarre Behavior: Became Manic On Zoloft
School/AssaultAntidepressant2009-11-04California**School Custodian Assaults Student & Principal: Had Manic Reaction From Depression Med
School ShootingProzac Antidepressant1992-01-30Michigan**School Teacher Shoots & Kills His Superintendent at School
School Shooting ThreatsCelexa Antidepressant2010-01-25Virginia**Senior in High School Theatens to Kill 4 Classmates: Facebook Involved: Bail Denied
School Violence/MurderAntidepressants*1998-05-04New York**Sheriff's Deputy Shoots his Wife in an Elementary School
School Knifing/MurderMeds For Depression & ADHD2010-04-28Massachusetts**Sixteen Year Old Kills 15 Year Old in High School Bathroom in Sept. 2009
School StabbingWellbutrin2006-12-04Indiana**Stabbing by 17 Year Old At High School: Charged with Attempted Murder
School ThreatAntidepressants2007-04-23Mississippi**Student Arrested for Making School Threat Over Internet
School SuspensionLexapro Antidepressant2007-07-28Arkansas**Student Has 11 Incidents with Police During his 16 Months on Lexapro
School ShootingAntidepressant WITHDRAWAL2007-11-07Finland**Student Kills 8: Wounds 10: Kills Self: High School in Finland
School ShootingPaxil [Seroxat] Antidepressant2004-02-09New York**Student Shoots Teacher in Leg at School
School ThreatProzac Antidepressant2008-01-25Washington**Student Takes Loaded Shotgun & 3 Rifles to School Parking Lot: Plans Suicide
School Shooting PlotMed For Depression1998-12-01Wisconsin**Teen Accused of Plotting to Gun Down Students at School
School/AssaultZoloft Antidepressant2006-02-15Tennessee**Teen Attacks Teacher at School
School Shooting ThreatAntidepressant1999-04-16Idaho**Teen Fires Gun in School
School Hostage SituationPaxil & Effexor Antidepressants2001-04-15Washington**Teen Holds Classmates Hostage with a Gun
School Hostage SituationAntidepressant WITHDRAWAL2006-11-28North Carolina**Teen Holds Teacher & Student Hostage with Gun
School Knife AttackMed for Depression2006-12-06Indiana**Teen Knife Attacks Fellow Student
School Massacre PlotProzac Withdrawal2011-02-23Virginia**Teen Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison For Columbine Style Plot
School ShootingCelexa & Effexor Antidepressants2001-04-19California**Teen Shoots at Classmates in School
School ShootingCelexa Antidepressant2006-08-30North Carolina**Teen Shoots at Two Students: Kills his Father: Celexa Found Among his Personal Effects
School ShootingMeds For Depression & ADHD2011-03-18South Carolina**Teen Shoots School Official: Pipe Bombs Found in Backpack
School Shooting ThreatAntidepressant2003-05-31Michigan**Teen Threatens School Shooting: Charge is Terrorism
School Stand-OffZoloft Antidepressant1998-04-13Idaho**Teen [14 Years Old] in School Holds Police At Bay: Fires Shots
School ShootingAntidepressant WITHDRAWAL2007-10-12Ohio**Teen [14 Years Old] School Shooter Possibly on Antidepressants or In Withdrawal
School ThreatAntidepressants2008-03-20Indiana**Teen [16 Years Old] Brings Gun to School: There Is a Lockdown
School Suicide/LockdownMed For Depression2008-02-20Idaho**Teen [16 Years Old] Kills Self at High School: Lockdown by Police
School ThreatsProzac Antidepressant1999-10-19Florida**Teen [16 Years Old] Threatens Classmates With Knife & Fake Explosives
School StabbingMed For Depression2008-02-29Texas**Teen [17 Year Old GIRL] Stabs Friend & Principal at High School
School Hostage SituationProzac/ Paxil Antidepressants2001-01-18California**Teen [17 Years Old] Takes Girl Hostage at School: He is Killed by Police
School Knife AttackTreatment For Depression & Strattera2009-03-10Belgium**Three Dead in School Day Care: Two Children & a Caregiver: Happened Jan 23, 2009
School Shooting PlotAntidepressants2009-09-22England**Two English School Boys Plot to Blow Up High School
School Arson IncidentsPaxil2002-04-12Michigan**Unusual Personality Change on Paxil Caused 15 Year Old to Set Fires inside High School
School Bomb ThreatMed For Depression2009-06-29Australia**Vexed Father Makes Bomb Threat Against Elementary School
School ViolenceAntidepressant2005-11-19Arizona**Violent 8 Year Old GIRL Handcuffed by Police at School
School ViolenceCelexa Antidepressant2002-01-23Florida**Violent 8 Year-Old Boy Arrested At School
School Threat/LockdownLexapro*2008-04-18California**Violent High School Student Shot to Death on Campus by Police
School / Child EndangermentAntidepressants2008-02-27Canada**Wacky School Bus Driver Goes Berserk: Also Involved Painkillers
School ViolencePaxil2004-10-23Washington DC**Young Boy, 10 Year Old, Has Violent Incidents at School
School ThreatWellbutrin Antidepressant2007-04-24Tennessee**Young Boy, 12, Threatens to Shoot Others at School
School Hostage SituationMed for Depression2006-03-09France**Young Ex-Teacher Holds 21 Students Hostage
School Shooting/SuicideCelexa2002-10-07Texas**Young Girl [13 Years Old] Kills Self at School With a Gun
School Hostage SituationPaxil2001-10-12North Carolina**Young Man Holds Three People Hostage in Duke University President's Office
School Murder AttemptMed For Depression1995-03-04California**Young Woman Deliberately Hits 3 Kids with Her Car at Elementary School: Laughed During Attack
 

RLENT

Veteran Expediter
The index to the database which the aforementioned incidents were taken from can be viewed at the following location - rest assured that there is plenty more chaos, senseless violence and general mayhem beyond just the school aspect of things:

Index To SSRI Stories
 

aristotle

Veteran Expediter
Enroute to Texas tonight, I am listening to an Israeli on the radio explain that since the Israelis placed armed security in their schools in the 1970's, they have not experienced a single mass shooting at any school. Not one mass shooting.

Are we to believe an American child is not deserving of the same protection? Do the Israelis place a higher value on the lives of their children than Americans do? This is an approach known to be effective. I am guessing there are 20 sets of parents in Newtown, Connecticut tonight who would give anything to have had armed security at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday.
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
Most of the problems the military is facing with murders/suicides etc is also linked to mental health drugs. Better mental health care, as we know it, heavy drugging is not the answer to the problem. It is one of the causes.

We must think out the solutions.
 

aristotle

Veteran Expediter
Most of the problems the military is facing with murders/suicides etc is also linked to mental health drugs. Better mental health care, as we know it, heavy drugging is not the answer to the problem. It is one of the causes.

We must think out the solutions.

How many adolescent boys live in a home with their biological father married to the birth mother? We are raising an entire generation of folks being told fathers are not really important... that Government will be substituted for fathers. How many generations of messed up males are we willing to accept?
 

AMonger

Veteran Expediter
How about allowing the school officials and teachers who are capable and competent, and wish to do so, to carry their choice of weapons.

jimmy

You know how that goes against the feral gummint's principles. Remember when pilots wanted to carry guns to protect cockpits after 9/11? Instead of just having the pilots demonstrate they hit what they aim at, the gummint created the Federal Flight Deck Officer program, because in their mind, no one should have a gun if they're not a gummint official.
 

AMonger

Veteran Expediter
Enroute to Texas tonight, I am listening to an Israeli on the radio explain that since the Israelis placed armed security in their schools in the 1970's, they have not experienced a single mass shooting at any school. Not one mass shooting.

Are we to believe an American child is not deserving of the same protection? Do the Israelis place a higher value on the lives of their children than Americans do? This is an approach known to be effective. I am guessing there are 20 sets of parents in Newtown, Connecticut tonight who would give anything to have had armed security at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday.
Thing is, the Israelis aren't afraid of guns in the hands of good guys. A huge percentage of Americans quake with fear at the thought of being in the same zip code as one.
I've followed a beautiful actress on Twitter because, if it were possible, I'd bear her children. But she's been posting crap non-stop about banning guns and such. Couldn't take it any more. Had to unfollow the dingy broad. She's a Scientologist, anyway, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at her lunacy. The answer is found in the title of John Lott's book, "More Guns, Less Crime."
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
How many adolescent boys live in a home with their biological father married to the birth mother? We are raising an entire generation of folks being told fathers are not really important... that Government will be substituted for fathers. How many generations of messed up males are we willing to accept?

I am well aware of the problem of boys being raised without fathers and the problems it can cause.

Medication is not the answer. It is part of the problem.
 

highway star

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Young men do not fear women

Many of us that have reached a "certain age" and have some experience with the fairer gender have come to know better, haven't we?

This sad situation got me to thinking about the first day we put my oldest on the kindergarten bus the first time. I gave him a hug in the living room and his mom walked him out to the bus that would take him to the same elementary school I attended. He was obviously a little scared as the bus pulled away with him looking out the window. But, that was all gone by the time he got home. He was excited about this new world that had opened up to him and couldn't tell us enough about it. Every detail...

Can it ever be the same sending them to a fortress with everyone packing?

The nation weeps...
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
People seem to think that if common sense were employed allowing trained, licensed and capable people authorization of on person concealed carry on campuses the schools would suddenly become Alcatraz. Nothing could be further from the truth. That's the whole point of on body concealed carry, stealth.

A competent license holder could carry concealed on a school campus with a Glock 19 and two spare magazines and a J frame that could be handed to a spouse who is a fully qualified individual as well and do so several dozen times over an eight year period of two students in the school and because there never was any attempted attack on the school none of the thousands of people ever had a clue there was someone on campus capable and prepared to defend them.
 

Pilgrim

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
Enroute to Texas tonight, I am listening to an Israeli on the radio explain that since the Israelis placed armed security in their schools in the 1970's, they have not experienced a single mass shooting at any school. Not one mass shooting.

Are we to believe an American child is not deserving of the same protection? Do the Israelis place a higher value on the lives of their children than Americans do? This is an approach known to be effective. I am guessing there are 20 sets of parents in Newtown, Connecticut tonight who would give anything to have had armed security at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday.
Properly trained and armed security personnel are one thing; pistol-packing teachers and administrators are quite another. Looking back on the time when my daughters were in school I can think of maybe two teachers I would have trusted with a loaded weapon - and that includes the principle. If the states are going to arm their teachers, they're also going to have to provide weapons and the continuous training on and off the range that would go along with this added responsibility. One can just imagine the howls of protest from the NEA over the additional time and responsibilities. However, all that could be avoided with placing properly trained guards in strategic locations around the schools.

However, the Israelis operate in a totally different environment. Their kids are used to being under constant siege from their terrorist enemies who want to destroy them - it's a way of life with which they grow up. Also, almost all of their population is required to serve in the military and by doing so get proper indoctrination and training with firearms. That being said, I'll agree that properly trained armed guards on campus is the best way to go.

One final thought: wonder how the Israelis and other cultures handle their mentally ill kids and adults similar to the ones like Adam Lanza?
 
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