Drill, Babies, Drill
“As a gunman opened fire at Oxford High School in Michigan on Tuesday, panicked students and teachers remembered their active shooter drills. They barricaded doors with desks and chairs. They covered windows and then huddled silently in corners or bathroom stalls. Some armed themselves with makeshift weapons like scissors and calculators. When a pathway looked clear, they ran. The chilling choreography is practiced at the school several times per year.” NYT (Gift Article): After Michigan Killings, Students Praised Shooter Drills. But Do They Really Work? “Critics worry that the cumulative effects of these drills can harm the mental health of students.” What if asking about shooter drills is the wrong question for America? Isn’t it more damaging to mental health to require students to wrap their heads around the fact that as more kids get killed, it actually becomes even easier to get your hands on weapons designed to kill as many people as quickly as possible? Or that even something as sick as Sandy Hook didn’t change America’s gun laws because lobbying groups have more pull than decency and common sense? American kids don’t need shooting drills as much as they need democracy drills. Maybe then they’ll be able to reverse the maddening tide of gun violence.
+ AP: A prosecutor in Michigan filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of a boy who is accused of killing four students at Oxford High School. “All I can say at this point is those actions on mom and dad’s behalf go far beyond negligence … We obviously are prosecuting the shooter to the fullest extent. … There are other individuals who should be held accountable.” (There are also other organizations and institutions that should be held accountable.)
+ An Oakland County prosecutor says a teacher caught Ethan Crumbley searching ammunition on his cellphone during class, notified administrators, and contacted Crumbley’s parents. His mom wrote to his son, “LOL. I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.” (Looks like the same goes for you, Ma.)
+ Threats prompt more than 100 school cancelations in Michigan.
