TX - Police respond to reports of shooter at Santa Fe High School, 18 May 2018

[gitana1]

It would be interesting to see how many WS'ers were bullied at school.
Remember saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"?

When I was growing up, my red hair, freckles, and shortness were a constant source of torment. I did have a few close friends, several are still my BFF's. For some reason they were popular, and cherished my friendship as I theirs.

"Freckle face strawberry"
"Carrot top"
"Shrimp"

It hurt, and I wished back then that I was blond, tan, and/or above average height like my siblings, and a big portion of my peers.

But I didn't take out my hurt on others. What makes some children think they can retaliate now days? Is it non supportive parents?

My husband was also short and Jewish. We went from Kindergarten through High School together. You can imagine what kind of taunting he was on the receiving end of. He didn't retaliate.

I was severely bullied a lot, most intensely from 6th-8th grades. And once in 9th grade where as a tiny, undeveloped freshman I was jeered at by a group of senior football players who thought it was fund to rip apart a little girl.

I was taught to fight back and often engaged in fist fight against the bullies. It wa scary. I got in trouble for breaking another girl's nose. But I was ALWAYS the one attacked. I never attacked others. Only ended in self-defense.

I never thought about outright murder. But life was hell. Maybe had I been influenced by prior school shootings and had accessible weaponry, maybe then I would've thought of it. I'm not sure.

But I have compassion and empathy so I don't think I would've ever done such a thing.

I will admit this. I typically felt very trapped in school. This instensified in junior high. By high school, our school felt like a prison. I couldn't handle being locked in and watched. I ditched school a lot and felt duh freedom doing so. Just running from campus.

The feeling of being trapped and being a prisoner became intense in high school. I got stomuacbces a lot and dreaded going to school. This was unrelated to bullying which by then had mostly stopped. It was a feeling of being trpped. In 10th grade I fantasized about blowing up the school or burning it down. I even talked to a couple friends about trying to get them to do it with me (at night). I didn't want to hurt anyone. But I did want to hurt and destroy that entity that represented total oppression and domination to me.

I don't know how I would've coped with the true prisons with actual armed prison guards that schools have turned into today.

 

[bluesneakers]

Oh, really? Are you greek? Do you live in Greece? Where you ever in Greece? Sounds a bit xenophobic to me. You're telling me that greek males are very macho and greek females are submissive? Like... that doesn't happen all over the World? Including in the US? Y'all gotta be sensitive when saying stuff like that, *advertiser censored*. I'm not attacking you in any way but Jesus Christ, let's not spread this discourse, greeks are already a target as is.

100% agree. Toxic masculinity is pervasive in western cultures, and school shootings are almost exclusively an American male thing. There is absolutely no reason to jump to the conclusion the shooter did this because his father wasn't born in America.

 

[KaaBoom]

Armed resource officer responded during the shooting but the shooter shot him. So it's not accurate to say the response was slow. This wasn't like Parkland where resource officer stayed outside. Here the officer actually confronted the shooter but he was the one who got shot. Sounds like he almost died.
'

OK, so one did, and he got shot. Then the rest waited for SWAT to arrive 30 minutes later. While the gunman was terrorizing and shooting students. Then after it was over they pointed guns at the victims, rather than trying to help those who had been shot. I'm sorry, I'm not impressed.

 

[MaryG12]

It can be very difficult to determine who is bullying who. For example, some reports say that the shooter was bullied. Yet one of the victim's family reports that the shooter was harassing and bullying their daughter.

Just a general statement here, and I have to wonder if the following may provide the real solution to the problem, at least for public schools:

Discontinue the present public school model and return to sex-segregated schools. Girls schools, boys schools. Yes, paid by tax dollars. Reasons:

1. Lesser chance of both sexes fooling around in the classroom.
2. Lesser chance of a classroom being turned into a projectile zone, ie, students launching elastic bands, straightened paper clips, pencils, what have you, at each other. No one is going to be able to concentrate on learning when both sexes are acting up.
3.There is scientific proof that both sexes learn differently.
4. School is not the best place to worry about having the opposite sex like you. Because public schools are funded by tax dollars, academics should take precedence over everything else.
5. Students learn self-discipline, develop ambitions, the will to achieve, develop their talents and gifts.
6.There is a greater chance students will develop life-long friendships and be more active as graduates involved with their alma mater.

Finally -

In a very quick scan of the existing list of school shootings at Wikipedia, I cannot find any of mention which occurred at a single gender school.


MOO

 

[bluesneakers]

OK, so one did, and he got shot. Then the rest waited for SWAT to arrive 30 minutes later. While the gunman was terrorizing and shooting students. Then after it was over they pointed guns at the victims, rather than trying to help those who had been shot. I'm sorry, I'm not impressed.

I'm not either. This is obviously not the answer.

 

[jjenny]

OK, so one did, and he got shot. Then the rest waited for SWAT to arrive 30 minutes later. While the gunman was terrorizing and shooting students. Then after it was over they pointed guns at the victims, rather than trying to help those who had been shot. I'm sorry, I'm not impressed.

It takes time to assemble SWAT team. They are not going to magically appear on the scene. Not sure where you getting 30 minutes time frame either.

 

[gitana1]

Which would work great in case of a fire.

People could get out if they opened in only one direction. So like doors in movie theaters and other locations where you can exit but not enter.

But, that could be catastrophic if fire or other first responders to an emergency needed to get into a school but could only be funneled in one entrance only.

It doesnt seem like a reasonable solution.

 

[jjenny]

People could get out if they opened in only one direction. So like doors in movie theaters and other locations where you can exit but not enter.

But, that could be catastrophic if fire or other first responders to an emergency needed to get into a school but could only be funneled in one entrance only.

It doesnt seem like a reasonable solution.

Movie theater was the place where bunch of people died during a recent fire in Russia. Fire has a potential to kill many more people than a shooter.

 

[RANCH]

Which would work great in case of a fire.

You could restrict the ways to get on school property and use metal detectors at those entrances.

If there's a fire people need to get out of buildings and get to a safe area. That doesn't mean they would have to leave school property. JMO

 

[MaryG12]

It would be interesting to see how many WS'ers were bullied at school.

RSBM

I was one of them, mostly during junior high, but in grade school, from boys (thus my staunch stance on sex-segregated education).

I even had a boy threaten to burn my house down with my family inside; for really no reason at all except his attempting to force me to like him. Went to the principal on that one. And worst of all this boy who I would love to name but can't for obvious reasons, was a cousin of a next-door neighbor.

My father was a state policeman and kept his revolver locked up. Had I been a boy and things went like this...you know? Someone could have gotten shot, instead of just going to the principal about the issue.

 

[KaaBoom]

Actually, some protocols have changed since Columbine and this was explained in my workshop. Officers are now allowed to immediately enter schools which was not the protocol when Columbine happened. Schools have numerous rooms, rooms with closets, hallways, hallway closets, number of students, etc. Law enforcement also has to rely on information on where the shooter is once they get there. It seems like it should not have taken that long, but I doubt they were dawdling/loitering around before going into the school.

Except this was exactly like Columbine. At Columbine a school resource officer also initially exchanged gunfire. Then they retreated to a safe location and waited. Just like these cops did.

 

[bluesneakers]

Movie theater was the place where bunch of people died during a recent fire in Russia. Fire has a potential to kill many more people than a shooter.

I don't think they can limit how many entrances are put into a building as there are fire codes to be followed, but not every entrance has to be open when school starts.

 

[jjenny]

Except this was exactly like Columbine. At Columbine a school resource officer also initially exchanged gunfire. Then they retreated to a safe location and waited. Just like these cops did.

Here the cop got shot.

 

[RANCH]

People could get out if they opened in only one direction. So like doors in movie theaters and other locations where you can exit but not enter.

But, that could be catastrophic if fire or other first responders to an emergency needed to get into a school but could only be funneled in one entrance only.

It doesnt seem like a reasonable solution.

It wouldn't be hard to have an electric gate that staff could open to allow first responders in if there was a fire. JMO

 

[bluesneakers]

Here the cop got shot.

Like Columbine.

 

[bluesneakers]

It wouldn't be hard to have an electric gate that staff could open to allow first responders in if there was a fire. JMO

What about letting students, staff, and faculty OUT?

 

[gitana1]

Just a general statement here, and I have to wonder if the following may provide the real solution to the problem, at least for public schools:

Discontinue the present public school model and return to sex-segregated schools. Girls schools, boys schools. Yes, paid by tax dollars. Reasons:

1. Lesser chance of both sexes fooling around in the classroom.
2. Lesser chance of a classroom being turned into a projectile zone, ie, students launching elastic bands, straightened paper clips, pencils, what have you, at each other. No one is going to be able to concentrate on learning when both sexes are acting up.
3.There is scientific proof that both sexes learn differently.
4. School is not the best place to worry about having the opposite sex like you. Because public schools are funded by tax dollars, academics should take precedence over everything else.
5. Students learn self-discipline, develop ambitions, the will to achieve, develop their talents and gifts.
6.There is a greater chance students will develop life-long friendships and be more active as graduates involved with their alma mater.

Finally -

In a very quick scan of the existing list of school shootings at Wikipedia, I cannot find any of mention which occurred at a single gender school.


MOO

Yes but single gender schools are super rare. The odds of something like this happening are vastly greater at common, public schools.

There are those who advocate sex segregated schools for the reason you listed that girls and boys learn differently. And girls have to compete in science and math and tech with boys for the attention of teachers who subconsciously focus on boys over girls.

But at some point these losers are going to be in an environment with the opposite sex. And then like the Umpqua school shooter, the Isla Vista shooter, the Virginia Tech coward, etc., they'll find their venue.

 

[jjenny]

Like Columbine.

My point is, the cop got shot and the bullet hit the blood vessel. So he didn't exactly retreat, sounds like he passed out.

 

[KaaBoom]

It takes time to assemble SWAT team. They are not going to magically appear on the scene. Not sure where you getting 30 minutes time frame either.

After Columbine the police procedure is supposed to be not to wait for SWAT.

 

[jjenny]

After Columbine the police procedure is supposed to be not to wait for SWAT.

We are going in circles here. Police officer didn't wait for SWAT, confronted the shooter and got shot. So yea, he followed the procedure. Following the procedure in this case is dangerous because he got shot and almost died, but he followed it.