When Humans Hunt and Kill Their Young
â€Knowledge unties knots.†Zora and Me
The reality of Christmas in 2012, parents hold
your children closer and tell them you love
them. Grand parents call your children and
even great grand parents call your families to
tell them you love them. Pastors, Priests, Rabbi’s
and other religious leaders pray and anoint your
congregations.
The events of Newtown
are displayed all over our media, printed in
newspapers, transmitted on radios and around
the world in all forms of Social Media.
I seriously had to pray before I wrote my
thoughts and feelings as a parent and a teacher.
Quotes such as: “There will be no justice as
long as man will stand with a knife or with
a gun and destroy those who are weaker than
he is.†Isaac Bashevis Singer
Singer was correct in this statement that shows
even with a judicial system based on protecting
the weak (children, elderly, etc), gun laws in
legal books, those that willingly use guns take
human life do not care about justice, human life
or the value of children. Treating lives as if they
contain no value. Arguments are made for
banning assault rifles, handgun ownership policies,
changes in purchasing guns, physical modifications
to make guns less lethal (which is really stupid)
and the quotes of the NRA to put guns in schools
stated by Todd Rathner, on the board of directors
of the National Rifle Association of America,
“we need armed security at schools.â€
I’m a past NRA member, was a rifle instructor
for years. One of a few Blacks that taught shooting
at summer camps in the nineties. Teaching safe
shooting at summer camps for children on the
East Coast. Those statements made by NRA
representatives are dangerous and irresponsible to
me as a parent and teacher. I learned first hand the
power of death that even a .22 rifle can have that
I used to teach gun safety and shooting accuracy.
There are discussions of gun legislation, banning
assault rifles, state to federal changes in how guns
are sold. This maybe a turning point in how
America sees its love of gun ownership change.
1364 is the first recorded use of a firearm in the
world, this has transitioned to unheard of firepower
in the 21st century that civilians can claim to own.
The history of gun violence is filling history
books, governmental statistics, and grave yards.
The statistics are scary, on the
childrensdefense.org (http://childrensdefense.org) web site even for 2007.
There was an estimated 280 million guns in civilian
hands in that year. Newtown and other schools like
Columbine have shown that there is no place to hide
from gun violence. According to a report on
childrensdefense.org: 3,042 children and teens died
from gunfire in America in 2007. That is one child
or teen every three hours, eight every day, 58
every week. Almost six times as many children
and teens 17,523 suffered non-fatal gun injuries.
There is the emotional damage that too many times
is not addressed. Emotionally children are damaged
into their adult years. Children now suffer from PTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, usually found in
soldiers.
The quote by Sarah Brady, “We have cracked down
on library books, cell phone calls, fertilizer purchases,
and wearing shoes in the airport. Students in many
schools have to have clear backpacks, unlocked school
lockers, but we have done almost nothing at the state
and federal level to make it harder for either a terrorist,
garden variety armed robber, or young person to get
their hands on a handgun.†The results of Columbine,
Virginia Tech and now Newtown show the dangerous
results that can happen.
I don’t have the answers to this complex issue, just for
American citizen to think about the importance of the
protection of schools, teachers, administrators,
support staff and children in them.
How can we call schools a Safe Place when schools
cannot be guaranteed to be safe?
The United States military is sworn to protect Americans
from all threats foreign and domestic, does that mean
putting soldiers in our schools? Having the National
Guard patrol the hallways, lunch rooms, bathrooms
and gyms of the nations’ schools? President Obama
and his administration are expected to do something,
no matter what they do it will be a no win situation
because the country is so divided on the issue of gun
ownership. The NRA has powerful lobbyist, political
power, money and connections on the state and local
levels. So my hope is diminished for any change because
Americans love their guns to the point where some will
forget the deaths of children to keep their guns. Too many
will blame President Obama for not making changes,
the gun issue is bigger and older than him. Look at the
history of guns in America to understand this.
As a teacher I’m saddened, humbled and proud of the
teachers that sacrificed their lives in saving the children
they were responsible for teaching. Teachers receive too
much negativity from parents, the media, in some instances
governmental legislation. The majority of teachers take their
jobs seriously and only ask to be respected, appreciated and
supported. The unfortunate events of not just Newtown, but
Columbine and other school shootings show that educators
in fact do their jobs for the love of teaching and the love
of students. A human face needs to be back into the
classrooms, not trying to make teachers robots guided by
just Benchmarks, Standards, Assessment Data, and evaluation
methods based on gender, race, or disability. Teachers need
support in their classrooms not just Professional Develop
training. Their jobs are to teach, but more and more
teachers are addressing the social ills of our communities
and country.
Recently in Jacksonville, Florida a man posting on a website
threatening to "shoot all of you" at a Jacksonville elementary
school. Raised alarms again this was the third threat across the
country. They must be taken seriously and security methods
taken to protect schools. What needs to be done is a universal
question with a difficult answer. These events show that parents,
educators, administrators, guidance counselors and community
health providers need to work together. Offering more
workshops, providing more educational resources, and if
necessary going into homes, apartments and even homeless
shelters to provide assistance.
Stated on teachersfirst.nl (http://teachersfirst.nl) web site, â€Teachers are one of the main
pillars of a sound and progressive society. They bear the weight
and responsibility of teaching, and, apart from parents, are the
main source of knowledge and values for children.â€
This statement is accurate beyond believe, but America has to
re-establish their faith in their educators. Newtown has shown
that teachers do pay the ultimate sacrifice for their students,
unlike the military they are not trained for dealing with gun fire,
violent deaths of children, death of their peers and open combat.
Is that what our schools are coming too? Are teachers and
students going to really get combat pay and training
like SEAL training:
TEALS:
Tactical Educational Assault and Leadership for Survival
SEA-TET:
Student Escape And Tactical Evasion Training
Resources:
PBS History of Guns
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/gun-timeline/
(http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/gun-timeline/)
Children’s Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/ (http://www.childrensdefense.org/)
Gun Violence In American Schools
http://www.thenation.com/blog/171838/gun-violence-american-schools-nothing-new
(http://www.thenation.com/blog/171838/gun-violence-american-schools-nothing-new)
Gun Crime Map Statistics
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/sep/27/gun-crime-map-statistics
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/sep/27/gun-crime-map-statistics)
Center for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/00news/finaldeath98.htm
(http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/00news/finaldeath98.htm)
The question remains, "When you call on my neighbors and I to surrender our guns, do you REALLY think your friendly local felons are going to surrender theirs?" If you do then the solution is simple, the next time some nut case wants to take a gun and go on a shooting spree, just jump in front of him and ask for his gun.
What happens when people have no access to firearms, in a society where guns are so strictly controlled that owning one would result in a death sentence?
March 2010
Nanping school massacre
On March 23, 2010, Zheng Minsheng 41, murdered eight children with a knife in an elementary school in Nanping, Fujian province; The attack was widely reported in Chinese media, sparking fears of copycat crimes. Following a quick trial, Zheng Minsheng was executed about one month later on April 28.
April 2010
Just a few hours after the execution of Zheng Minsheng in neighboring Fujian Province, in Leizhou, Guangdong another knife-wielding man named Chen Kangbing, 33 at Hongfu Primary School wounded 16 students and a teacher. Chen Kangbing had been a teacher at a different primary school in Leizhou; he was sentenced to death by a court in Zhanjiang in June.
On April 29 in Taixing, Jiangsu, 47-year-old Xu Yuyuan went to Zhongxin Kindergarten and stabbed 28 students, two teachers and one security guard; most of the Taixing students were 4 years old.
On April 30, Wang Yonglai used a hammer to cause head injury to preschool children in Weifang, Shandong, then used gasoline to commit suicide by self-immolation.
May 2010
An attacker named Wu Huanming 48, killed seven children and two adults and injured 11 other persons with a cleaver at a kindergarten in Hanzhong, Shaanxi on May 12, 2010; early reports were removed from the internet in China, for fear that mass coverage of such violence can provoke copycat attacks. The attacker later committed suicide at his house; he was the landlord of the school, Shengshui Temple private kindergarten, and had been involved in an ongoing dispute with the school administrator about when the school would move out of the building.
On May 18, 2010 at Hainan Institute of Science and Technology, a vocational college in Haikou, Hainan, more than 10 men charged into a dormitory wielding knives around 2:30 am; after attacking the security guard and disabling security cameras, 9 students were injured, 1 seriously. The local men attacked the dorm in an act of revenge and retaliation against college students following conflict the previous day at an off-campus food stall in which 4 students were injured, for a total of 13.
August 2010
On 4 August 2010, 26-year-old Fang Jiantang slashed more than 20 children and staff with a 60 cm knife, killing 3 children and 1 teacher, at a kindergarten in Zibo, Shandong province. Of the injured, 3 other children and 4 teachers were taken to the hospital. After being caught Fang confessed to the crime; his motive is not yet known.
August 2011
Eight children, all aged four or five, were hurt in Minhang District, Shanghai when an employee at a child-care centre for migrant workers slashed them with a box-cutter.
September 2011
In September 2011, a young girl and three adults taking their children to nursery school were killed in Gongyi, Henan by 30-year-old Wang Hongbin with an axe. Another child and an adult were seriously wounded but survived. The suspect is a local farmer who is suspected of being mentally ill.
December 2012
Main article: Chenpeng Village Primary School stabbing
On 14 December 2012, a 36 year-old villager in the village of Chenpeng, Henan Province, stabbed 23 children and an elderly woman at the village's primary school as children were arriving for classes. The attacker was restrained at the school, and later arrested. All of the victims survived and were treated at three hospitals, though some were reportedly seriously injured, with fingers or ears cut off, and had to be transferred to larger hospitals for specialized care.
So um, meat cleavers, knives, axes and hammers will need the same type of restrictions, at what point does this become ridiculous?
Perhaps we'd get further if we'd start teaching The Golden Rule, right and wrong, good and bad, and/or a sense of community. Every child should know that we all have our gifts and there will always be winners and losers, it's how you play the cards you were handed and how you take the final score is what matters most.
QuoteThe question remains, "When you call on my neighbors and I to surrender our guns, do you REALLY think your friendly local felons are going to surrender theirs?" If you do then the solution is simple, the next time some nut case wants to take a gun and go on a shooting spree, just jump in front of him and ask for his gun.
Exactly! Case in point the Webster NY shooter.
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-12-26/story/ex-con-who-fatally-shot-2-firefighters-leaves-type-written-note?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JacksonvillecomNews+%28Jacksonville+Local+News+%E2%80%93+Jacksonville.com+and+The+Florida+Times-Union%29 (http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-12-26/story/ex-con-who-fatally-shot-2-firefighters-leaves-type-written-note?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JacksonvillecomNews+%28Jacksonville+Local+News+%E2%80%93+Jacksonville.com+and+The+Florida+Times-Union%29)
Quote“He was equipped to go to war, kill innocent people,†the chief said of a felon who wasn’t allowed to possess weapons because of his criminal past. It was not clear how he got them.
So you mean someone intent to break the law and KILL people doesn't give a rats @$$ about a law saying THEY shouldn't have guns!? SHOCKING! :o Surly we need yet ANOTHER law (that will only really affect and restrict the liberty of law abiding citizens) to make everything better. I'm certain some politician who has to get their name in front of the headlines in already on it. ::)
QuotePerhaps we'd get further if we'd start teaching The Golden Rule, right and wrong, good and bad, and/or a sense of community. Every child should know that we all have our gifts and there will always be winners and losers, it's how you play the cards you were handed and how you take the final score is what matters most.
That's crazy talk for two reasons.
1. You know we can't blame people for their own actions. It's always society's fault. Even the Newtown shooter is getting a pass for is mental health issues(as if anyone who would do such a thing is sane), which his why we're blaming the gun and not him.
2. A politician can't craft a law around it to give themselves more power so it's useless politically. You know when everyone stands around and goes "Well
someone has to do
something" that's exactly when a politician has to look busy. Regardless of whether a new law is needed or warranted, the fact is all of the useful idiots want them to do "something".
Quote from: stephendare on December 26, 2012, 10:39:16 AM
I agree Jtwestside. Lets just arm everyone with home nuclear devices!
That would be the ultimate deterrent against those dumb criminals wouldnt it?
If everyone already had them what good would you think making them illegal would be? How well did it work with alcohol or pot?
But I digress, I realize your post is just the rant of an idiot.
Quote from: stephendare on December 26, 2012, 10:39:16 AM
I agree Jtwestside. Lets just arm everyone with home nuclear devices!
That would be the ultimate deterrent against those dumb criminals wouldnt it?
I'd also like to point out that my post had nothing to do with guns being a deterrence to criminals (which most certainly they are) which was the analogy you so poorly made. Instead I was saying that laws were not, and more laws did not = more determent as with the example of the NY gunman or the alcohol drinker during prohibition or the pot smoker now.
I really hate having to spell it all out for you ... but you're stupid.
If law abiding citizens each had a nuke in the garage the homeowners association would have to be careful when they measure the length of your lawn grass!
Fact is we don't have them, however there is a real and present danger that criminal terrorist elements could be building one in the basement of some densely populated urban area. Trouble is, those terrorists are not highly likely to register their nukes if they're ever required to do so by a law.
Don't try Ock, he's incapable of competent thought. He clearly didn't get your point, you know that nukes are outlawed and it wound't stop anyone intent on using one illegally. He just keeps trying to be sarcastic, or witty or whatever he thinks it is. He never does actually make a valid point because he's incapable of forming one.