Safety in Numbers? A Flawed Way to Look at School Shootings
“I don’t like Mondays. This livens it up” The sound of gunfire sent the school children scrambling, rifle shots felling their intended marks. Children who moments before, had been eagerly awaiting the start of class, became victims of Brenda Spencer’s intention of murder. Mass chaos erupted as adults exited the school trying to usher the children to safety. Two died and nine others were wounded before authorities could put a stop to the slaughter at Grover Cleveland Elementary school in San Diego, CA. Her callous words mark the nation’s first high-profile school shooting, and what is thought of as of as the beginning of the modern-day school shootings. Since that day in 1979, over …show more content…
The sixteen mass school shootings that have occurred since around the Columbine incident continue to strike fear in the hearts of Americans. Debate and vitriol create a wider chasm on both sides with every incident. One side sees these attacks as commonplace and that no school is safe for children. The other contends that, statistically, these crimes do not amount to an epidemic and claiming otherwise is fueling paranoia. Caught in the middle are the victims. Those that have been killed and injured are victims. Too, though, are those who were running for their lives but escaped. Family members are also victims, as they assuredly suffer trauma, as well. Comparatively speaking, the number of school shootings relative to the number of schools throughout America is an infinitesimally small ratio. This relatively small number of deaths as a result of these shootings does not tell the the whole story, however. Devastation reaches farther than just those killed or injured and the effects of school shootings are felt and in numerous ways. Safety cannot be claimed using merely the number of casualties in a shooting. The victims of these shootings suffer lasting effects that alter the rest of their lives. Treating these tragedies
“I don’t like Mondays. This livens it up” The sound of gunfire sent the school children scrambling, rifle shots felling their intended marks. Children who moments before, had been eagerly awaiting the start of class, became victims of Brenda Spencer’s intention of murder. Mass chaos erupted as adults exited the school trying to usher the children to safety. Two died and nine others were wounded before authorities could put a stop to the slaughter at Grover Cleveland Elementary school in San Diego, CA. Her callous words mark the nation’s first high-profile school shooting, and what is thought of as of as the beginning of the modern-day school shootings. Since that day in 1979, over …show more content…
The sixteen mass school shootings that have occurred since around the Columbine incident continue to strike fear in the hearts of Americans. Debate and vitriol create a wider chasm on both sides with every incident. One side sees these attacks as commonplace and that no school is safe for children. The other contends that, statistically, these crimes do not amount to an epidemic and claiming otherwise is fueling paranoia. Caught in the middle are the victims. Those that have been killed and injured are victims. Too, though, are those who were running for their lives but escaped. Family members are also victims, as they assuredly suffer trauma, as well. Comparatively speaking, the number of school shootings relative to the number of schools throughout America is an infinitesimally small ratio. This relatively small number of deaths as a result of these shootings does not tell the the whole story, however. Devastation reaches farther than just those killed or injured and the effects of school shootings are felt and in numerous ways. Safety cannot be claimed using merely the number of casualties in a shooting. The victims of these shootings suffer lasting effects that alter the rest of their lives. Treating these tragedies