‘Armed Teacher Training Program’ Launches In 15 States

[primavera]

48. Well said

It may well be the case that trying to instruct teachers to be commandos would have little direct, practical impact in school class rooms where teachers are not permitted to carry guns anyway. But that's beside the point. What's troubling is the attitude that the proper response to gun violence in schools is to arm everyone to the teeth. Our culture nurtures the fantasy that guns make us safer. We grow up watching characters like Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone and Charles Bronson overcoming obstacles and righting wrongs through superior firepower and, on some subliminal level, many of us have come to believe that we, too, could make a positive difference if only we had more and bigger guns. That culture needs to change to reflect the reality that, far from making us safer, guns increase the danger of us coming to harm. Apart from placing weapons of mass destruction into the hands of "evildoers," even placing guns in the hands of well-intentioned citizens also increases the chances of harm, as studies have demonstrated that, in instances of life-threatening duress, people freeze up and shoot innocent bystanders, themselves, pretty much anyone but the assailant. Our culture needs to reflect reality rather than fantasy. The mechanism by which culture changes is positive or negative reinforcement of its movement in various directions. If we applaud (or remain mute) when groups advocate turning teachers into Rambos to improve safety, that deranged value gains legitimacy and the all too predictable next step will be for those groups to demand that teachers be allowed to carry guns into their classrooms. After all, what's the point in teaching them how to be Rambo if they can't carry the gatling gun that every Rambo needs to fulfill his/her mission of vanquishing the evildoers? Conversely, if we vocally and vehemently ostracize those who believe that gun violence is best addressed with a Hollywood fantasy, perhaps we can begin to gradually introduce some sanity into our gun-obsessed culture.