Christian Newswire: "NJ School Mocks Christians with Columbine-Style 'Mock Hostage Drill'

[Bluebear]

Contact: Bob Pawson, National Coordinator, Scriptures in Schools Project, 609-610-3522 cell, 800-384-1222 voice mailbox, [e-mail]

TRENTON, NJ, Apr. 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- Bob Pawson, National Coordinator of the Scriptures in Schools Project, responds to reports that Burlington Township High School in NJ staged a mock school shooting and hostage drama -- complete with anti-Christian bigotry. After school was dismissed, scores of Christian students went home and informed their parents of this vile outrage.

The mock terrorist attack was carried out by police detectives portraying two angry Christian men armed with handguns. They invaded the school's front door; pretended to gun down several students in the hallways; and then took ten students hostage while barricading themselves in the school's media center.

The fake gunmen were described as "members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called the 'New Crusaders' who don't believe in separation of church and state." The mock-Christian terrorists "went to the school seeking justice because the daughter of one had been expelled for praying before class."

Before the Thursday, March 22, 2007 exercise, Superintendent Chris Manno said, "We need to practice under conditions as real as possible..."

"So what allegedly real condition was imagineered?" asks Pawson, a Trenton public school teacher. "A grotesque scenario saturated with Christian-bashing prejudice and bigotry; a scenario which could never possibly occur."

"Why could it never happen?" Pawson said. "Because, as all Burlington school officials know full well: It is perfectly legal for any student or staff member to pray in a public school. They know that no student can ever be expelled for praying before class. Hence, the contrived reason for the mock attack is bogus."

US Department of Education guidelines state: "The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the First Amendment requires public school officials to be neutral in their treatment of religion, showing neither favoritism toward nor hostility against religious expression -- such as prayer."

The No Child Left Behind Act penalizes any school district which "prevents, or otherwise denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary and secondary schools.

The Supreme Court has ruled that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." (Tinker v Des Moines Indep. School Dist)

According to the Burlington County Times, "The purpose of the drill was to test the reactions of police, faculty and administration."

"This denigrating drill is also a test of the reactions and responses of New Jersey's Christians, along with all other fair-minded citizens of any faith, to such a blatant example of anti-Christian animosity," said Pawson. "A public apology is in order. The citizens of Burlington County could rightly demand the resignation or termination of school officials who dreamed up and approved this reprehensible scenario."

Pawson said, "I also recommend that the churches of Burlington County encourage all of their students to pray before class daily; each and every day. Individually and in small peer-support groups. Follow through by bringing their Bibles to schools on a routine basis and using Bible references to complete some of their assignments each week all year long."

Pawson points out that Christian legal advocacy groups such as the Alliance Defense Fund, the American Center for Law & Justice, and Liberty Counsel, have full info about the rights of public school students and employees.

Links to original press reports:

Hostage drill prepares school for crisis (phillyBurbs.com) Burlington County Times

Hostage drill prepares school for crisis

http://www.earnedmedia.org/sisp0402.htm

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. riiiiiight.

[DRoseDARs]

2. Once, just once, I wish someone would bring a lion to one of these Christian "Oppress-o-thons" ...

...that we hear so much about but no one has ever actually seen. I'm sure everyone would appreciate the irony. :)

[crikkett]

3. the thing I was taught to do in an invasion situation like that is

for everyone in the room to immediately surround and crowd in on the intruder, corner them, take the weapon. Then someone at the edge run for help.

At least that's what we learned in boot camp, in a barracks of 80 grown women. Which is different than school. I don't know what kids should do.

The scenario as it was reported is pretty stupid. They couldn't think of anything better?

[DRoseDARs]

5. You're never going to get a group of school children to react like that...

...the best you can do is get them to drop to the ground and offer no resistance less they provoke a reaction. It would be up to the teachers to try to apprehend the suspect if you wanted to go that route, but even that's a bad idea because the kids are still going to be in harm's way.

[RamboLiberal]

20. Anyone remember this story - I remember posting it

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/students-trained-to-fight-school/20061018103309990004?ncid=NWS00010000000001

The Independent School District of Burleson, Texas, just south of Ft. Worth is the first in the country to adopt a policy of training students to immediately fight back and use their advantage in numbers to take tactical control if a gunman enters their classroom.

A group of Texas security experts with a company called "Response Options" has made instructional video tapes showing a gunman bursting into a classroom and being swarmed by students. The instructors tell students to throw their books, book bags, desk and chairs using everything and anything to disrupt and take down a gunman. Robin Browne, a major with the British Army, helped design the training course and says it is necessary for students and teachers to throw themselves into the line of fire.

<snip>

Browne concedes that his program of fighting back carries risk. He admits that the first student to swarm an attacker may pay with his or her life. However, he believes the risk may be worth it to save other lives.

"He won't be able to shoot the fourth, fifth, eighth, twentieth or thirtieth student," he said.

[crikkett]

22. Right - that's what we were taught

and since we were conducting an 8-week groupthink session,
and since we already signed away our lives for our country (boot camp is very melodramatic,)
it was probably better suited for us than a class of scared kids and teachers.

It takes courage to even learn the method, actually. Is that good for our kids? To teach them that they may have to lay their lives down for each other? In school of all places?

[SalmonChantedEvening]

4. Imagineered?

Is that a real word? :rofl:

And this yutz teaches?

Prudence Frickin O'Rourke we're doomed.

[DRoseDARs]

7. He must work for Disney. n/t

[Bluebear]

8. I think Disney has imagineers

:crazy:

[bryant69]

9. Imagineered is a word i think, coined by Walt Disney

At any rate it's been around since the 50s and Disney land so I think it counts as an actual word if not a reputable one.

I don't know this sort of scenario makes me uncomfortable; I don't know how I would react if it were a group of militant environmentalist or radical muslims or so on or so forth.

Bryant
Check it out--> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[SalmonChantedEvening]

10. I slouch corrected

:D

[Bluebear]

11. Don't.

It is not an appropriate word for a press release. Unless it comes from Disney.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

13. Then I will just slouch :)

All hail The Recliner.

:hi: :hug: :pals:

[bryant69]

21. On what basis do you think it is not an appropriate word?

Has Disney Copyrighted it?

Bryant

[crikkett]

23. perhaps it somehow defiles the idea of 'imagineering'

because Disney's brand is all, happiness and light, and this exercise was, pretty dumb.

[ComerPerro]

6. sounds like a very possible scenario.

[hedgehog]

12. What was the point of this exercise?

I mean, other than to instill fear into parents and students? Our school systems here have hired people to stand at the door and sign people in and out. Mostly they hassle kids over hall passes. It used to take me four signatures and 10 to 15 minutes to sign my daughter out of school for a weekly doctor's appointment and not once was I ever asked for ID! I'm sure if anyone ever showed up with a shot gun they would be stopped by the hall monitor!

[Bluebear]

14. 'if anyone ever showed up with a shot gun they would be stopped by the hall monitor'

What would the hall monitor 'stop' the gunman with, a note to see the principal? ;)

[msongs]

15. no he would pray that the shotgun was not loaded nt

[Ms. Clio]

16. "a scenario which could never possibly occur"

I think it's safe to say this jackass would have no problem with the exercise if generic Muslim terrorists were the practice villain du jour.

[FVZA_Colonel]

17. "a scenario which could never possibly occur"

In no way do I consider these people Christian, but they need to read of Buford O. Furrow Jr., Paul Hill and others of their ilk.

[Bluebear]

18. Eric Rudolph, fundy-Christian terrorist

"a scenario which could never possibly occur" my ass!

[RamboLiberal]

19. I'll be a naysayer and say this was a dumb scenario by the cops

Two Burlington Township police detectives portrayed the gunmen. Investigators described them as members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called the “New Crusaders” who don't believe in separation of church and state. The mock gunmen went to the school seeking justice because the daughter of one had been expelled for praying before class.

To make the drill more realistic, about 10 students volunteered to act as hostages or wounded victims. Several faculty members helped simulate a complete school lockdown, followed by an evacuation.

The full student body was not present for the drill because of a scheduled half-day of classes, officials said.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/112-03232007-1318937.html

They could've left religion out of this. They are idiots if they didn't think no matter what religion they brought in to this scenario there wouldn't be outrage. If they had portrayed Muslim terrorists I'd back Muslims who would've been rightly outraged. They didn't need religion to run the scenario. Certainly we saw last year two instances where adult idiots shot school children and I don't think religion in the shooter's lives were a motivation.

[scrinmaster]

25. They should have just used "Red Team" or "Blue Team"

or something like that. A student pissed off at a teacher or because he didn't make it onto a sports team is a more likely scenario.

But it isn't like religion based school shootings don't occur.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis

[deepthought42]

24. Help! Help! I'm being repressed!