Parkland shooting; Why Meadow Died.

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berettaprofessor

berettaprofessor

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I thought others might find this NY Post article interesting. It summarizes Andrew Pollock's new book about the murder of his daughter, Meadow, during the Parkland shooting. The full link and an excerpt are below. Pollock was able to obtain the shooter's school records. The astonishing number of issues regarding the shooter that were ignored or passed over for years in the Parkland school system is amazing to me. Even knowing from previous stories that he was a problem, I never suspected they were this frequent or deep.

The public wants to know why school shootings are on the rise? This one is pretty simple: kids who would have been removed to special schools in an instant during my school days are now mainstreamed with their future victims. I can't imagine the daily disruption and fear many of these kids have had to live with until it ended like this. Yet some of those kids, who saw all this, blame the guns, not their classmate or school system (shakes head...).

The full article link: https://nypost.com/2019/09/08/parkl...e-if-district-hadnt-enabled-deranged-student/

When staff at Westglades Middle School heard that Nikolas Cruz had committed the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, some couldn’t believe it. The fact that he was a mass murderer wasn’t what surprised them, but rather the fact that he had attended that school.

“How is that possible?” one Westglades educator recalled thinking. “We did our jobs. It took forever, but we got him [to the specialized school] where he needed to go. We couldn’t believe they ever let him into [Douglas].”

Westglades students and staff had never seen anyone like Nikolas Cruz. One student, Paige, recalled the time that she met Cruz. They were standing outside their classroom waiting for their teacher to open the door, and Cruz offered her a hug, which Paige accepted. Their teacher later pulled Paige aside and warned her, “Don’t touch him. He just got caught jerking off.”

If something frustrated Cruz, he would curse and threaten anyone nearby. He would hide behind corners and doors, jump out and scream at people, and then cackle at their fear. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, he would burst into maniacal laughter.
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When I started driving a school bus, one of the Principals told us in a meeting about student behavior on the bus; if a student with “issues” gets in a fight with another student, the other student may get more severe punishment.
I remember thinking “That ain’t right?!?!”.
 
But, but, but, everyone knows that it is the fault of the gun, right? It certainly couldn't be the fault of one of our little darlings, aren't they sweet?

Unfortunately, progressives believe tripe like I wrote above. They think that people are basically good, and that outside forces and things like the availability of firearms are what is at fault. They live in la la land, and heaven forbid that reality would smack them in their smug faces.

As I read earlier from Dennis Prager: Good Intentions-Wisdom=Evil.
 
I still don’t understand how they could ever happen, after all they are gun free zones. Why can’t that just keep them safe?

Or maybe we could ask how will making the entire country a gun free zone help us? Seems to me these things happen far more often where people cannot be armed.
 
Hindsight is always perfect.

The disciplinary balance of not setting everyone down a path of institutionalization if they have some problems as a child versus enabling them to be a menace is a hard one.

For some taking swifter and tougher action reduces their chance of success, and for others it prevents things from growing into bigger problems.

Generic policies will always be lacking and too far one direction or the other for different individuals.
Children are forced to attend school and everyone would rather some did not attend their school.
 
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Sistema1927 said:
But, but, but, everyone knows that it is the fault of the gun, right? It certainly couldn't be the fault of one of our little darlings, aren't they sweet?
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The fault is the combination of the gun plus the troubled individual. The gun community (us) has been remiss in not taking the lead to make sure that such troubled individuals don't get access to guns. This is a matter of self-preservation for us, because each mass shooting brings the draconian laws against us closer. We have been so concerned with preserving "rights" that we are now on the verge of losing it all. As a wise conservative said, "things must change so that things can stay the same."
 
AlexanderA said:
The fault is the combination of the gun plus the troubled individual. The gun community (us) has been remiss in not taking the lead to make sure that such troubled individuals don't get access to guns. This is a matter of self-preservation for us, because each mass shooting brings the draconian laws against us closer. We have been so concerned with preserving "rights" that we are now on the verge of losing it all. As a wise conservative said, "things must change so that things can stay the same."
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  • incompetent, corrupt sheriff
  • cravenly cowardly law enforcement personnel on site
  • INSANE "discipline" policies at the school
  • literal BLINDNESS to WILDLY aberrant and threatening behavior

Yeah, that certainly justifies starting down the road to registration and CONFISCATION.
 
The disciplinary balance of not setting everyone down a path of institutionalization if they have some problems as a child versus enabling them to be a menace is a hard one.
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Read the article Zoogster. In my estimation, there was no problem with not having enough balance. There was a problem with stepping back, looking at the whole picture, and saying "Oh my God, this kid is a psychopath." From everything I've ever read or heard, reforming psychopaths and sociopaths is a no-win proposition. In fact, the author of "The Sociopath Next Door" says all you can do is just get away from them...even if they're family.

I feel for the families, both for the victims and the families of kids like the Parkland shooter. I have a friend who, just at retirement, found out that his son, a previously successful college-grad, had extreme anxiety issues and became schizophrenic to the point of not being able to function. They've sought multiple treatments to no success, and now, in my friend's words, "he's living in my basement, won't pass by a window for fear of snipers, and will be in my basement the rest of my life. That's my lot in life, to care for him now and to set enough aside to provide for him after I'm gone."

At least my friend is keeping the rest of us safe.

Makes my concerns that my son doesn't call often enough kind of fade away.
 
AlexanderA said:
The fault is the combination of the gun plus the troubled individual. The gun community (us) has been remiss in not taking the lead to make sure that such troubled individuals don't get access to guns. This is a matter of self-preservation for us, because each mass shooting brings the draconian laws against us closer. We have been so concerned with preserving "rights" that we are now on the verge of losing it all. As a wise conservative said, "things must change so that things can stay the same."
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What the.....

Oh ya... because the countless other laws aimed at keeping them away from guns just needs one more for it all to be effective.:confused:


I remember back in a time when you didnt take just about every opportunity to recommend that we offer up more restrictions.
 
I recall hearing of a town somewhere in the midwest or south that did the reverse of "gun free". They made it a law that all people over a certain age were required to have a gun and know how to safely use it. The crime rate in that town drifted to near zero in a very short time. Can anyone here confirm this?
Dean
 
Dean C said:
I recall hearing of a town somewhere in the midwest or south that did the reverse of "gun free". They made it a law that all people over a certain age were required to have a gun and know how to safely use it. The crime rate in that town drifted to near zero in a very short time. Can anyone here confirm this?
Dean
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Kennesaw Ga. It was a reaction t bans in Morton Grove, Il.
https://www.cityrating.com/crime-statistics/georgia/kennesaw.html
https://www.kennesaw-ga.gov/crime-statistics/
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahb...-are-required-by-law-in-this-us-town-n2458955

from Wikipdia
Gun law[edit]
Kennesaw is noted for its unique firearms legislation in response to Morton Grove, Illinois' law mandating gun prohibition. In 1982 the city passed an ordinance [Sec 34-21]:[20]

(a) In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefore.

(b) Exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who suffer a physical or mental disability which would prohibit them from using such a firearm. Further exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who are paupers or who conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine, or persons convicted of a felony.
 
Thanks Charlie H.
It looks like the overall crime rate went up based on the links. It did say that murder went down but burglary was up. I would guess that criminals were breaking in and looking for guns to steal. I still like the idea of arming every household.
Dean
 
Sistema1927 said:
Notice how AlexanderA always begins with the gun. Sorry, but you are on the wrong side of this equation.
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While pushing his anti-gun platform such as mandatory background checks on all gun transactions.

The problems we have in our complex, dysfunctional society is not being caused by guns. If you think teachers are bad try working with Social Workers, at least in Kansas.
 
BSA1 said:
While pushing his anti-gun platform such as mandatory background checks on all gun transactions.
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My suggestions on background checks have been attempts to moderate their worst features, such as backdoor registration. It looks like we're going to get the worst possible system, which is to channel all private sales through FFL's. I'm trying to be constructive here, suggesting alternatives. This appears to be a thankless task, to some of the 2nd Amendment "absolutists." Well, if you insist on stonewalling, don't blame me for the Armageddon that you (and I) end up getting.
 
danez71 said:
What the.....

Oh ya... because the countless other laws aimed at keeping them away from guns just needs one more for it all to be effective.
Click to expand...
I'm not necessarily talking about more laws. I'm talking about an attitude among some in the gun community that every Tom, Dick, and Harry should have a gun. Well, I've been around the gun scene for most of my life. I remember when gun shows were fairly genteel affairs. Now, you go to a gun show and half the attendees look like scuzzbags that you would hate to meet in a dark alley. (Don't tell me that they are all undercover cops playing a role.) And there are "private sellers" (no doubt a small minority) that have no problem selling to such people, no questions asked. I've seen it with my own eyes! What I'm saying is that we have done nothing to police ourselves. And anybody that says anything about this is labeled as an antigunner...
 
Deanimator said:
Yeah, that certainly justifies starting down the road to registration and CONFISCATION.
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I am doing my darndest to avert registration and confiscation. And I'll bet that I have a lot more skin in this game than you do. Words such as "WILL NOT COMPLY" are cheap until you are actually faced with the situation.
 
AlexanderA said:
The fault is the combination of the gun plus the troubled individual. The gun community (us) has been remiss in not taking the lead to make sure that such troubled individuals don't get access to guns.
Click to expand...

In this ridiculous statement, you place the blame for mass murders on the gun, and the "gun community (us)". Baloney. The responsibility for mass murders lies exclusively and completely on the despicable shoulders of those who perpetrate these crimes. Not on me. Nor on any other law-abiding member of the "gun community".

Individually or collectively, the "gun community" (or any other element of society) does not have the imminent intelligence or unbounded experience to accurately predict who will commit such atrocities. If we did, I suppose, we could then make sure that all "such troubled individuals" lost their rights to possess weapons. Perhaps you know someone who qualifies to make these decisions about your future behavior? And mine?

Likewise, the "gun community", individually or collectively, cannot prevent prohibited persons from accessing weapons. Only a being or group which is omnipresent and all-powerful could prevent these troubled individuals from accessing weapons. Again, do you know someone who qualifies for this role?

Government has proven to be lousy at both. New laws make neither the "gun community" nor government more effective at seeing the future.

The only logical outcome of your statement, since no one can prevent violent actors from "doing what they do", is that elimination of the gun is the only way to achieve safety in society.

I see what you characterize as pragmatic compromises for what they really are: impossible hopes, founded on dreams, vapor, and clouds. Since human society cannot ever eliminate violence, the only possible outcome of your brand of pragmatism is laws that have the effect of preventing me from exercising my inalienable right to protect myself and those I love from these inevitable attacks by wielding an effective, commonly available tool. I care enough about that right to fight tooth and nail against those who would eliminate it. My right to defend myself supersedes the voices which clamor for elimination of firearms, including yours, as you and they quixotically demand security without personal effort.

If you want "peace in [y]our time" you had better have the means to defend yourself. Words in a treaty or a law book cannot achieve this end.

Didn't we learn anything from society's reaction to a similar situation in 1968?
 
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