WE ARE: 5 women navigating our twenties in search of peace, happiness and love (or not). WE WRITE: about everything and nothing. From the insane to the mundane- you will find different paths taken, lessons learned and lives lived. WE THINK: you’ll enjoy it...Warning: Consumption of these views may leave you enlightened while intoxicated.

SO LONG, FAREWELL...

The View From Here will conclude on Friday, October 1, our third year anniversary. We would like to spend this month thanking all of our readers, followers, haters, visitors, family, friends, and fans for your continued support, encouragement, and comments over these past few years. Thanks y'all!
-The Five Spot

Monday, February 18, 2008

Bulletproof Tears

You ain’t even safe wit a full clip
I swear on the presidents grave
I’m sick of livin’ in this bullshit
We down to take it to the full length
Meet us up on capitol hill, and we can
Get up in some real shit.

- Assassination, dead prez



After yet another horrific school shooting last Thursday, we are once again reminded that we are not safe anywhere. A former student of Northern Illinois University (NIU) opened fire onto a lecture hall full of students at the school, killing six and injuring others, before committing suicide.

It was the fourth shooting at a U.S. school that week.

This school was not your typical "ghetto" neighborhood, ridden with crime and proverty, where gunshots are a part of the daily soundtrack of life. This school was not an innercity school like Mr. Clark's Eastside High or Stand and Deliver's Garfield High School.

NIU has white, middle-class, suburban, SAT/ACT scoring, career driven, law abiding students. So did Columbine. And Virginia Tech. University of Texas, as well.

The worst school massacre in U.S. history, the Bath School disaster of 1927, was orchestrated by a school board member. Most of the victims were school aged children.


** Hanging my head in sorrow. **


What is my point? That violence has no face. It is widespread. Universal. We are all affected by it. Despite our media's insistence on focusing on a certain group of people [who mostly resemble me] it is undeniable that since the beginning of time the majority of these perpetrators of violence are men. And mostly white men.

I prefer not to discuss the right to bear arms and gun control laws today. Instead I want to focus on metal detectors. Metal detectors are very effective when used properly. You cannot board an airplane without going through them. I am greeted with them when attending major sporting events and music concerts. Many public schools around the country have them, especially in high schools.

So why aren't there metal detectors installed in colleges and universities?

While I find it sad that we have been forced to consider such extreme measures, what other choices do we have? Like my boys dead prez said, you ain't even safe with a full clip these days. For those who wish to carry their heat, cool. But I think that we need to be a lot more vigilant about making sure they check that sh*t at the door upon entry.

Our children are at war with us. How in the hell did this happen?


Tumultuously Yours,

Dark & Stormy

5 comments:

Amaretto said...

What kills me are those NRA, Good Ole Boy soundbites touting that if everyone was armed then these mentally ill people could be stopped before things got too tragic. Say what now? I think the lost of life of even one person, mentally ill or not is tragic. Metal detectors makes more sense to me.

lovnlife said...

I just came across your blog wanted to say job well done!

Unknown said...

@ lov - Welcome! Thanks for the kudos! Tell your friends!

Unknown said...

Being a high school teacher, I am VERY aware of the possibility of this happening in my school. It's scary.

SunFresh said...

I'm for stronger, tougher gun laws. A gun's only purpose is to kill (not to protect). That is one reason why you will NEVER see me vote republican.

Whatever happened to kids sucker-punching each other and learning how to defend their honor in a more respectable way? Now we've got a whole bunch of spineless adolescence that can't deal with this thing called life.