There was an article in the Buffalo News the other day about a local high school that was running an active shooter drill. Given the frequency with which school shootings occur in the country, that seems like a very smart thing to do. Still, what does it say about us as a society? Let me answer my own question(feel free to provide your own answers in the comment section). It says two things: one, we’re freaking crazy as loons and two, we have way too many guns owned by irresponsible people.
Remember when, as kids, we had a different type of school drill? We used to do duck and cover drills, in case of a bomb attack. Talk about scaring the bejeezus out of grade school kids! Okay everybody, stop talking about last night’s Happy Days episode and pay attention. Now put your head between your legs, under the desk. This will protect you in case we get bombed :). Even as little kids, most of us knew that our flimsy little desks were not going to be much help. Our school, like most likely every other school, had a yellow, fallout shelter sign out front.
https://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/civildefense/sheltersign.htm
I remember thinking that this sign must have had some sort of magic powers that would repel bombs. What? It made just as much sense and putting your head between your legs.
thoughtsfromBlo 
We conducted an active shooter drill, with faculty and staff only, in the months following the Sandy Hook incident. Having the need to conduct such a drill was sad for all who experienced it and even traumatic for some. I am glad that we did not involve the students because it would have only served to further normalize in their minds what is clearly an abnormal and intolerable presence of violence in our society. That brings me to my take on this issue. I wouldn’t say we are all “crazy as freaking loons”, but those who are susceptible to violent ideations and actions are certainly provided ample opportunity to fuel their inclinations. The degree to which violence is splattered (pun intended) all over the big and small screens certainly underscores the “normalization” of heinous acts. Add to that the depersonalization of our society as technological communication continues to erode the development of emotional accountability that is such an important part a child’s upbringing. In the past the development of this type of emotional accountability was furthered by frequent, “normal”, face-to-face communication that was the standard of a by-gone age. The news media ingredient doesn’t temper this foul recipe either. Every day we can view the worst the world has to offer with a simple click. Today’s news frequently paints a rather dismal picture of what the emotionally susceptible embrace as normal. In the notorious words of Clarence Boddicker [Robocop]: “Guns…Guns…Guns!” They have always been around, the potential has always been there for misuse, yet even 50 years ago we did not have the kinds of mass shootings we are experiencing on an all to frequent basis now. Why have guns become such a hot button issue? They are simply the tool of choice for the “crazy loons”. Refer back to the other ingredients of this fecal pie and you’ll find that nearly constant, broad exposure to gun violence continues to endorse and normalize, for the loons, more gun violence. Society needs to stop normalizing violence and I agree that the loons should not have access to guns. Too many dollars are to be made by a small minority who peddle violence as entertainment. This fact of capitalism and our freedoms of speech and expression nearly guarantee that this problem is here to stay. I need to stop writing now and get back to binge watching The Walking Dead to start my day.
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One other major difference between now and 50 years ago is the number of guns out there in the country. There are currently more guns than there are people in our country. Over 270 million guns! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/05/guns-in-the-united-states-one-for-every-man-woman-and-child-and-then-some/
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By the way, I stand by my “crazy as loons” characterization. We are absolutely crazy for accepting this situation and not doing anything about it.
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There are likely far more steak knives than people in the country too. Imagine there were no such things as guns, and only steak knives existed, AND pop culture perpetually glorified steak knife violence and the media incessantly covered resulting steak knife violence do you think we would have less incidents of violence? What is in the heads and hearts of the “loons” is a greater factor than what is in their hands. But, don’t read that mindset as an endorsement of a gun ownership free-for-all. I don’t espouse that position either. Our society is producing too many “loons” based upon the culture we embrace and reinforce. That primary culture trait (violence as entertainment), in conjunction with ease of access to potentially deadly weapons of any sort, is a recipe for disaster.
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I take your point but steak knives cannot do the same damage as guns. I agree with you on the entertainment culture aspect but that ship sailed long ago and is never coming back, so I don’t think we can look there for a solution. I don’t think there is any single solution, unfortunately. I do wish the issue was not so politicized and instead treated like the public health issue that it really is. Instead, we have a Congress that will not even approve putting funds toward the STUDY of gun violence. That’s pathetic.
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