I was sitting in class today, just as any other day, when my phone started to go crazy as I received numerous texts about a lock down in Tea. I know several people are are going to Tea Area High School in Tea, so naturally I was alarmed when I heard about the lock down.
The story of the lockdown is that the superintendent ordered a lock down of all schools in town, according to SOP (standard operating proceedure) , because of early morning police reports of a man outside near the Elementary school with a gun. At first this seems like a natural reaction. Happening at 8:15, right as school started, it was vital that school officials ensure everybody is safe. My first question is why lock down all of the schools in town? Just because there was a man near the elementary school with a gun doesn't mean there was one by the high school. It turns out that the man was simply getting ready to go out hunting.
What I find troubling is that is that a man was seen with a gun and instantly everyone is scared. What has the media done to us? Seriously!? I remember stories from my dad about how they could keep guns locked in their vehicles. Has the biased, reactive, media made society think this negatively about a man simply carying a gun near his house? Moreover, to think so negatively about it that not only was the closest school put on lock down but also the remaining schools in town? Did the events of Columbine, Virginia Tech, and other school shootings and the lack of recognition of all of the days without school shootings make our reaction this severe? If you think about it if you only thought of 10 schools and only having 1 school shooting a year you would have (10 schools * (36 weeks * 5 days a week)) -1 non-school shootings. Which is approx. 0.0006%. So if you think of the thousands of schools that exists, there is an incredibly small chance one just one school shooting, yet alone 2 in the same town.
As a society we are accustomed to reacting to, mainly, the bad events without giving much notice to the good events. When we mold into this reactionary behavior we begin to impose more rules and proceedures for the sake of an "unreasonable sense of insecurity." I hope when I have kids and send them off to school that a whole city doesn't get shut down because I happen to have my garage door open and a gun visisble.
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I agree with you that it is troubling when everyone is instantly scared when they see a man with a gun. Especially in South Dakota during hunting season. I believe the school is trying to protect themselves. If they had not done a lock down and they had a school shooting. The hole nation would be screaming for the superintendents head. I do not think he had a choice. Once someone expressed concern about a man and a gun
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