By Carol Lucas
On Thursday, Jan. 4, the breaking news of the morning was a punch in the gut, another school shooting. As I sat and watched the information come in, my first thought was how early in the year it was, knowing from my own experience in the classroom that kids had probably just returned from the holiday vacation.
When it was disclosed that the tragedy had occurred in Iowa, my mind jumped to the Republican presidential candidates who were there to make their pitch, and I wondered how they would handle the obvious questions that would arise, given their stance on gun control.
Furthermore, what would be the responses from the residents of Perry, Iowa, the small town of 8,000, where still another senseless mass shooting had happened? As deeply red as this area is, would the citizens find a way to gloss over the loss of a 6th grader, and the shooting of a principal who attempted to stop the carnage, as well as the wounding of others?
Last month I committed to writing about those topics that are positive. After all, said I, “’tis the season to be jolly.” or some other inane narrative. And I kept to my commitment, although there were surely issues that could have flowed from my computer that would have been less than joyful. God knows that wars continued to rage, and people continued to be slaughtered, but not wanting to be a total Grinch, I opted to back burner those thoughts and focus on lighter material.
However, it is a new month, in fact a new year, and I am now in the mood to take off my angora mittens, and don my boxing gloves. The shooting in Iowa calls for, indeed, demands it.
What is it going to take? I have asked that question ad nauseam and have yet to receive a viable answer. But let’s turn to the illustrious solutions provided by those Republicans who are striving to lead our country for the next four years.
My digging found the following responses when the “elephant in the room” (no pun intended because nothing about this topic is humorous) was finally addressed after the tedious touting of so-called accomplishments and the self-aggrandizement was concluded by those campaigning in Iowa.
Ron DeSantis was introduced as the most pro-Second Amendment candidate, and was finally asked what he would do about mass shootings. He then launched into a long diatribe about the shooting in Parkland, Fla., before he became governor, and stressed that he had removed the sheriff and school board members for the law enforcement response to the shooting. Well, that certainly must have had a profound effect.
Said DeSantis, “Parents out there can count on me as somebody that is going to put the safety of our kids and the safety of our souls on the front burner. It’s important.”
Several questions on other issues were asked, and at the end of the event, the topic was turned back to mass shootings. DeSantis made note of the Perry shooter’s age, 17, and said he was too young to legally own a gun. He added that whoever allowed him to have one needs to be held accountable, and then segued into a rant about criminals in Democratic-run cities.
“You have to hold people accountable,” DeSantis said.
Yes, Governor, you certainly do. As for the safety of our souls, have you now become Rev. DeSantis? I guess anything is acceptable when you are vying for the Presidency.
On Friday, former President Donald Trump addressed the issue at a rally in Sioux Center with a very cogent response.
“It’s a very terrible thing that happened, and it’s just terrible,” he said. “To see that happening. That seems terrible. So surprising to see it here. But we have to get over it. We have to move forward. We have to move forward.”
Excuse this English teacher’s response to that … say what? As for “we have to get over it,” Mr. Trump, may I suggest that the parents of that 11-year-old boy will never get over it. The principal who unselfishly took bullets so that other kids might escape will carry this trauma to his grave? Who knows how this event may affect his health in the future? Furthermore, the kids that endured that experience will deal with the nightmare for the rest of their lives. Getting over it isn’t an option.
And then there was our own Nikki Haley whose response calls for some scrutiny. Haley said we have to secure our schools the way we secure our airports. I can only assume our former governor hasn’t recently traveled the airways in the same manner as “John Q Public.”
Has she seen the lines at the airports as people wait to go through the detectors? Picture, if you will, kids standing out in the sub-zero weather, waiting to be “scanned” so they might go to their homerooms. Given the school populations, they might get into their lockers by 9 a.m., assuming they don’t have frostbite and have to go to the nurse. While you may deem this an exaggeration, I ask you to look at the dynamics of that solution.
Furthermore, the next day at a Des Moines Rotary Club meeting, she failed to address the shooting at all. Said one Haley supporter, “I was waiting to see if she would mention it. I was surprised she didn’t. It was obvious that even words of condolence should be said.”
Well, my dear, it’s called empathy, and apparently the need to gain votes negates that feeling.
None of these so-called remedies represent anything close to believable. They are excuses at best and shams at worst.
I admit this is a complex issue that needs input from multiple sources across the spectrum. I also realize we have probably passed the point where we will have “control” of all the guns out there. Furthermore, I accept that there are many, probably most, who use guns responsibly. However, I will not be pulled into the conspiracy idea that any gun control is equal to the notion that “they are coming for our guns.”
Yes, mental health is an issue, but so are our gun laws, and the sooner we accept that as concerned citizens, the better off we will be. We are not the only country with mental health issues.
“Investigators are still working to get a ‘good grasp’ of who Dylan (the 17-year-old shooter) was, and the parents have been cooperating,” said one source. The investigation will include Butler’s background along with the “environment of the school,” he said.
By that, I assume he was referring to the bullying said to have taken place. If that was known and yet ignored, it must be investigated.
So the trail of school shootings continues. Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Uvalde, Nashville. Our country seemingly accepts another “Trail of Tears.” I ask again, “Why?”
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
