Guns in schools
Published by Sabotabby June 25th, 2008 in Brilliant Ideas, Human Rights, Lick My Jackboots of Love, Pigs, Rights? What rights?, Shame on you for not being rich white and privileged, ViolenceWhatever side one falls on in the gun control debate, most people agree that handguns should not be in schools. It’s just a bad mix—volatile, trapped kids and deadly firearms. Any sane person ought to feel a bit uncomfortable at the thought of guns in a high school.
Unfortunately, sane people aren’t in charge in my city.
Sticking police in schools is a bad idea on principle, but sticking armed police in schools is pure, unadulterated lunacy. We have enough problems with police shooting at teenagers of colour—why put them in a situation where they have even more opportunity to do that?
But of course, it all comes down to police chief Bill Blair’s inferiority complex:
“Quite frankly, as you can probably guess by my constant appearance, I believe in police officers in uniform,” he told a press conference this morning.
“I want the people of Toronto to see their police. I want them to have a relationship with the entire police service that is based on trust and respect. And my police officers are armed.”
That’s very nice for you, sir, that you believe in being formal. But we’re talking about arming crazed thugs who will be around children all day. Children—not criminals. How is anyone supposed to get an education with an armed cop just outside the door? Especially, say someone who is a refugee from a war-torn country or a police state, or from an impoverished region here, someone with every reason to fear large armed men carrying guns.
There’s a lot of talk about making schools safe and welcoming in Ontario. That’s all you hear about when you’re becoming a teacher. Apparently, though, that’s been amended to “safe and welcoming…or else.”
Now, see, I’m ok with guns in school. (Provided they are either locked in the principle’s office or locked in one’s car).
What I’m not okay with is armed police officers in school.
I’m really, really angry about this. Why have I not hear about police officers in schools until now? There’s no money to have a public health nurses in every school, or to keep swimming pools open, but there’s money for armed police officers?
If we’re trying to teach students about community, wouldn’t it be better to have a community ombudsperson in every school? Or a social worker?
Sigh. I really, really want to believe in public education. I really, really want to be comfortable sending my eventual progeny to Toronto public schools. I don’t want to opt out. But I don’t want my kid going to schools that have police officers but no public health nurses. I don’t want my kid learning that conflict resolution is a matter for the police (except as a last-ditch effort, when someone is in actual, physical danger).
I’m writing a letter. Lots of letters.
That’s a good point. I really want the social workers back in schools. And Educational Assistants. I think everyone who’s ever worked in an urban public high school understands the value of the social workers. I think they even cost less than the cops do.
Just to interject a note of secondhand experience–after my first husband and I separated, so that he could spend more time with the boys, he switched from being an off-shift patrol officer to an SRO, or school resource officer, for a local middle school. (No, he wasn’t armed on school grounds.) He actually ended up helping out a lot of kids–got one kid some very needed help after an abortive suicide attempt–and was pretty well-liked at the school; they were sorry to see him go a few years later. Of course, none of the kids there were armed themselves, and they were middle schoolers and he was 6′3″ and 200 lbs with a shaved head, so maybe that explains why it all worked out so well.
Maybe the solution is to stock the schools with firearm-wielding social workers.
We had armed police officers at my highschool in Canton, Georgia USA, beginning my junior year. That was around 1999-2001. Words I would use to describe seeing armed ‘authority figures’ at my school: awkward, uncomfortable, creepy; not safe and welcome. Maybe I’m off the mark but it seems like forced conditioning. I wonder if the kids today, at my old highschool, take any notice of the cops with guns hanging out in the halls?