Jake
Since the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Donald Trump has been desperate to appear like he’s trying to solve the problem of school shootings. He even held a listening session where he politely ignored calls for gun control, despite clear written instructions to AT LEAST say “I hear you.” The pressure from the student activists’ campaign to ban weapons of war, like the AR-15 that was pointed at them over a week ago, has forced Trump to make some weak concessions like raising the minimum age to purchase these firearms to 21. Unfortunately, Trump’s big plan to safeguard American kids from an epidemic of school shootings is laughably bad, but it appeals to the National Rifle Association, which means he’s never gonna give it up.
Trump’s plan to fight the scourge of school shootings is to arm “10-40%” of “gun adept” teachers who may or may not be former military personnel.
Trump: "We need offensive capability" in schools https://t.co/PxmzKebjdz
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 23, 2018
The plan, which is opposed by law enforcement groups and teachers alike, is insane on its face, but Trump can’t seem to shake the idea from his feeble and deteriorating mind.
Touting his proposal to arm some school staff, President Trump claims that an armed teacher "would have shot the hell out" of the Parkland school shooter https://t.co/K3rEyFsN7e https://t.co/CcecbUlSfl
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 23, 2018
To call it “half-baked” would be being generous. Sadly, the “good guy with a gun” myth meshes too well with the gun manufacturing lobby’s bottom line and the bloody revenge fantasies of the right-wing base. Speaking at CPAC today, Trump promised that one of these gun-toting teachers would have “shot the hell out of” the Parkland shooter, to rapt applause from the ghoulish crowd.
But Trump accidentally made a good point in arguing for specifically arming teachers and not some other security personnel: Teachers love their students.
Trump on arming some teachers in the wake of Parkland: “We need people who can take of our children … a security guard doesn’t know the children, doesn’t love the children. This man standing outside of the school the other day doesn’t love the children” https://t.co/a2DRbhyj46
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 23, 2018
In a now-viral tweet storm, a gun-carrying educator made a similar point against Trump’s awful, awful idea.
Josh Grubbs, a professor of psychology at Bowling Green State University, obliterated Trump’s idea that armed teachers should be the first line of defense against school shooters.
Guys, I’m a college professor.
I’ve also been shooting guns my entire life and own multiple guns now.
I don’t trust myself to be able to capably defend a classroom against a shooter, and I’m a good shot.
Why would we expect teachers everywhere to bear this responsibility?
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
When I go into a classroom, I don’t want to think about whether or not I’m going to need to shoot a student today to protect my class.
That’s not my job.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
Fun story:
I was born and raised in a GOP household.When I was 18, I registered as a Republican.
At 21, I applied for and obtained a concealed carry permit for the state of VA.
Around that age/time, I used to carry my Ruger SP101 .357 mag with regularity.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
I say this to illustrate that I am not one of those hypothetical "librul snowflakes!" that the right wing raves about. Yes, I'm a Democrat now, & yes, I believe in MUCH stronger gun control than we currently have, but I've got receipts. Public records can verify all of the above.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
So, let me make a few observations:
1). Carrying a firearm in public is anxiety provoking. It puts you in a mode that is not relaxed, nor should it be.
2). Concealed carry leaves you actively looking for threats.
3). Neither of those are conducive to educating.— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
I found carrying a gun distressing (immensely distressing) even when I was a right wing conservative gun nut who believed whole-heartedly in 2nd Amd. rights.
Even when I wanted to be that person, it left me on edge.
I can't educate like that, and I don't know anyone who can.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
So, regardless of the moral and ethical and practical barriers to asking teachers to carry firearms and protect their classes, it's just not feasible in general.
It's truly an incomprehensibly moronic idea that will only lead to more deaths.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
Teachers cannot operate in a mode of threat assessment all day every day. We cannot do that while educating, mentoring, and caring for our students. It's just not possible.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
I cannot go through my day wondering if I am going to be required to end another human being's life.
I can't go into my lectures looking through my classroom to determine which student I might need to execute before they kill someone else.
I can't do it.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
I don't say this to be dramatic. I'm being very authentic here. The goals of an educator are not compatible with the goals of a peacekeeper or an enforcer.
If someone tries to tell you otherwise, they are selling you a bill of good based on their own willful ignorance.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
I believe more strongly in 2nd amendment rights than many on the Left do.
Going the full Australian route on gun control is not a position I'm comfortable with.
But something's got to give folks.
We can't live in a society where everyone is expected to be ready to kill.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
What's the next logical step?
Doctors carrying a sidepiece with their stethoscopes? Chaplains carrying derringers in their holy books? Janitors with AR15's on their cleaning carts?
None of it makes sense and none of it will work.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
Until we find a way to either massively restrict access or to magically identify threats BEFORE they get guns, nothing will change.
More guns will never equal less death.
— Josh Grubbs (@JoshuaGrubbsPhD) February 21, 2018
Teachers already have a lot on their plate. They’re underpaid, overworked, and stressed the hell out. Giving them a gun, even if it comes with a raise, isn’t going to ease their nerves or make their jobs any easier. Also, teachers love their kids! Putting the psychological weight on them that they might have to kill one of their students at some point is torture. That’s one of MANY MANY MANY reasons teachers are rejecting this ridiculous plan.