Sunday, January 8, 2023

A bullet for the teacher.

Library of Congress

   
     Journalists are not supposed to guess. Rather, we gather what facts we can, present them in as coherent a fashion as we can, try to think about them, and maybe draw such conclusions that are supported by evidence.
     But sometimes we can go out on a limb.
     Knowing nothing about the situation in Virginia except that a 6-year-old in Newport News took a gun to school Friday and shot his teacher at Richneck Elementary School, leaving her with "life-threatening injuries," I will nevertheless state this conjecture as a near-certainty: some adult bought that gun thinking he was protecting himself, and perhaps protecting that kid, and then left it in a place where the child could get at it.
     Another life shattered — correction, group of lives shattered — by the get-the-drop-on-the-bad-guy fantasy.
     That gun owner should be charged with a crime. And as horrible as this shooting is, let me share the really horrible part, which you might not realize: it's not the first time in this country that a 6-year-old has taken a gun to school and shot someone. It has happened before. Several times. And we do nothing, because that's what we do best. So here's another safe conjecture: it will happen again.

5 comments:

  1. If this is the way a 6-year-old has learned this is the way to settle an argument, this has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with fear. This kid's homelife has to be horrible and charge the guardians.

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  2. Barbara Maginnis PalmerJanuary 8, 2023 at 10:11 AM

    And as usual, you are right, Neil.

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  3. Groups of lives shattered for sure. Hoping the teacher will survive, how will he/she move on? His/Her family?
    What will happen to the student? Will he be locked up with other seriously troubled youth for years? How will his family move on?
    Of course it will happen again. This is America.

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  4. What a travesty but what will change?

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  5. What the hell, the way things are going, pretty soon the Supreme Court will affirm that six-year-olds have a Constitutional right to buy guns.

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