- The pastor called me quirky...same word the principal said I was in 1998. Sticks and stones..and names ...call me any name you would like.. is it any surprise that the pastor was once and may be again...a school principal? He did talk to the family and found out some interesting information. When a bug is up my bonnet, network news usually explains why.
Original post...
About four years ago, I started presenting child assault prevention workshops to children in a religious education program. The presentations are brief but length of presentations does not necessarily guarantee a better response. If someone takes to heart the message of prevention, the message does not have to be lengthy.
I asked a group of fourth graders about preventative measures related to all forms of assaults (including bullying). Most responses involved "telling an adult" therefore adults need to be listening when children talk.
One child had a very worldly view of prevention when it came to prevention. He said, "call in a swat team". As I told the child, if it is necessary to call in a swat team, nothing has been prevented then.
So, when I hear on the news that a greater tragedy was prevented, I can't help but think of those directly affected by man made terror. I am not an advocate of creating new gun control laws. There are already so many on the books. The shooter on December 11, 2012 allegedly stole the gun he used in his angry onslaught at the mall in Oregon. The shooter in Aurora, Colorado had a history of mental illness so he had no right to own a gun either.
I am an advocate for prevention. Angry people with access to guns can cause a massacre regardless of the numbers killed. Tomorrow or the day after, reports will come out about the shooter. The reports will point to some indication of a troubled past- recent or lengthy. One thing we do know, that copycat crimes are a reality. So, this could have been a copycat crime.
Yesterday, tornadoes tore through sections of the country. How many people died yesterday in them? "Mother Nature", in her wrath, is usually more gentle than man's wrath.
Marian R. Carlino
December 12, 2012
