Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Look Up!!
Look Up!!!
I was standing in the "courtyard" at St. Joe's last night waiting for the kids to arrive. The night sky had many clouds. As I was facing east, a bright light began to show its round curves. Gradually, the bright light began to show more of its shape. I was mesmerized as the form took command of my view. The rounded half circle continued to rise peeking through the clouds and illuminating the dark night. As it came to full circle, this object was a dazzling reflected white. The clouds traveled past it horizontally as it continued its movement upward. The huge white circle seemed to pick up speed as it took its place in the sky. The higher it seemed to go, the size took on a less commanding appearance. But, its white brilliance still left me in awe. I wanted to share the experience with someone so as a co-worker walked out onto the "court', I motioned to her to watch. We stood in the dark admiring the light.
A picture I could not take. In a photo lens the magnificent round object would appear as a dot...nothing special. But, oh, on this night, this object often taken for granted.... one special to Earth but just a piece of rock in the universe. This rock, called Moon, once again reminded me that light means all the difference in a dark world. Hello Moon. We don't always appreciate you. Last night I did!!! Thanks Moon. Thanks God for being so creative.
Look Up!!!! That is where you will find the light!
Marian R. Carlino
February 26, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
I See Patterns of Dead People
I am not a fan of guns. In fact, it was the very easy access to guns of a young child which factored into my leaving classroom teaching in 1998. I thought at that time I would advocate for new gun laws but that route led to a dead end (no pun intended). Gun laws were already in effect. Gun laws were being broken in all the shootings that had happened during the 1997-98 school year. There were multiple shooting events that school year.
The shooting in Springfield, Oregon sparked the Guide to Safe Schools- Early Warning/Timely Response handbook that a group of experts wrote under the direction of President Clinton and his Attorney General, Janet Reno. It was supposed to have been handed out to all school employees during the 1998-99 school year. It was not and another year of shootings occurred with Columbine High School becoming a name associated with terror and pain.
Local administration, the school board and local prominent NJEA members disagreed with me in 1998 (and may even now to protect their reputations) but the pattern of behaviors and copy cat crime issues also factored into my concerns. Patterns are predictable and many people miss the warning signs. I did not miss warning signs in 1998. One can look at behaviors, access to weapons, and parental issues and draw reasonable conclusions in order to prevent crime and/ or tragedies.
We have a lot of crime committed with guns, including the massacres at our schools. But the most devastating school massacre occurred many years ago using other types of weapons. So, what has made the difference in the gun debate since the massacre at the elementary school in Newtown? Why the rush to buy gun permits and guns on one side of the issue and the rush to ban gun ownership on the other side? Could it be a political football and the children in Newtown are being used as pawns in the game? I watched the follow up news regarding the singing at the SuperBowl. Too much, too little, too late is the expression that comes to mind with that act.
The massacre at Newtown wasn't the first time very young children were attacked in their schools or on school property (including buses) using guns. A group of preschoolers were attacked in a Jewish Community Preschool in 1999. Who remembers the movie "Amish Grace" based on the massacre in the Nickel Mines School in 2006?
But, news media and politicians call the massacre at Newtown a "watershed event" which has sparked this current flow of customers, protesters, and testimonies. How many "watershed events" do we need to realize that the gun is not the problem? Many different types of tools are used to kill people. If new gun laws were the answer, then Chicago would be one of the safest cities in the United States and all my editorials would be about new gun laws.
Victims of gun violence are not experts in violence prevention. We make them "experts" in prevention when in reality, they are victims. Their expertise lies in what it is like to be a victim of gun violence. We hear their testimonies in front of law makers. It makes good television as do the many prayer vigils that occur after a shooting but are banned otherwise.
I am happy to hear the experts talk on both sides of the gun debate. The conversations are actually very affirming of my actions in 1998. People are asked to pay attention to the warning signs and that angry people often use weapons to seek revenge. Something must be done.
I ask people to pay attention to warning signs also and to speak up and be heard. It does take perseverance and a willingness to have the courage of ones convictions to prevent a tragedy.
When a tragedy is prevented, it is hard to prove because nothing happens. When a tragedy isn't prevented, the rights of those who follow the existing laws are often compromised through death, injury, or more restrictive laws that do very little in prevention.
Recently, a bus driver was killed and a child abducted from a school bus (who is still in captivity at this writing). According to initial news reports, the bus driver did not seem to follow school protocol as he stopped the bus for the man enabling the events to escalate to death and abduction. The abductor in this case has a long history of violent patterns in his life. Monday morning quarterbacking is providing that information.
President Obama is asking for a variety of new laws and protocols related to gun violence. An inventory of the laws and protocols that are already established may be more productive than any new law. One might actually find that although people can own guns, using them to kill (unless in self defense) is against the law.
Killing anyone is against the law unless the victim is an unborn child. That debate rages on also with President Obama one of the biggest cheer leaders for killing rights in that debate. And our teacher's associations are also advocates for the rights to abort the unborn. I see patterns with dead people in both debates. We all should be "up in arms" about the untimely deaths of all children to violence. Redundancy in editorials is purposeful.
Marian R. Carlino
February 4, 2013
The shooting in Springfield, Oregon sparked the Guide to Safe Schools- Early Warning/Timely Response handbook that a group of experts wrote under the direction of President Clinton and his Attorney General, Janet Reno. It was supposed to have been handed out to all school employees during the 1998-99 school year. It was not and another year of shootings occurred with Columbine High School becoming a name associated with terror and pain.
Local administration, the school board and local prominent NJEA members disagreed with me in 1998 (and may even now to protect their reputations) but the pattern of behaviors and copy cat crime issues also factored into my concerns. Patterns are predictable and many people miss the warning signs. I did not miss warning signs in 1998. One can look at behaviors, access to weapons, and parental issues and draw reasonable conclusions in order to prevent crime and/ or tragedies.
We have a lot of crime committed with guns, including the massacres at our schools. But the most devastating school massacre occurred many years ago using other types of weapons. So, what has made the difference in the gun debate since the massacre at the elementary school in Newtown? Why the rush to buy gun permits and guns on one side of the issue and the rush to ban gun ownership on the other side? Could it be a political football and the children in Newtown are being used as pawns in the game? I watched the follow up news regarding the singing at the SuperBowl. Too much, too little, too late is the expression that comes to mind with that act.
The massacre at Newtown wasn't the first time very young children were attacked in their schools or on school property (including buses) using guns. A group of preschoolers were attacked in a Jewish Community Preschool in 1999. Who remembers the movie "Amish Grace" based on the massacre in the Nickel Mines School in 2006?
But, news media and politicians call the massacre at Newtown a "watershed event" which has sparked this current flow of customers, protesters, and testimonies. How many "watershed events" do we need to realize that the gun is not the problem? Many different types of tools are used to kill people. If new gun laws were the answer, then Chicago would be one of the safest cities in the United States and all my editorials would be about new gun laws.
Victims of gun violence are not experts in violence prevention. We make them "experts" in prevention when in reality, they are victims. Their expertise lies in what it is like to be a victim of gun violence. We hear their testimonies in front of law makers. It makes good television as do the many prayer vigils that occur after a shooting but are banned otherwise.
I am happy to hear the experts talk on both sides of the gun debate. The conversations are actually very affirming of my actions in 1998. People are asked to pay attention to the warning signs and that angry people often use weapons to seek revenge. Something must be done.
I ask people to pay attention to warning signs also and to speak up and be heard. It does take perseverance and a willingness to have the courage of ones convictions to prevent a tragedy.
When a tragedy is prevented, it is hard to prove because nothing happens. When a tragedy isn't prevented, the rights of those who follow the existing laws are often compromised through death, injury, or more restrictive laws that do very little in prevention.
Recently, a bus driver was killed and a child abducted from a school bus (who is still in captivity at this writing). According to initial news reports, the bus driver did not seem to follow school protocol as he stopped the bus for the man enabling the events to escalate to death and abduction. The abductor in this case has a long history of violent patterns in his life. Monday morning quarterbacking is providing that information.
President Obama is asking for a variety of new laws and protocols related to gun violence. An inventory of the laws and protocols that are already established may be more productive than any new law. One might actually find that although people can own guns, using them to kill (unless in self defense) is against the law.
Killing anyone is against the law unless the victim is an unborn child. That debate rages on also with President Obama one of the biggest cheer leaders for killing rights in that debate. And our teacher's associations are also advocates for the rights to abort the unborn. I see patterns with dead people in both debates. We all should be "up in arms" about the untimely deaths of all children to violence. Redundancy in editorials is purposeful.
Marian R. Carlino
February 4, 2013
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