Beach Blog #16

     I suppose it doesn't matter whether you're a 1,000 away from it or in the same state, whether you're up to your ears in work or up to your ankles in sand or whether you're affected or not. The cold hard fact is, the most recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida is prompting the expected responses.
     The Panama City News Herald reports the local school board is considering everything from endorsing a ban on certain guns to arming its teachers. A news cartoon on Facebook showed a female teacher standing in front of her students with a pistol, presumably pointed at an intruder. The caption read: An Armed Teacher Protecting her Class.
     Seems like the 'Arm our Teachers' argument is getting a lot of play. And why not? It sounds logical. Or is it?
     My first and honest reaction is, what's to stop the teacher with the gun from going "postal"? Think about it. The teacher, who's getting paid far less than they're worth and who's likely dealing with smart-alecky, disrespectful, entitled and probably many seriously emotionally disjointed kids, now has a gun? I think it's a safe bet that sooner or later, the teacher becomes the shooter.
     Also, is the teacher expected to buy their own gun? Does the teacher pay for their own training? Does every teacher at a school have a gun? Are they required to be armed on campus?
    On top of that, a lot of teachers are little old ladies and gentlemen. I don't see an elderly kindergarten teacher packing heat or wanting to pack heat.
     I suppose there are ways to make guns work on campus, but to simply blurt out 'Arm our Teachers' seems akin to asking the impossible.
     The argument that it's all about parenting seems even more daunting. There's no doubt, there are many, many wonderful young people in our world. There are young people who will cure cancer, give us world peace, help a little old lady cross the street. But for every 100 of them, how many more are jaded, tainted or in turmoil from their home environment? I suspect I can't count that high.
     So to again blurt out, "the problem solving starts at home" is ideally accurate but completely unrealistic. I think it's safe to say, due to the volume of people on this planet, we've passed the point of no return.
    Again, I suppose there are ways to create love and caring in every home, but that's above my pay grade.
     So what is the path of least resistance? To blurt out 'Ban the guns' or 'Buy back the guns' certainly appears unlikely considering the sheer volume of privately owned firearms in the United States.
     Let me confess, I have guns. I have a lot of guns, in fact. But each one has a wooden handle and a wooden stock. Each one shoots limited rounds. I even have an Ithaca shotgun, given to me by my dearly departed Father-in-Law, that I have trouble loading. My point is, I like the 'old school guns.' I don't harbor any resentment for the many I know who have one to several of the plastic guns. I just don't see the beauty in that firearm.  For myself, most seem ugly and intended for a different purpose.
     And at least from what I've seen, read or heard, none of the shooters who obliterated a perfectly good day for mothers, fathers and their children, used a plain, old fashioned hunting type of gun.
     Please note that throughout this blog, I have not used strong language nor profanity or condemnation to make my points. I certainly encourage replies, but respectfully request that your reply is relayed in a well thought out, non-combative, helpful manner.
Thank you,
Bill Robertson