Edwards was right about there being two Americas. He just misidentified them. Compare: “Move to arm teachers picks up steam in TN” — though opponents say we need to leave the protecting up to the professionals, private citizens not being up for the task, evidently.
…and contrast: “Giffords and Kelly Launch Their Own Anti-Gun Lobby” — ironic, given that it was private citizens who jumped in and prevented Jared Loughner from reloading, then subdued him. And who knows, maybe had he been hit by a concealed .40 JHP rather than a folding chair, the carnage would have been even less severe.
But even though private citizens likely saved her life, Giffords believes now is the time to turn many of them into potential felons.
No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.
Let’s think about that one a bit. Ain’t nothing easy, is there?
You expect quality decision-making from a woman who got shot in the head?
Tennessee ain’t Chicago. That revenooer who want up on Rocky Top looking for a moonshine still might’ve been from Chicago.
To reach back into the ancient categories, we might say sure, a teacher’s responsibility is to educate — qua teacher — but wait a second: the teacher is also an adult human being, and as an adult human being over-seeing the well being of children, she has other responsibilities to see to as well, has she not? And if an intruder intervenes with her teaching responsibilities, is she merely to object that she has a lesson plan for the day which is in need of execution?
Gee. Guess what? neither are the cops. Idiot.
To be fair, the quote is from a parent. Seeing what a wonderful job the “highly motivated professionals” have done at educating his children, he has to be scared shitless at the idea of putting them in charge of security as well.
I’m all about respecting my fellow countrymen, but c’mon — these are teachers we’re talking about.
Teachers are “in loco parentis”, so if mom and pop would blast Mr. Crazy straight to hell, so should they.
Yet we should be loathe to absolve a parent from the responsibility to think just because he’s a parent, shouldn’t we?
As mojo writes, when children are in a school, the adults at said school are considered in loco parentis.
They are charged ‘to act in the best interests of the students as they see fit’, as long as they do not violate whatever rights are reserved to children under the law.
It is a Western concept that finds it’s origins in English Common Law and the reasoning behind it is simple:
You wish to take my child to a place away from home for a period of time for some purpose I approve of. I will let you do so [and probably compensate you for doing so], but only if you agree to conduct yourself as if I and his mother were present.
That parent who does not want his children’s teachers being armed is putting that child in danger [if he doesn’t want to arm himself, he’s being even more negligent].
…if mom and pop would blast Mr. Crazy straight to hell, so should they.
I think most of today’s public school teachers work from the assumption that Dad is long gone, and Mom is busy munching on Bugles and watching Judge Ellen’s Bachelor’s Got Talent! while the kids sell drugs from the garage. Which, to be fair, is as valid an assumption as that of the responsible, functional variety. More valid, in some districts.