Yes. Always was.
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My take is that this is the norm, not the exception.
So many gun owners think in a pinch, they could be action heroes. Ex-military and police have weighed in saying that this is unrealistic.
Good guys with guns, even in Texas, end a minority of armed conflicts.
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Yup, that was exactly my point. And while yes, there have been shootings in military bases I would say they are pretty safe despite being “gun free” zones.
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I really don’t fault the police for this. The cops were out gunned. A handgun vs. assault rifle is not a fair fight. This is why SWAT teams exist. . Becoming a police officer doesn’t mean a person signs a suicide pact.
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I’d like to know if he had training for what to do in this situation.
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Maybe, maybe not. My point is it’s easy to imagine yourself being the hero in a potentially deadly “fight or flight” scenario like this. You just can’t say for sure until you’re there.
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I agree. We pay them like crap and expect them to risk their lives daily.
Also worth noting, we also pay teachers like crap and expect them to raise our kids.
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If Trump has his way they will be expected to die for our kids as well.
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Let’s think that one through, though. There are a lot of schools with over 1000 students, and thus, over 100 teachers and staff. In many schools, the staff members don’t know all of the others by sight. We’re not talking Special Forces, here. Recognition of enemy/ally is going to be low in an emergency situation. With a staff of 100, With 1/10th of the teachers armed, 9 of the 10 other armed individuals in the school are teachers. Odds are better that at least some will shoot each other than shoot the intruder.
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We ehhh. Depends. I know cops in IL making well into 6 figures after a few years.
Can’t say I know any teachers who can say the same. That includes college professors.
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Perhaps I’m fortunate, but even 6 figures feels like crap when you have to face potential gunfire every day.
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Correct; neither does becoming a teacher.
No ‘maybe’ about it
While we’d all like to believe that we’d be self-sacrificing and heroic under such conditions, it’s a whole other thing when ‘lizard-brain survivor mode’ kicks in while the shit is hitting the fan.
Indeed; the last part of that comment is completely accurate. Society pays our teachers shit and then expects way more of them than merely educating the kids.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-dangerous-jobs/
Police come in at number 14, after:
Fishers
Loggers
Aircraft pilots
Miscellaneous resource extraction workers
Iron and steel workers
Roofers
Garbage collectors
Farmers and ranchers
Truck drivers and traveling salespeople
Power line installers
Miscellaneous agriculture
Construction
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs
&
From here.
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Not going to argue with your overall point because you’re totally right. It’s just that “semi-automatic” means that one bullet comes out every one time you pull the trigger. Full-auto or just “automatic” means that you hold the trigger down and several bullets come out. Both the shooter and the cops had semi-automatic weapons. It’s still a bad idea to go after a higher-powered, more accurate rifle with a higher magazine capacity.
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That describes no law enforcement officer in the United States. Police are more likely to be killed or injured in a car accident than a shootout.
Edit: super-ninja’ed by @Wanderfound
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Even the more rational, selfless part of your brain is probably going to run through thoughts like “do I want to sacrifice my life in the hopes of saving a few of these kids or do I want to ensure my own kids aren’t left without a parent?”
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Yup.
I don’t know about anyone else here, but I’ve personally been in situations where someone opened fire in public, more than once (though thankfully, never while in school.)
That primitive instinct kicks in, and beyond “Get down!” it’s hard to even think straight, let alone move.
Every living creature’s greatest motivation is to survive; people who glibly assume that they can just easily ‘override’ however many millennia of genetic conditioning in order to play John McClain are not only kidding themselves, they’re an indirect part of the problem, IMO.
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But back in reality, the police will sweep all the expended shell casings and bullets from the scene, and then work out who was responsible for each one. Somebody who takes a gun from a police officer and starts shooting at a presumed murderer is going to have to justify their actions, and runs the risk of being charged for the crime they were trying to prevent.
edit: just found this comment from Malcolm Turnbull:
“We are very satisfied with our laws. We maintain them. They’re there,” Turnbull said. “But,” he added, “we certainly don’t presume to provide policy or political advice on that matter here. You have an amendment to your Constitution that deals with gun ownership. You have a very, very different history. We’ll focus on our own political arguments and debates and wish you wise deliberation in your own.”
I have highlighted the last eight words, I think Turnbull really is commenting, while ostensibly following protocol.
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Perhaps you should be given the benefit of the doubt and everyone assume that you didn’t read the posted story… about how even cops – armed and trained to use their weapons in many situations including ones where innocent peoples’ lives are at risk – didn’t do the job they were paid by taxpayers to do.
Or, perhaps not. So much for the “law”.
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*I had to.
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