Food for Thought....Tiger Mckee

Skill Set: Prepare

Another active killer has attacked a school.  The uneducated public is calling for more control over firearms.  We know that’s not going to do any good, yet most of us sit quietly, never pushing or demanding for solutions that will work.  The best way to ensure safety is to prepare for violence.
It’s sad that money is protected well, much better than our children – our greatest asset.  Nobody would think of having thousands of dollars stacked up without a facility to protect it and armed guards ready to stop someone from taking it.  Yet we willingly send children off to school where there is no legitimate plan to protect them from a violent killer.  Gretchen and I don’t have kids, but if we had school-aged children I guarantee you we would be demanding school authorities provide adequate security.
What does “security” look like?  It doesn’t take much imagination to come up with a plan.  First off, limit access to school grounds.  The best way to defeat an attacker is to never allow them opportunity.  Nobody gets in without being admitted.
Students must be educated on what to do if an attack occurs.  I asked several teachers and school staff about how they prepare kids for an attack.  The responses were varied, but all of them were unacceptable.  Evil is out there, and it’s irresponsible not to teach our children how to address it.
Next, there should be armed, trained adults on campus who are ready and willing to defend students.  Firearms are the best tools we have to stop an armed and violent attack.  They are easy to use and extremely effective.  And, in the trained person’s hands, they are safe.  As always, training is the key.  The skills necessary to use a firearm safely and efficiently are not that difficult to learn and maintain.  That’s what makes firearms so great; you don’t have to be big or strong to use them.  Being equipped to defeat an attacker is not difficult.  There is no reason not to be ready.
The willingness to confront violence is of the utmost importance.  Given a choice, none of us would willingly go forward and confront violence.  Moving towards a violent conflict isn’t easy.  But, having an emotional attachment makes a difficult decision much easier.  Someone with a personal attachment to the possible victims is going to the danger, regardless of the odds they face.  Campus staff, parents and members of the community who are connected at the hearts to students must be ready to defend their wards.  Being responsible means taking measures to avoid danger.  If necessary – when these steps fail - it demands standing face to face with evil, addressing it with enough violence to stop it.
There is no reason we can’t protect those we are responsible for.  If you’re an adult, and choose not to defend yourself, that’s your choice.  Not safeguarding our children is disgraceful.  It’s time we demand that schools take the necessary steps to protect students.  As George Herbert said, “One sword keeps another in the sheath.”  A secure environment isn’t an easy target.  But, when these measures are unsuccessful we must be poised and ready to shut evil down with aggressive, controlled violence.  Or, we can all sit around, be punished for the sins of others and watch the same thing happen again.
Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy