RANGER RICK’S NOTE: This is an article I viewed a few weeks after the shooting that killed 17 students and teachers in Florida.
Ms. Kelly Guthrie Raley says it well and covers everything I also believe is a major contributing cause of these shootings in the past and surely the ones to come – because our society has changed so much that this is the sad result.
On the morning of the Parkland Florida shooting that took place at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, Kelly Guthrie Raley was named the 2017-2018 Teacher of the Year in Florida.
She then took to Facebook and wrote the following:
“Okay, I’ll be the bad guy and say what no one else is brave enough to say, but wants to say. I’ll take all the criticism and attacks from everyone because you know what? I’m a TEACHER. I live this life daily. And I wouldn’t do anything else! But I also know daily I could end up in an active shooter situation.
Until we, as a country, are willing to get serious and talk about lack of discipline in the home, horrendous lack of parental support when the schools are trying to control horrible behavior at school (oh no! Not MY KID. What did YOU do to cause my kid to react that way?), mental health issues, lack of available care for the mental health issues, lack of moral values, and yes, I’ll say it-violent TV, Movies, Internet, and Cell phone video games that take away all sensitivity to ANY compassion for other’s lives, as well as reality TV that makes it commonplace for people to constantly scream up in each other’s faces and not value any other person but themselves, we will have a gun problem in school. Our kids don’t understand the permanency of death anymore!!!
I grew up with guns. And so do a lot of families today just like yesteryear. Everyone knows that. But you know what? My parents NEVER supported any bad behavior from me. I was terrified of doing something bad at school, as I would have not had a life until I corrected the problem and straightened my ass out. My parents invaded my life. They knew where I was ALL the time. They made me have a curfew. They made me wake them up when I got home. They made me respect their rules. They had full control of their house, and at any time could and would go through every inch of my bedroom, backpack, pockets, anything!
Parents: it’s time to STEP UP! Be the parent that actually gives a crap about their children! Be the annoying mom that pries and knows what your kid is doing. STOP being their friend. They have enough “friends” at school. Be their parent. Being the “cool mom” means not a damn thing when either your kid is dead or your kid kills other people because they were allowed to have their space and privacy in YOUR HOME. I’ll say it again. My home was filled with guns growing up. For God’s sake, my daddy was an 82nd Airborne Ranger who lost half his face serving our country. But you know what? I never dreamed of shooting anyone with his guns. I never dreamed of taking one! I was taught respect for human life, compassion, rules, common decency, and most of all, I was taught that until I moved out, my life and bedroom wasn’t mine … it was theirs. And they were going to know what was happening because they loved me and wanted the best for me.
There. Say that I’m a horrible person. I didn’t bring up gun control, and I will refuse to debate it with anyone. This post wasn’t about gun control. This was me, loving the crap out of people and wanting the best for them. This was about my school babies and knowing that God created each one for greatness, and just wanting them to reach their futures. It’s about 20 years ago this year I started my teaching career. Violence was not this bad 20 years ago. Lack of compassion wasn’t this bad 20 years ago. And God knows 20 years ago that I wasn’t afraid daily to call a parent because I KNEW that 9 out of 10 would cuss me out, tell me to go to Hell, call the news on me, call the school board on me, or post all over FaceBook about me because I called to let them know what their child chose to do at school…because they are a NORMAL kid!
Those 17 lives mattered. When are we and parents going to take our own responsibility seriously? Until we do, plan on seeing future school shootings.”
If you treasure your children and their futures, be the parents needed to create good, responsible citizens. Or possibly face a Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School incident at your school in the future.
The choice is yours. The bullying and isolation of students that don’t fit in to the majority teen culture within the school must end. It creates tension and feelings of rejection, the Devil’s playground for influencing young minds to retaliate, sometimes resisting by verbal abuse, fighting, and possibly escalates and culminates into gross violence with a deadly weapon.
You can blame an inanimate object; a vehicle, knife, machete, screw driver, pistol, shotgun, rifle – but the truth remains, those objects themselves don’t kill people, people kill people by using those things to attack, harm, and reign death upon the innocent.
Nikolas Jacob Cruz killed 17 innocent people because he was a troubled young man with anger issues – an undiagnosed mentally afflicted young man with anger and demons within him to do this unspeakable act. The rifle he used is innocent, he is the guilty party and he alone. Not the manufacturer, not the NRA, not Republicans or Democrats, but Nikolas Jacob Cruz.
There were 18 people killed that day, just that one is still breathing for now. And he’ll have to live with that and maybe it won’t bother him, but maybe it will. It should.
All the protests in the world aren’t going to bring those 17 dead back to life. The politicians (mostly Democrats) that entered the protesting crowds on March 14 had armed guards protecting them to and from the venue. Armed bodyguards protect the President and celebrities. Airports are surrounded by security. Metal detectors and x-ray machines are used to detect weapons. Courts have security and armed guards. Why not our schools? And please, take down the “Gun Free Zone” signs – it protects nobody and those wishing to do evil are encouraged to enter the school knowing there will be no resistance.
The rotting of America from within continues …