Parents of Atot

[ManyBeers]

In the wake of the events that took place on the Virginia Teh campus this past Monday morning i was wondering if any of you have had a talk with your High School or College age children about what they should do if they are ever in a similar situation.I recognize that it is a remote possibility for most to ever be in a similar situation but it can happen. What would you want your child to do?

 

[NanoStuff]

This is why my kid always carries his gun to school. He's a decent shot too. The problem is his next school (grade 7) has metal detectors, so we either find a different school further out or home school.

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff
This is why my kid always carries his gun to school. He's a decent shot too. The problem is his next school (grade 7) has metal detectors, so we either find a different school further out or home school.

My sarcasm meter is broken.

 

[tasmanian]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff
This is why my kid always carries his gun to school. He's a decent shot too. The problem is his next school (grade 7) has metal detectors, so we either find a different school further out or home school.

Thats awsome. What kind of gun?

 

[DarkThinker]

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure

Originally posted by: NanoStuff
This is why my kid always carries his gun to school. He's a decent shot too. The problem is his next school (grade 7) has metal detectors, so we either find a different school further out or home school.

My sarcasm meter is broken.

Join the club hehe!

 

[ManyBeers]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff
This is why my kid always carries his gun to school. He's a decent shot too. The problem is his next school (grade 7) has metal detectors, so we either find a different school further out or home school.

Funny joke. Didn't you notice my qualifying statement regarding ages. Thanks for the input though.

 

[DrPizza]

I'm a parent and I realize that such a talk wouldn't matter... it takes far more than just a talk for someone to react in a certain way under such circumstances. In other words, I didn't waste my time.

edit: besides, in the past couple decades, how many kids have been in such a situation? A few hundred? Compared the the national population, that puts the odds of such an act happening to my child at about 1 in 1million. Wouldn't it be more important to not have such a knee jerk reaction to an emotional and sensationalized story, and instead, concentrate on helping my children be prepared for things in life that have a far far greater chance of impacting them??

 

[ManyBeers]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm a parent and I realize that such a talk wouldn't matter... it takes far more than just a talk for someone to react in a certain way under such circumstances. In other words, I didn't waste my time.

How is just imparting a few words of advice "kneejerk".
Don't youthink your words of advice in a critical situation such as this would give them some piece of mind about what they should do ,if anything.

And answer the rest of the question:What would you want them to do?

 

[NanoStuff]

Originally posted by: tasmanian

Originally posted by: NanoStuff
This is why my kid always carries his gun to school. He's a decent shot too. The problem is his next school (grade 7) has metal detectors, so we either find a different school further out or home school.

Thats awsome. What kind of gun?

He's got a Bobcat 21. Won't stop a SWAT team but for a small kid it gets the job done. I'll move him up in middle school if he's ready for it. Maybe a nice P99.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: ManyBeers

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm a parent and I realize that such a talk wouldn't matter... it takes far more than just a talk for someone to react in a certain way under such circumstances. In other words, I didn't waste my time.

How is just imparting a few words of advice "kneejerk".
Don't youthink your words of advice in a critical situation such as this would give them some piece of mind about what they should do ,if anything.

And answer the rest of the question:What would you want them to do?

Because there isn't enough freakin time in the day to impart words of advice for all the situations my kids are FAR more likely to be involved in. 10's of 1000's of people die from car accidents. 1000's of people die because DWI drivers run them over. Apparently, our nation doesn't give a crap about those people, because that's just an every day occurance. 33 people are murdered (compared to 10's of thousands from car accidents - generally preventable) and our flags are at half staff. I'm not saying that I don't sympathize with the people who have lost loved ones, but at the same time, I don't think they deserve any more sympathy than the parent who loses a child due to leukemia. As a nation, we dwell on the fantastic and ignore every day tragedies; it's pretty sad.

edit: and what would I want my kids to do? I'd prefer that they don't panic, and do their best to get out of harms way. Wtf else would I want them to do?? Tell you what - tonight at the dinner table, just to make you happy, I'll tell them, "If you're ever in a situation like that, before the shooter gets to your classroom, quickly grind up all the chalk at the chalkboard. Put it in a cup and put it above the door. Get all the rubber bands from the teacher's desk drawer. Attach them together while classmates sharpen a bunch of pencils. Fashion some sort of rudimentary crossbow or sling out of other objects in the room. When the shooter enters the room, the chalk will fall on his head, temporarily disorienting and blinding him. Shoot him with the pencils while classmates rush him to ...." Just what the heck are you supposed to do? I know: don't panic, keep as calm as possible and quickly think of the best way to keep yourself out of harms way.

 

[ManyBeers]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: ManyBeers

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm a parent and I realize that such a talk wouldn't matter... it takes far more than just a talk for someone to react in a certain way under such circumstances. In other words, I didn't waste my time.

How is just imparting a few words of advice "kneejerk".
Don't youthink your words of advice in a critical situation such as this would give them some piece of mind about what they should do ,if anything.

And answer the rest of the question:What would you want them to do?

Because there isn't enough freakin time in the day to impart words of advice for all the situations my kids are FAR more likely to be involved in. 10's of 1000's of people die from car accidents. 1000's of people die because DWI drivers run them over. Apparently, our nation doesn't give a crap about those people, because that's just an every day occurance. 33 people are murdered (compared to 10's of thousands from car accidents - generally preventable) and our flags are at half staff. I'm not saying that I don't sympathize with the people who have lost loved ones, but at the same time, I don't think they deserve any more sympathy than the parent who loses a child due to leukemia. As a nation, we dwell on the fantastic and ignore every day tragedies; it's pretty sad.

Ok fine. This question is for you: What if anything would you want your boy or girl to do?

 

[Madwand1]

There's more to this story than just the shoot-out. I wholly agree that sensationalizing the shootout further is a bad idea -- it glorifies that action more, and doesn't lead to any good that I can see.

Talking about bullying or social well-being or people who might be on the edge or communication problems would probably be a better idea.

 

[ManyBeers]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: ManyBeers

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm a parent and I realize that such a talk wouldn't matter... it takes far more than just a talk for someone to react in a certain way under such circumstances. In other words, I didn't waste my time.

How is just imparting a few words of advice "kneejerk".
Don't youthink your words of advice in a critical situation such as this would give them some piece of mind about what they should do ,if anything.

And answer the rest of the question:What would you want them to do?

Because there isn't enough freakin time in the day to impart words of advice for all the situations my kids are FAR more likely to be involved in. 10's of 1000's of people die from car accidents. 1000's of people die because DWI drivers run them over. Apparently, our nation doesn't give a crap about those people, because that's just an every day occurance. 33 people are murdered (compared to 10's of thousands from car accidents - generally preventable) and our flags are at half staff. I'm not saying that I don't sympathize with the people who have lost loved ones, but at the same time, I don't think they deserve any more sympathy than the parent who loses a child due to leukemia. As a nation, we dwell on the fantastic and ignore every day tragedies; it's pretty sad.

edit: and what would I want my kids to do? I'd prefer that they don't panic, and do their best to get out of harms way. Wtf else would I want them to do?? Tell you what - tonight at the dinner table, just to make you happy, I'll tell them, "If you're ever in a situation like that, before the shooter gets to your classroom, quickly grind up all the chalk at the chalkboard. Put it in a cup and put it above the door. Get all the rubber bands from the teacher's desk drawer. Attach them together while classmates sharpen a bunch of pencils. Fashion some sort of rudimentary crossbow or sling out of other objects in the room. When the shooter enters the room, the chalk will fall on his head, temporarily disorienting and blinding him. Shoot him with the pencils while classmates rush him to ...." Just what the heck are you supposed to do? I know: don't panic, keep as calm as possible and quickly think of the best way to keep yourself out of harms way.

Why are you being flippant?

 

[ManyBeers]

Originally posted by: Madwand1
There's more to this story than just the shoot-out. I wholly agree that sensationalizing the shootout further is a bad idea -- it glorifies that action more, and doesn't lead to any good that I can see.

Talking about bullying or social well-being or people who might be on the edge or communication problems would probably be a better idea.

Are you a parent? If you are and want to comment here would you please direct your comments to the queries asked in the op and stop trying to sidetrack this thread.

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: ManyBeers
Are you a parent? If you are and want to comment here would you please direct your comments to the queries asked in the op and stop trying to sidetrack this thread.

Yes, I'm a parent.

Edit: Well, that was a bit rude, so I'll edit it out. Cheers.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: ManyBeers
Why are you being flippant?

I'm not intending to be flippant. I'm merely pointing out that as a nation, we focus on exceptional cases - we love a good tragedy. For 3 days, I couldn't turn to a news station without the story they were currently on being about VT. I don't mean to sound disrespectful, and of course, it's "too soon" to air such an opinion while everyone is still grieving. But everyone reacts disproportionally to such tragedies. The families of the WTC victims received 100's of thousands of dollars from donations. But, the family in the inner city whose 10 year old child is an innocent bystander that is shot in a drug turf war will be lucky to receive $200 after a spaghetti dinner benefit. Now, if I want to go to Canada, I need to spend $100 on a passport. Plus $100 for my wife's passport, and more $$ for passports for my kids. It used to be a nice family outing to travel 1 1/2 hours to the border and take the kids to Niagara Falls. It was recreational, and it was educational. I've taken my kids to Quebec to allow them to experience a different (albeit somewhat similar) culture. That's a lot better than having my kids sit at home in front of a television playing some video game.

But can I take my kids to the falls now? Nope. Cause terrorists might be trying to cross the border. Our nation can't keep a million Mexicans from sneaking across to pick crops and work in kitchens, but of course, we're going to catch Ali Aba the terrorist trying to sneak across the border so we make it very tedious for anyone to cross the border legitimately. I.e. short-sighted knee jerk legislation to create the illusion of an extra margin of safety for everyone. I could keep going on with a little mini-rant, but I've got more work to do in my barn.

edit: how is 33 people being murdered so much newsworthy than an airliner crashing and killing a few hundred on board? Is it newsworthy simply because the news stations pander to the masses who prefer to hear the exact same thing over and over and over and over about such a tragedy? On a bad day in Iraq, a few bombs take out 33 of our soldiers - our citizens, but apparently that's old news and not important any more? Why are people so fixated on listening to the reporters on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX who spend far more time on guesses than on actual facts? Why does our nation love to create extra fear? (ex. reporter repeatedly questioning someone - "do you think there will be copycats? Well do you? Do you think there will be copycats? Come on, please say 'yes' so my station's ratings will go up. Do you think there will be copycats?")

 

[ManyBeers]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: ManyBeers
Why are you being flippant?

I'm not intending to be flippant. I'm merely pointing out that as a nation, we focus on exceptional cases - we love a good tragedy. For 3 days, I couldn't turn to a news station without the story they were currently on being about VT. I don't mean to sound disrespectful, and of course, it's "too soon" to air such an opinion while everyone is still grieving. But everyone reacts disproportionally to such tragedies. The families of the WTC victims received 100's of thousands of dollars from donations. But, the family in the inner city whose 10 year old child is an innocent bystander that is shot in a drug turf war will be lucky to receive $200 after a spaghetti dinner benefit. Now, if I want to go to Canada, I need to spend $100 on a passport. Plus $100 for my wife's passport, and more $$ for passports for my kids. It used to be a nice family outing to travel 1 1/2 hours to the border and take the kids to Niagara Falls. It was recreational, and it was educational. I've taken my kids to Quebec to allow them to experience a different (albeit somewhat similar) culture. That's a lot better than having my kids sit at home in front of a television playing some video game.

But can I take my kids to the falls now? Nope. Cause terrorists might be trying to cross the border. Our nation can't keep a million Mexicans from sneaking across to pick crops and work in kitchens, but of course, we're going to catch Ali Aba the terrorist trying to sneak across the border so we make it very tedious for anyone to cross the border legitimately. I.e. short-sighted knee jerk legislation to create the illusion of an extra margin of safety for everyone. I could keep going on with a little mini-rant, but I've got more work to do in my barn.

edit: how is 33 people being murdered so much newsworthy than an airliner crashing and killing a few hundred on board? Is it newsworthy simply because the news stations pander to the masses who prefer to hear the exact same thing over and over and over and over about such a tragedy? On a bad day in Iraq, a few bombs take out 33 of our soldiers - our citizens, but apparently that's old news and not important any more? Why are people so fixated on listening to the reporters on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX who spend far more time on guesses than on actual facts? Why does our nation love to create extra fear? (ex. reporter repeatedly questioning someone - "do you think there will be copycats? Well do you? Do you think there will be copycats? Come on, please say 'yes' so my station's ratings will go up. Do you think there will be copycats?")

I asked a simple question to parents of college age students and for some reason you want to talk about God knows what.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: ManyBeers
In the wake of the events that took place on the Virginia Teh campus this past Monday morning i was wondering if any of you have had a talk with your High School or College age children about what they should do if they are ever in a similar situation.I recognize that it is a remote possibility for most to ever be in a similar situation but it can happen. What would you want your child to do?

Shape shift into bear form and stun-rush them.

Ok Johnny, if someone packing grenades and an AK-47 comes into class one day remember what vin diesel and chuck norris taught us. Don't forget Mr. T either. Tell dat fool you have no time for his jibba jabba.

 

[KK]

I would hope that by the time they are in highschool or college they'd know what they'd want to do without me telling them. What would you say to a teenager? Tell them to jump the guy? Run for cover? I think that every situation is going to warrent a different response and to cover all bases with your teenager would be impractical. No offense but I believe this question is stupid.

 

[nanette1985]

What do I want them to do in a similar situation? I want them to not die.

Look, there are a zillion things that, as a parent, I feel the need to discuss, impart my wisdom, bring awareness, and so on. But in this situation, I just don't think that anything I can say will make a difference. It goes under the category of random event.

I guess the most I would say is that bad things happen, be grateful for every minute you're alive.

We did discuss when the proper time is to start telling jokes.

 

[theknight571]

I haven't discussed it with my son, but he hasn't really asked about it either.

Not sure what I'd tell him anyway.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm a parent and I realize that such a talk wouldn't matter... it takes far more than just a talk for someone to react in a certain way under such circumstances. In other words, I didn't waste my time.

edit: besides, in the past couple decades, how many kids have been in such a situation? A few hundred? Compared the the national population, that puts the odds of such an act happening to my child at about 1 in 1million. Wouldn't it be more important to not have such a knee jerk reaction to an emotional and sensationalized story, and instead, concentrate on helping my children be prepared for things in life that have a far far greater chance of impacting them??

There have been about a hundred school shootings in America in the last 20-25 years. If you figure roughly 25 kids per classroom, many of the shootings affecting multiple classes or groups (sometimes up to a thousand maybe), you're probably at about 5000-10000 kids in the last 25 years have been directly involved in school shootings (of course we're including college in this, the number goes down if you narrow the field). Then there's the number involved in firearm incidents outside of school, then the number of non-firearm but still serious issues of violence. My guess is you'll end up at about 1-3% of all kids who will be involved in a serious violent event. Still an amazingly small percentage though. That doesn't mean there's no reason to talk about it with them, especially when it's so simple compared to dealing with it after.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm a parent and I realize that such a talk wouldn't matter... it takes far more than just a talk for someone to react in a certain way under such circumstances. In other words, I didn't waste my time.

edit: besides, in the past couple decades, how many kids have been in such a situation? A few hundred? Compared the the national population, that puts the odds of such an act happening to my child at about 1 in 1million. Wouldn't it be more important to not have such a knee jerk reaction to an emotional and sensationalized story, and instead, concentrate on helping my children be prepared for things in life that have a far far greater chance of impacting them??

There have been about a hundred school shootings in America in the last 20-25 years. If you figure roughly 25 kids per classroom, many of the shootings affecting multiple classes or groups (sometimes up to a thousand maybe), you're probably at about 5000-10000 kids in the last 25 years have been directly involved in school shootings (of course we're including college in this, the number goes down if you narrow the field). Then there's the number involved in firearm incidents outside of school, then the number of non-firearm but still serious issues of violence. My guess is you'll end up at about 1-3% of all kids who will be involved in a serious violent event. Still an amazingly small percentage though. That doesn't mean there's no reason to talk about it with them, especially when it's so simple compared to dealing with it after.

Again though, what would such a talk accomplish? Aside from "stay calm and try to keep yourself out of harms way", there's really not much that anyone can do. Such talks are not productive. After the next major jet crash in which 200 people die, should I have a talk with my sons about what to do if their plane is going down?

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'm a parent and I realize that such a talk wouldn't matter... it takes far more than just a talk for someone to react in a certain way under such circumstances. In other words, I didn't waste my time.

edit: besides, in the past couple decades, how many kids have been in such a situation? A few hundred? Compared the the national population, that puts the odds of such an act happening to my child at about 1 in 1million. Wouldn't it be more important to not have such a knee jerk reaction to an emotional and sensationalized story, and instead, concentrate on helping my children be prepared for things in life that have a far far greater chance of impacting them??

There have been about a hundred school shootings in America in the last 20-25 years. If you figure roughly 25 kids per classroom, many of the shootings affecting multiple classes or groups (sometimes up to a thousand maybe), you're probably at about 5000-10000 kids in the last 25 years have been directly involved in school shootings (of course we're including college in this, the number goes down if you narrow the field). Then there's the number involved in firearm incidents outside of school, then the number of non-firearm but still serious issues of violence. My guess is you'll end up at about 1-3% of all kids who will be involved in a serious violent event. Still an amazingly small percentage though. That doesn't mean there's no reason to talk about it with them, especially when it's so simple compared to dealing with it after.

Again though, what would such a talk accomplish? Aside from "stay calm and try to keep yourself out of harms way", there's really not much that anyone can do. Such talks are not productive. After the next major jet crash in which 200 people die, should I have a talk with my sons about what to do if their plane is going down?

Once old enough to comprehend there are some useful discussions to be had. First about awareness of ones surrounding, looking for warning signs, and responding accordingly. Also about the difference between what authority says, and what's real - especially with regards to actions taken in a school shooting environment. Sitting put in a classroom is tantamount to suicide unless the school has spent the necessary money on reinforced doors, safety glass, and so on. If you're in school and you hear a gunshot you need to get your ass out and run like hell in a random zig-zag using cover as you're able. The number of people shot outside running away is nearly non-existent...almost all injuries take place in the halls or rooms. Once your perimeter is breached (assuming you cannot get out for some reason) you go nuts. You ARE GOING TO DIE anyway, try and stop any more dying. You can be afraid right up until that moment, and you can be afraid again (and feel pain) after it's over. But in the moment of emergency there is nothing but do or die. Don't be afraid to use the dead as shields. Everything is a weapon when you need it to be. Etc, etc, etc. These are lessons I knew by my early teens and there's no reason others can't learn them as well.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: princess ida
What do I want them to do in a similar situation? I want them to not die.

Look, there are a zillion things that, as a parent, I feel the need to discuss, impart my wisdom, bring awareness, and so on. But in this situation, I just don't think that anything I can say will make a difference. It goes under the category of random event.

I guess the most I would say is that bad things happen, be grateful for every minute you're alive.

We did discuss when the proper time is to start telling jokes.

:thumbsup: /thread