Say a prayer for Conn

It's so sad it makes me sick thinking about it.  As a parent I don't know what I would do if that happened to my children.  So sad.

There's a special place in hell for people who do things like that. 

Let's keep all the victims and their families in our hearts and minds. They're going through hell right now.

i had to pick my kids up at daycare early because i really needed to hug them and just hold them close to me.

I totally feel you brother. I couldn't wait to hug my two little boys too.   

Really one of the darkest days in my life as one who cares for kids. Condolences to the parents and families. Some will try to to turn this into an anti-gun issue, but believe me, that is not what this is about. It is about mental illness in America and there are no easy answers to that. I suspect that most of these madmen had health care insurance so Obama care won't make a difference either. We lost one of our own to this last year to mental illness and I still have no answers. I wish I did. All we can do is pray for those who were touched by this profound tragedy.

I am really not sure why I am writing this, perhaps just to say something that was hard to say anything about yesterday...when we were all, and still am in shock. Our K-5 school, where I am principal, were in a state of shock and really had a hard time even mentioning what happened. Most of us could not look at each other without tears starting and really just wanted to pray for those kinders and their families. Our sup did a great job sending out emails attempting to bring us comfort.  My wife, a K teacher for over 20 years, is avoiding the subject, because the emotions flood into her sweet soul. I am having a hard time just typing right now. I too taught K for 7 years and there is nothing more sweet and innocent than those little ones. I found myself spending some extra time on campus yesterday and especially our primary wing. I even had the honor chasing down two little special ed K girls who did not want to come in from recess. I found myself huggging these two ones as they walked back to class hand in hand with me. Many times I feel like I can protect and keep my little ones safe. We have a great safety plan that we update every year; however, each time we update we always speak of the many ways a crazy son of a b, could still cause harm without totally making our schools like prisons. I will not go into where this line of thought will go and is already on the news. Another sad day in America's history. Today hug your kids and family , be grateful and say many prayers. Monday, I am sure all schools will be bringing back out the safety plan. Condolences to the parents and families. Thanks for letting me have a little way to express my feelings.

Well said Dave. We all understand where you are coming from.
Everytime I see the story on the news I too have to wipe tears away.
No one is immune from the impact of what happened.

It is about mental illness in America

Absolutely.  Most people seem to miss this point entirely.

Most every public business has an emergency back door with a crash bar and triggers alarms.  Even my RV has a window for that emergency.  Homes are required to have a second method of exit with a minimum window size and a height from the floor to reach it.  But I don't think I've ever seen a class room that has an emergency exit designed into it.  Some, most even, have windows but that's incidental, not intentional.  Even then, they are not particularly conductive for quick evacuation. 

I tend to look for solutions when tragedy strikes as a coping mechanism.  I raised two sons and, like most parents, had as my greatest fear the violent death happening to them.  I thought when they were grown and out of the house that would be over.  But we are always parents, even after our little ones are grown up.  Every child is as precious as our own.   

this really hit the mark for me , statement from morgan freeman.


"You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here's why.

It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he'll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.

CNN's article says that if the body count "holds up", this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer's face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.

You can help by forgetting you ever read this man's name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news."

All I can think about is what could be done to prevent this from happening again. An armed security guard or campus policeman at every school comes to mind. They see an adult at the school with a gun......that person is shot dead......hopefully before any kids are hurt. I'm not sure emergency exits will stop murderers but a well aimed bullet will.

I agree with Morgan Freeman.Thanks for posting that Andy.

All I can think about is what could be done to prevent this from happening again. An armed security guard or campus policeman at every school comes to mind. They see an adult at the school with a gun......that person is shot dead......hopefully before any kids are hurt. I'm not sure emergency exits will stop murderers but a well aimed bullet will.

When I was in school (middle and high school, not elementary), there were almost always cops on campus. If that wouldn't be a deterrent to a shooter, I don't know what would. I know the state is low on funds these days, but having two officers at every school should become part of standard procedure, regardless of cost.

Jim, sorry I didn't get back to you. Been busy. Did you fish?

Thanks Andy, Morgan could not have said it better.  The media will never admit that they are the reason these folks lok for the ways they do what they do.

A must read...

http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html?m=1