The Orange Mental Case and other Idiot Republican stories — Kali Holloway strikes back with common sense about the un-wisdom of arming school teachers

27 February 2018

President Dim Don had this to say after the latest Florida school massacre

Really:

President Trump on Thursday floated the possibility of paying teachers a “bonus” to carry concealed firearms, stressing the importance of school security even as he calls for strengthening gun laws in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting.

The president, earlier in the day, had tweeted that arming “20% of teachers” would help stop a “savage sicko” trying to open fire at a school. He elaborated on the idea Thursday afternoon during a White House listening session focused on school safety with local officials.

He said only those with "aptitude" should be carrying weapons and pitched an incentive program.

“What I’d recommend doing is the people that do carry, we give them a bonus, we give them a little bit of a bonus,” Trump said.

He again said that if 20 percent of teachers had guns, "you won't have these shootings, because these people are cowards."

That probably appeals to a nation of gun-toting lunatics — but . . .

To others (not bitten by the NRA's brain-midgetizing microbe), the President's suggestion makes no societal sense at all.

I quote AlterNet's Kali Halloway at extended length because her practically minded (and suberbly stated) objections match mine:

And where are the funds for this monetary bonus going to come from? Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have proposed drastic spending cuts to public education, including a $7.1 billion—or 10.5 percent—decrease for 2019. On average, teachers spend $500 to $1,000 of their own money bridging the funding gaps politicians keep deepening every time they have a chance. There are schools in this country that lack heat during bitterly cold winters, and places where clogged toilets are everyday realities.

Since 2000, DonorsChoose, a website that lets teachers crowdfund costs that aren’t covered by their budgets, has been overfilled with educators begging for desperately needed dollars for school supplies.

While there’s no money to restore music and art programs in schools, nor funds to give poor schools the same amenities rich schools have, Trump has somehow located billions to turn teachers into soldiers.

There’s also the not inconsiderable delusion of assuming teachers will be able to morph from educators to cool-handed sharpshooters in a pinch. Numerous educators have mishandled guns and shot themselves, often while classes are in session, over the last few years.

That includes the Idaho State University chemistry professor who shot himself in the foot, the Utah elementary school teacher who shot herself in the leg and the Long Island University professor (and ex-cop) who also shot himself in the leg. An Atlanta high school teacher intentionally shot himself in the face last year, and since studies show the presence of a gun increases the chances of suicide, that’s something to consider when you start suggesting schools stockpile weapons.

But these teachers will be trained—we’ll just take the money out of children’s health insurance or something . . . . That will ensure they’ll avoid those kinds of sloppy mistakes!

First of all, an NRA employee accidentally shot himself at the group’s headquarters last year, and once you get past the staggering irony of the story, you note that training is no guarantee against mistakes.(Or fear: Recall that four sheriff's deputies cowered in the parking lot as the Parkland shooting went on.)

A 2008 Rand Corporation study of New York City police officers found their “average hit rate in situations in which fire was not returned was 30 percent.”

When police were involved in gunfights, meaning the kinds of gunfights Trump is asking teachers to engage in, their average hit rate descended to a mere 18 percent.

Again, we’re talking about accuracy rates for cops whose training focuses heavily on actually hitting the people they are aiming for.

What idiot could possibly believe a panicked teacher in a chaotic moment will outscore the shooting accuracy of the police? Who really thinks accidental shootings won’t add further to the body count of mass shootings?

On top of all this, I am petrified by what armed teachers and in-school arsenals could mean for black students and educators.

[She means the folks that a noticeable fraction of American police automatically shoot like unwanted jackrabbits in a backyard.]

More than five years ago

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, I explained why I agree with positions like Halloway's.

The moral? — The Party of the Anti-Christ continues to hold onto the idea — that we humans are reliably smarter and more self-controlled than crazed monkeys

The latter condition well describes the Republican Party's long-demonstrated inability to mate reality with reason.

PeteFree.com

The Orange Mental Case and other Idiot Republican stories — Kali Holloway strikes back with common sense about the un-wisdom of arming school teachers