The Parkland Shooting Security Guard Has Been Arrested

[cmd2014]

@cmd2014 yes I agree. In the meantime though I want to keep our children safe. However we need to do it.

I think you risk fear turning you into a police state. And you risk fear turning you into a place that demands even more guns. And normalizing them and making them even easier for people like Nicolas Cruz to access them. Fear has already turned the US into a place that isn't recognizable from the way things were even 4 years ago (after all, I'm convinced that fear mongering and people succumbing to those fears that allowed someone like Trump to be voted in). It always strikes me when I'm in the US how friendly and kind people are (everywhere), and yet, you all seem to be so afraid of each other in comparison to here. Gated communities, wall safes, security cameras, dead-bolts, and alarm systems, and yes, guns in the house and conceal carry permits 'for personal protection.’ I think the more you surround yourself with cues that you should be afraid, the more afraid you will become and the more guns will feel are necessary under the guise of ‘keeping you safe’. It’s a vicious cycle, and the only way to break it is to not let your fear win while you do something about the problem rather than compounding it. Plus, think of the psychological effect that it would have on an entire generation of children to have to file through metal detector check points with armed military guards every day, and the normalization of fear and guns and violence and of feeling unsafe that would create. Nothing says “you’re not safe” like a machine gun and body armour.

 

[missy]

I think you risk fear turning you into a police state. And you risk fear turning you into a place that demands even more guns. And normalizing them and making them even easier for people like Nicolas Cruz to access them. Fear has already turned the US into a place that isn't recognizable from the way things were even 4 years ago (after all, I'm convinced that fear mongering and people succumbing to those fears that allowed someone like Trump to be voted in). It always strikes me when I'm in the US how friendly and kind people are (everywhere), and yet, you all seem to be so afraid of each other in comparison to here. Gated communities, wall safes, security cameras, dead-bolts, and alarm systems, and yes, guns in the house and conceal carry permits 'for personal protection.’ I think the more you surround yourself with cues that you should be afraid, the more afraid you will become and the more guns will feel are necessary under the guise of ‘keeping you safe’. It’s a vicious cycle, and the only way to break it is to not let your fear win while you do something about the problem rather than compounding it. Plus, think of the psychological effect that it would have on an entire generation of children to have to file through metal detector check points with armed military guards every day, and the normalization of fear and guns and violence and of feeling unsafe that would create. Nothing says “you’re not safe” like a machine gun and body armour.

@cmd2014 I get what you are saying but I don't live in fear and no one I know IRL feels that kind of fear. The communities you describe above is nothing like how many (most?) of us live. We are pretty friendly people and I have to say I love living here still despite it all. We need to do better. However we are just being practical and living in the real world as it exists.

Do you not agree with metal detectors in airports? Do you not agree with locking our doors or having security cameras and alarms? These are nothing new and IMO are smart measures to take. Crime exists and keeping our eyes open makes good sense IMO. Should we just turn an eye to what is happening all around us and live as if we are in a 1950s Normal Rockwell painting? Heck when I was in High School (a long time ago) we were metal detector free but the year after I graduated metal detectors were being used. The year after I graduated. That was many decades ago. This is not new and it's not going away IMO. It's the new normal. We adapt and we thrive. We have no other choice.

Our nation has overcome many challenges and every generation has had problems that seemed impossible to surmount. But one thing that has united this country is that we have always believed our best days are yet to come. What unites is is greater than what divides us. We are not going to accept failure. Our country is imperfect but we have hope and energy and determination and even when we lose our way for a time, we will find it again. Of that I have no doubt.

We have to live in the present and deal with what is right now while working for a better tomorrow... so there is a tomorrow.
America is a place where people have dreams. And we still do. We won't give up striving for a better future for our children.

 

[Karl_K]

But one thing that has united this country is that we have always believed our best days are yet to come.

Many people believe that the best days are behind us as a nation for the average person.
I tend to agree some what, we are following the path of the Roman Empire to destruction.

 

[Karl_K]

I talked to a guy I know who is a retired lawyer who has worked police shootings and other lawsuits involving police from both sides.
He says that if the judge plays politics and allows it to go on in spite of the supreme court precedent there is very very little chance that it wont be overturned at the next level. The supreme court ruling is going to derail it.
As much as I would like to see the coward punished unless he takes a plea there is little chance of it happening in the courts.