Columnists
And Then, Redux
As parents (and grandparents), LOML and I watched in horror as the story of yet another mass shooting took place, most recently in Uvalde, Texas USA. We can’t even imagine how a parent or caregiver would deal with the loss of a child, or adult, under any circumstances, but a mass shooting in a school? Educators, around the world, have to prepare their students— our children and grandchildren—for the possibility of a terrorist attack. We remember bundling our kids up and sending them off to school, in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Our biggest worries were fairly simple now that we think back on them. What if our kid didn’t eat all of their lunch? What if our kid got bullied in the school yard? What if our kid peed their pants? What if our kid called the teacher “Mom” and had to live with the humiliation? What if our kid got on the wrong bus? What if our kid lost his/her milk money? Not once was I, or LOML, concerned about a shooting. Not one single time. Not on single time did we wake up, get our kids ready for school and worry about a person breaking into the school with the intention of perpetrating a mass killing. Not one single time. For a long time, LOML and I felt some comfort believing something like the shootings in the USA would never happen here. Even during the Pandemic we were sure our grandchildren would be safe in their schools or at home during the school year even though the Pandemic brought out the worst in a lot of people. We were absolutely sure, in our hearts, whatever happened in the “States” would never happen here. And then?
Well, and then a social media post happened last week. The school our granddaughter attends in Belleville was put on “Hold and Secure”! While we were scrambling for more information about the situation, several other schools in the area were put into “Hold and Secure”. We contacted our son who assured us his kid was okay, touring a high school near Quinte West. He wondered why he, the parent, hadn’t been informed of the situation. The social media posts assured the public there was a police presence and the situation seemed to be “a community concern”. A community concern? What the heck did that even mean? To parents, caregivers and grandparents, it means something bad is happening and our children are in harm’s way. Within moments, several other schools in Belleville were put into “Hold and Secure”. LOML and I were sick with fear for all of those children, all of those education workers and all of those police and emergency workers. It was difficult to be calmed by the media. It was difficult to not think of the worst-case scenarios. And, for what felt like an eternity, updates on the “situation” weren’t available. And then?
Well, and then it was over. No word came on what exactly happened, but the “Hold and Secure” order was lifted about ninety minutes after it was imposed. Belleville Police Service Staff Sergeant Kiley told the press “There’s absolutely nothing to it. Some information was provided to teachers that was not correct. After investigation it was determined there were no safety concerns and the ‘hold and secure’ was lifted. There are no ongoing safety risks to students at the area schools or the public,” he wrote. “It’s being dealt with at the school level,” Kiley said in the interview and press release.
Are LOML and I good to go? Nope. We aren’t. We still wonder what really happened in Belleville. We are following the most recent school shooting story as it unfolds in the USA. We worry about copycat situations happening here. We know Canada’s gun laws are very strong, but a person hell-bent on causing harm doesn’t always go through the “system” to get a weapon.
“The truth is that school shootings have happened in Canada, but they are extremely rare. Experts say that’s largely because Canada has very strict gun laws.The most recent shooting at a school in Canada happened in February at a high school in Scarborough, Ontario, in which one person, an 18-year-old, was targeted and killed. But that was the first deadly school shooting in Canada in six years. Overall, experts say schools in Canada are safe from gun violence.” CBC online. One deadly shooting in a school is one too many.
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