There's been another one. An ex-grad student of Sociology (no less) opened fire in a class of students, killing 5 (so the latest reports say) at Northern Illinois University. My local school newspaper carries a report on the front page. The horror experienced by the students, the screams, the shrieks, the photo of a student crying...it's all there. The BBC reports say that the 'gunman/student' was 'revered' among students and professors, that he was an outstanding student...and that no one knew what had triggered him off.
What I find surprising is not that this has happened again...and will happen again. I find it strange (and I commented on the same on a very close friend's blog) - that there is so much talk about whether schools are equipped to deal with a shooting. The local report in my school newspaper goes onto talk about whether my University would be able to deal with a 'gunman', whether there's enough security, whether there's a way to get information around if such an incident were to happen.
Now don't get me wrong. Sure. It's essential to focus on the possibility that there might be a gunman around the campus, and it's important to know what we can do or 'should' do if such a person did make an appearance in the middle of a classroom. Yet I find it strange that when such events are reported not many focus on the necessity to do something about gun laws, for one. How can the NRA keep up its senseless twaddle of "Guns don't kill people...people kill people." How can Congress buy that senseless twaddle. (And yes, these are somewhat rhetorical questions). As Eddie Izzard in his priceless act says, "Guns help." It would be difficult for a lunatic to go around blowing people's heads off if guns weren't so readily available. It would be difficult to shoot people without guns...it wouldn't be impossible to go on a killing rampage - but it would be a 'little inconvenient'.
And this brings me to my next query. Why is it that schools are so concerned about 'whether their schools are secure enough?'...As if that were the only concern. "My school is absolutely safe. We've got 20 feet high electrolocuted fences all around..." "You don't say. My school has security cameras on campus, watching every move you make." "That's nothing. We're screened as soon as we enter the 'space'." "Aha! But we're allowed to defend ourselves. We're allowed to carry guns onto campus to keep ourselves safe from the gunmen..." ...Oh, sure! That just solves the problem with such beauty and brilliance!
Why aren't we asking the right questions? Why should buying guns be so easy? And even more importantly: Why are young people going around open firing on their classmates and then shooting themselves? I know that banning guns isn't the answer or the solution. It's simply a preventive measure - and the people who make the laws don't even seem to be able to grasp something as simple as that...so maybe, I shouldn't be surprised that they aren't digging any deeper. Yet what about educational institutions? What about the social scientists? Why aren't we saying something? Don't we know that there's no way to 'secure' the fortress? Don't we know that "Guns do kill people"? Don't we know that these school shootings point out to something that needs to be addressed at both an individual level and a social level, which is deeply related to our value systems? Don't we even feel that we need to do something about it, instead of pontificating and comparing notes about Foucault and Habermas or some other 'glamorous' thinker?
For many days now I've been more tired than usual. Today as I read the bit in the school newspaper and I walked around my department I've been horrified and disturbed that folks don't even bother thinking about these school shootings anymore. 'Yeaah - I read that....I say, have you started on your stats homework?'
