Dumbest Idea in the History of Dumb: Arming Teachers

Are we really having a conversation about arming teachers as a viable way to prevent another mass shooting in a school? This is the single dumbest idea ever put forward. If there was an award for dumbest idea in the history of dumb this one would win. What's worse, is this grand dumb of dumb is being put forward by the President of the United States.

Arming teachers is a giant step forward in turning schools into literal prisons and one not so giant step away from turning America into a Mad Max-like dystopian hellscape.

Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated he's a "stable genius" but arming school teachers is a ridiculous idea even for someone with his two digit IQ. What's more surprising is that a segment of America seems to agree with his insane proposal. The sad irony may be that decades of neglect to the American education system has created so many idiots in America that we're actually having a national conversation about an impractically stupid idea that irresponsibly puts children further into harms way. The world this collective idiocracy envisions is barely acceptable as a community of inmates let alone as a community of learning. 

What's even better is the notion that in a country where schools are already so underfunded, Trump is ready to hand out free guns to teachers that have setup GoFundMe pages in order to get basic classroom supplies. Some quick math shows 3.5 million teachers in the U.S. times $400 for a quality 9mm pistol equals $1.4 billion that will not go toward improving American education.

It shouldn't take long to see exactly how well arming teachers improves school safety. A safe guess would be about a month after institution of the policy before the first fatality occurs as the result of a teacher issued firearm falling into the wrong hands. Either via accident or intent, one or more children will die as a result. Presumably, once that happens the next idea put forward by the President will be to arm every student as compliment to the teacher militia.

This insanity must stop. More guns is the strategy that we've been living with for decades and the net result has been more gun related deaths and more mass shootings. A strategy of more guns on top of more guns is not the answer. This favorite NRA trope was debunked during the Parkland massacre itself as at least three armed deputies were onsite but failed to engage the shooter. The science is in from across the world where gun homicide doesn't exist at the American scale when strong gun control measures are in place. Of course, to Trump and the aforementioned idiocracy, science is a four letter word.

Fear is an inherent instinct that all humans have. Flight, not fight is the natural reaction when presented with an extreme situation. It takes a special brand of courage to overcome the flight instinct and that courage doesn't come from a gun. Parkland Athletic Director Chris Hixon and football coach Aaron Feis demonstrated that courage when they heroically gave their lives to protect students. Their courage didn't come from a gun. The trained law enforcement officers at Parkland made a different choice, guns not withstanding.

Trump and the vast majority of the chest thumping ignoramuses barking about arming teachers instinctively would have chosen flight in a similar situation, gun or not. Given the President's demonstrated penchant to focus on himself, it's hard to imagine Trump responding like Hixon or Feis regardless.

Trump and other lawmakers calling for armed classrooms are hypocritical cowards. How dare they ask teachers to also take on the responsibility of soldier when they themselves live in gun free bliss. The Secret Service doesn't allow guns anywhere near the President and Capitol Hill is a gun free zone with its own police force keeping lawmakers safe. Let's see how eager Cadet Bone Spurs or Congress would be to have their security details pulled and be issued firearms instead. Few would embrace that idea because it's idiotic, just as idiotic as their proposal to arm teachers.

There are simply some people in America that choose guns as the cause by which they define themselves above logic, compromise, or all else. It's a choice that defies understanding beyond concluding there is a segment of scared and selfish people that cannot be reached. These people may be fine with their own children growing up in militaristic, armed prisons, however, they are not the majority and, if Parkland has taught us anything, they are also not the future.

Today's children don't want to grow up sentenced to twelve years in an armed prison camp. They will not want their own children to grow up that way either. They've so far been failed by their parents and grand parents generations but now is the time for the elder generations to learn from the next.

Listen to the young people today that have been irreparably changed by the violence and fear they have endured. Hear their pain, hear their ask, and act to stop the insanity. Use your vote, you wallet, and your conscience to stop the NRA, stop Trump, and stop guns from owning and destroying America.