Lessons from the Columbine School Shooting

Schneier on Security

A blog covering security and security technology.

Lessons from the Columbine School Shooting

Of course, there never was an epidemic of school shootings -- it just seemed that way in the media. And kids are much safer in schools than outside of them.

Though Schneier's post is a short one, it is the comments that are worth viewing- such as this one:

"It pays to be nice to *everyone* if the alternative is tomorrow they come back with a gun." Or if they do, have means of making that disturbed outsider cease and desist.

I carried a knife starting around 3rd grade through the entire rest of my life, until the invasive fools at the TSA made me not do so when flying. I never thought of the knife as anything other than a tool, until I was perhaps 22 or 23 years old. To me, a gun is no different than a golf club, a hammer, a knife, a car or many other potentially misused mechanical devices. The difference is the mindset of the person in control of the device. Focusing on the device is always going to result in failure to defend against the misuser. Having the means to thwart the misuser of the device will always succeed. As Robert Heinlein wrote, an armed society is a polite society.

Posted by: Toy at April 29, 2009 7:30 AM

Take note however, there are several other whose comments deserve rebuke:

The gun you're carrying completely fails to protect you against the influenza that I'm carrying.

Posted by: Pete Austin at April 29, 2009 9:38 AM

AND

@blake

"With the good guys disarmed by policy and law, the active shooters have free reign and don't stop until the run out of ammo or they meet armed resistance."

Will good guys always be good guys? How often do good guys go crazy? In a culture of fear and mistrust good guys will occassionally (how often?) shoot people because of a false alarm. It is a trade-off, and the heavier weaponry people carry (i.e. the less physical effort required to assault someone), the heavier the consequences. I wonder what the stats are or would be on 'lives rescued by brave fire-arms carrying citizens' versus 'lives lost because good citizen had an off-day'. I come from a very different culture and am glad to live in a country with no debate on the right to carry arms. I can see this is different from the USA, I see the historical/cultural reasons for it, and I believe it has dire implications.

Posted by: Stijn at April 29, 2009 10:56 AM

There are many good comments and it is good to see some very supportive posts- we just have to remember, there are lots of geeks (especially tech security geeks) who are armed, and they tend to know how to use them.

The CNN article linked at Schneier's post is nothing more than a Propgandasist Foot Soldier's attempt to glorify the STATE and the UK video proudly displays the indoctrination of our British brethren's children being taught to OBEY the STATE! Both articles tell us THE GOVERNMENT IS YOUR SAVIOR! When in fact we know that it is not. The CNN article fails to even mention the cowardly ONLY ONES who hid behind there cars ten years ago, just as they recently did in Binghamton, New York.

I do not think children ARE safer in the propaganda camps known as the public education system than outside, but a stupidly common mistake made by many, and some people are stuck with them, and then correct the propaganda at night at home, or in the car, or when walking the dog, or any spare moments of time we can make for our children to correct the bullshit from the propaganda camps known as the public education system.

WP