Ask elementary school children who is their favorite superhero, and many will blurt out: Superman, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Storm, the Hulk, and other fantastical movie heroes. These heroes save helpless children as well as adults from bad guys.
But the Children at Robb Elementary School were not waiting on Captain America or any of these fantasy characters to save them. They didn’t send a bat signal for Batman.
The terrorized children at Robb Elementary called 911.
They were waiting on police officers who had pledged to protect them, their teachers, and the community at all costs. These uniformed law enforcement officers in Uvalde and nearby areas were to be the real heroes. They had pledged limb and life to rescue and save those in harm’s way.
But there were no heroes to be found on that tragic day, May 24, 2022, when nineteen Uvalde school children and two teachers died at the hands of a lone gunman.
The bad guy was a lone gunman with a long gun.
But a hero among the many officers with long guns wasn’t found.
The officers moved about Robb Elementary’s hallways within hearing distance from the trapped children behind thought-to-be barricaded doors. The officers were so near but yet so far away. They may have talked a good fight in the hallways and behind corners, but there was no fight in them.
The serve and protectors neither served nor protected the children and teachers. The gunman freely fired and mowed down the helpless children while the waiting officers kept their distance.
After what seemed like an eternity, the officers finally breached the door and killed the gunman. But it was too little, too late. The police suffered no casualties and injuries of any significance that day. They went home to their loved ones.
The officers failed the slain children and teachers, their parents and loved ones, the school system, and the community.
The officers failed America!
Our children are the weakest and most vulnerable among us. Our parental instincts are to selflessly safeguard our and other children from harm. Teachers have this instinct and responsibility to watch over their students.
School administrators are responsible for conducting lockdown drills to prepare and protect school children and adults in emergencies like an active shooter. How can these drills help save kids if the gunman gets into the classroom and is on a killing spree?
But lockdown drills are not a substitute for sensible gun laws.
When the bad guy shows up, there’s no regard for life. The children and teachers are easy targets.
No sensible gun laws, failed lockdowns, insufficient safety provisions, and failed police actions, what’s next?
Should we train the kids and teachers to rush the gunman? Do we expect them to negotiate or talk the gunman out of killing them?
How many more school shootings must we endure?
How many more children need to die?
Remember the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)? The NCLB was an act of Congress that supported educational standards and goals to improve education for every individual student. According to NCLB, every child counts; no one should be left behind.
Today we need an act of Congress to protect our children at school.
How can we educate but not protect students and teachers within our educational systems?
During the January 6 Insurrection, the important people of Congress were served and protected.
Local, state, and U.S. lawmakers, let our children know how important they are to us, their communities, and America.
We new police officers with courage and the Right Stuff to sacrificially defend and protect our children and teachers!
Semi and automatic weapons of mass destruction in the wrong hands are weapons of domestic terrorism and massacres.
We need sensible gun legislation!
We need Congress to act!
Our prayers continue to go out to the families and friends of the children and teachers massacred at Robb Elementary School.
Be safe.