Playing the Odds

I'm not a risk taker. I don't break rules (other than occasional speeding) and I don't gamble. Every time we go to Vegas I always say I'm going to play, and then I put one quarter into a slot machine--it's gone, and I'm done.

So. . .here's the thing. You can call me crazy, overly dramatic, paranoid, or just plain stupid--quite frankly, I don't care.

Last Friday, the middle school RIGHT NEXT DOOR to my kids' elementary school had a threat written on the bathroom wall. It said "Gonna kill you all 3/31." That would be the following Monday. We got a Connect-Ed message (a recording from the principal that calls you and plays to you or your answering machine and also sends you an email.) They said that they were investigating, they didn't believe it to be serious, there would be a police presence at the school--blah blah blah.

I did not send my boys to school that day. Nothing happened, and that's great. BUT--if something had happened, here were my issues:
1. The school is right next door. If a kid had come to school with a gun and seen all the cops, he might have just decided to go into the elementary school instead.

2. If he had gone into the middle school, the police are great, but they can't do anything until there is something to respond to. Meaning, even if they are RIGHT NEXT TO HIM and he only gets to fire one shot. . .that one bullet is just as deadly as any other. If you're the unlucky fella to be in the way of the one bullet--bad news for you. (By the way, I'm saying "he" and "him" because it was written in the boys' bathroom.)

3. If they chased him, where's he gonna run? Out the back door. Where does that lead? To the ramp that goes straight down into the elementary school. And who's classrooms are on either side of that ramp? R and N's.

4. Finally, I am quite aware that it is a 99% chance that the threat was written by some kid trying to get out of a test. But, that still leaves that 1%. And, if someone said "I'm gonna line 100 kids up against a wall. Then, I might shoot one of them." That's only a 1% chance. Whether they are really going to do it or not--I'm not letting my kids be in that line of kids.

5. In all the cases where something has actually happened, people always say "Why didn't anyone see the signs? He was doing A, B, and C--someone should have known this was coming."

So, on Friday, they found a similar threat on the outside wall of the ELEMENTARY school!!! They called out a Connect-Ed message at 10:45. They said they had done a "thorough investigation and did not believe that it was a credible threat." Ok--I have MANY problems with this.

First, by 10:45 the kids have only been at the school for 2 hours. By the time the message was sent out, they had already told the kids they were on "rainy day recess schedule" so they couldn't go outside (they told them it was because of a beehive) and told the teachers that they were actually on lockdown. They had taken around printed notes to the teachers that said that they were calling the parents and that many may come get their kids. They had to have had time to have FOUND the writing. All of that had to have taken at least 30 minutes--so how "comprehensive" could the investigation have been if it was completed in an hour and a half?

Second problem, I did notice that there was a police car at the school when I dropped the boys off. I assumed it was because they were still increasing presence from Monday, and there is often a cop there to help with traffic in the mornings. Was he actually there because they had already found the message? And if so, why would they let us bring the kids TO THE SCHOOL AND LEAVE THEM without saying anything?????????

Finally, I don't like the wording "not a credible threat." We're talking about a threat against my kid. We're talking about something obviously placed by a kid. Children are NOTORIOUS for not doing what you expect they will do. . .and finally ALL THREATS ARE CREDIBLE WHEN THEY ARE AGAINST MY CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I took my kids out of school right then. For one thing, I was going to visit friends from Germany who were here for a conference, so I was going to be about 30 minutes away. I couldn't be that far with something like that in the back of my mind. But, I would have taken them anyway. I don't care if it is 99.99% safe. . .I don't play odds. Especially with my kids. And, if it happens again, I'll take them out again. And again. And again. The last thing I need is for this to become so commonplace that everyone stops taking it seriously, and then it will be the perfect opportunity for something bad to happen!

I really think that if this was the same child writing both messages, he or she is desperate for attention and someone needs to give it to them before they have a gun instead of a marker in their hands. If I were the administration of the schools, I would scare the crap out of them and tell them I was getting a handwriting expert to compare the writing to everyone's most recent essay. Even if I couldn't really do that--kids don't know what resources adults actually have. . .it would probably be enough to make them think harder next time. Unfortunately, I think that if it is really going to happen. . .they aren't going to write it down first. . .