I have avoided writing on the topic surrounding the mass shootings in recent news for the sad reality that it has stop becoming news. It’s cyclical and mundane to just talk about the issue without taking action.
Fortunately, there is a break, or more realistically a hiccup, in the cycle. With the most recent shooting in Parkland, Florida, the United States is facing an attacked group who is old enough to have a voice, unlike the children at Sandy Hook, and young enough to call for action without being labeled as a political agenda, although these kids have been surrounded by conspiracy theories from the conservative party just like those who witnessed the shooting in Las Vegas.
Without properly solving the issue of how guns are bought or distributed by sellers, school systems have sought other means of security.
One school, in particular, made news for their new security system. This school in Indiana showcased their top of the line security system with full surveillance and panic buttons linked directly to the police station, steam traps to keep shooters blinded and contained in one area, automated locking classroom doors and many other amenities. The best part is, it only cost $400,000 to install it.
Now, if yuu are thinking almost half a million dollars is a little steep for an excessive security system on the slim chance a school is shot up, you are right.
When I saw this proposed security system of $400,000, I immediately thought about how this was a predominantly white school that is privileged enough to afford to spend this much money on a security system that might protect students on the slim chance their school experiences a shooter on campus.
Imagine if all lives were equal, like the movement claims. How might a poor all-black school struggling to provide basic needs to the children are supposed to use $400,000 right now?
Imagine every school looking to protect its predominately white students and donate the $400,000 to an educational system in need to immediately feed and educate starving children here in the United States. All lives matter, so we need to make a real change to those who need the education and basics to help further them into a life beyond their over-policed neighborhoods.
An argument might be made that white-washing this subject is unfair and that these security measure are for everyone, minorities included. However, minorities benefitting in the wake of whites protecting their own does not equate to protecting minorities.
