Teachers Taking Guns to School

Why is a school district in Texas allowing its teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms on campus? See below:

Texas district will let teachers carry guns

A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.

The small community of Harrold in north Texas is a 30-minute drive from the Wilbarger County Sheriff's Office, leaving students and teachers without protection, said David Thweatt, superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District. The lone campus of the 110-student district sits near a heavily traveled highway, which could make it a target, he argued.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in a story published Friday on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Web site.

Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland, Ohio-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.

Trustees approved the policy change last year, and it takes effect when classes begin this month. For employees to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun, must be authorized to carry by the district, must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and must use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricocheting bullets.

Officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change, Thweatt said. The district also has other measures in place to prevent a school shooting, he said.

"The naysayers think [a shooting] won't happen here. If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them," Thweatt said.

Texas law outlaws firearms at schools unless specific institutions allow them.

It isn't clear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall, because Thweatt did not disclose that information, to keep it from students or potential attackers.




The school district, not a single school but the district, only has 110 students and 50 teachers. Can they not afford a school resource officer? How is allowing teachers to carry weapons going to help keep the school safe? Maybe I'm wrong. Someone enlighten me please.

Questions about depression

Why is it that we are conditioned to believe that when we're depressed, we should drink, smoke, have irresponsible sex, or over/under eat? What would happen if we were convinced to workout, to complete an act of community service, or to read a book when we're depressed? How would the world be different? How would people's lives be different? Just something to think about.

Just a lil disappointed . . .

. . . in myself. Normally I use the summer time to write multiple posts, but uh rah, this time I wasn't so productive. I have one weekday left before I have to be back at school and I just don't see myself having a marathon blog moment. I guess this means I will try to write more during the school year. We'll see.

Dig a Hole, Bury Yourself!

Interesting PSA by E. Taylor:

In the wake of the May 6, North Carolina Democratic State Primary, I figured I would do my due diligence to persuade voters to vote for whom I consider the most viable candidate to preside over our country. This is especially targeted to the African American community. To preface this story, I must first describe my political background or lack thereof.

Growing up in the rural south, I never knew much about politics at all. I will lay my ignorance at the hand of my surroundings and my family. The extent of my political knowledge was of the two political parties, Democrats and Republicans, and the roles I assumed they played in the country. Hearing my family converse, I always assumed the Republicans were evil and racist, and the Democrats were good and pro-black. While this may not be far off from the truth, this generalization is a one of ignorance at best. I can remember my mother explained the reason she did not vote was that she did not want jury duty or she believed her vote did not count. This sentiment, I feel, is shared among many African Americans in the south, keeping them away from the polls. A sentiment which is unacceptable and should be frowned upon.

Recently I have done my best to get more involved in politics and become more aware of how the country I live in is being governed. When I heard Senator Barack Obama was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, I instantly became interested in the race. I honestly had little prior knowledge about the senator, but the possiblity of having an African American run the country was a great feeling. Barack instantly had my vote on the basis of being a black man. Was basing my vote solely on the race of a candidate valid? Probably not, but upon further investigation by way of reading ariticles, listening to debates, and watching tv shows that analyze the politcial candidates and their idealogies, I realized my vote was well placed.

Recently in an interview with rapper The Game, he made the comment and I quote,
“If you Black and you don’t vote for Obama you just need to find a revolver spin that bitch and pop ‘til your noodles’ on the fukkin side of the bed man. That’s just a no brainer man.” I hate to admit it, but I will have to side with a rapper for once in my life. The statement could have been said much more intelligently; however, whether you take this argument figuratively or literally, I feel that it does have some validity.
Black leaders in the United States, from the days of slavery, until the Civil Rights era, have fought for African Americans and other minorities to be on an even playing ground with the rest of America. Within those battles, every citizen earned the right to vote for whomever they so choose. I do not want to condemn anyone or make them feel they can not freely choose who they want to run for president, but merely show you the opportunity you have to make history and put the first black male in the white house. I believe if we do not embark on this wonderful opportunity in front of us, we will not have another black person that will be able to contend for the position of Commander in Chief for another 50 years. Do not let this black leader, one who stands for CHANGE and making a better America, pass us by. If you do, maybe you should dig a hole, bury yourself!

Timbaland and One Republic Were Wrong . . .

. . . It's never too late to Apologize.

Today I'm just lounging around the house and I decided to check my school email. In my inbox I have a new message with the subject "Renae Brown" (changed the name). I'm thinking, "What in the world?" Renae used to be one of my friends in high school. We used to ride to school together and hang out with my older sister on the weekends. She came to my house I went to hers. We played sports together our whole life. Then, my junior year, her senior year, she started calling my boyfriend trying to holla at him. And she would talk junk to him about me, my sister, and brother. She even talked about my parents, who were going through a divorce. Real grimy right? So when I found out, I got real mad. I told my mom I was gonna tell her off at school. Ma told me that I betta not get into a fight at school over something stupid. Well first of all, I was not about to fight nobody (I only hit people who are related to me). Second of all, I know better.

I waited till volleyball practice to tell her off. Our team had talked about how we should talk and not hold things in because they would affect the team. So I made everybody sit in circle. I reminded them of how we said we should talk about things to help the team out. Well, I went into this tyriad about how Renae had been talking about me and my family, trying to steal my boyfriend, about how I never asked her or anybody else to be my friend, and blah blah blah. I told them that for the sake of the team, I will be cooperative on the court, but once games and practice were over, I didn't want nothing to do with her.

Ok so it was a little more dramatic than this 5 minute effort to transribe the conversation. The team was shocked and she was too. She didn't say one word. Then I was like, "Iight. Let's practice." I was the main setter and she was our main hitter. I don't think we won a game after that.

So all of this is running through my mind when I see the subject. I've seen her at least twice since she graduated but I haven't spoken to her in about 10 years. I opened the email, and read the message. She was apologizing for what had happened in high school. It was very sincere. She said that she wasn't sick or dying, but that she was growing closer to Jesus Christ, and as a worshiper, she knew that she needed to right her wrongs in order to better serve Him and in order to receive what He had instore for her.

Wow!! That was my first reaction. It takes a lot of courage/faith to do that. I had never forgotten about that incident, but I didn't hold a grudge against her either. I was glad to hear that God was working through her. Its always a blessing to know that people are trying to live better.

I made a nice reply thanking her for the apology. I hope the best for her and her family.

As Easy as Making a Baby!?!

It's been a while since I've written. Please bear with the long post.

A couple of months ago I watched this special on MTV (I think it was MTV) about people trying to find one of their parents. It was about 5 adults, who were 18 and over, trying to find a parent who abandoned them. MTV helped this process by using research, clues, eye witnesses, etc to help them track their parents. It was a very emotional roller coaster ride for these people who were searching for a parent that they had never met or who they partially knew. I found myself on the brink of tears, empathizing with their stories. And I thought, creating a child can be one of the most thoughtless acts ever. I find it so disappointing, but not unrealistic, for a person to have a child and feel absolutely nothing for the offspring.

While viewing the show, I started thinking about the requirements for having a child. And basically it can be as simple as random sperm entering a random uterus. No names, no strings attached. Nothing. Get up and go in different directions. When you think about it, isn't it sad that thats all it takes to create LIFE? Life is amazing. Its beautiful. Its complex, complicated. Mysterious. Unfortunate yet magnificent. It's so emotional, yet emotions are not even necessary for its birth.

After pondering over these thoughts for a while, I grew upset with God and told him so. How could He allow the reproduction of something so vital to be so simple? I know humans abuse sex's original purpose, but still. Creating a human is just too easy.

I started to think of ways to have a more intricate baby making process. People should have a switch that needs to be turned on in order to be able to produce a child. Unlike puberty, this switch would be manual. The only way to get the switch turned on is to pass a test at the doctor's office. The test would contain questions such as:

1.) How well do you know your potential baby momma/daddy?
2.) Do you like/love your potential baby momma/daddy?
3.) Do you have a job?
4.) How much money do you make?
5.) How much do you think it costs to support a newborn child?
6.) What is your philosophy on child rearing?
7.) In your opinion, at what point do you think you are no longer financially responsible for your child?
8.) What role should education play in a child's life?
9.) If you and the maker of this baby decide to no longer be together, how will you support this child emotionally? Financially?
10.) On a scale of 1-10, how important is it to spend time with your child? Explain.

I think you get my point. Baby making should be a thoughtful process rather than a thoughtless process.

After conversing more with God, He convinced me that it wasn't His fault that producing a child had become so senseless. We as humans have abused the sexual experience as merely a pleasure seeking entity without fully acknowledging its procreation aspects. We did this to ourselves. From this lens, we have devalued life. We are the highest beings and we're supposed to know better and do better.

How would the world, or parenting more specifically, be different if people valued life over self seeking pleasure?

I ain't . . .

. . . been up here in so long I bout forgot how to log in.