# I must be guilty of something **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 11, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373 "2015-02-11T05:52:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/41 "2015-02-12T01:58:06Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > I first regarded this with a chuckle but as I drove around town today I got a creepy feeling. Suppose someone had been armed? Or the doors alarmed? Things could have gotten serious very quickly. And most places, when it comes to kids and schools, you are going to be presumed guilty (in a sense). You really were lucky; I’d get a Power Ball ticket if I were you. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/42 "2015-02-12T12:58:07Z")
Art books, huh? Full of dangerous _ideas_, like anarcho-syndicalism, and free-lovism, I’ll bet. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/43 "2015-02-12T15:25:55Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Art books, huh? > > Full of dangerous _ideas_, like anarcho-syndicalism, and free-lovism, I’ll bet. and nekkid ladies no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/44 "2015-02-12T16:02:42Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > I let the local school system know that I had art books and supplies that I’d like to donate. An elementary school teacher called me, accepted the donation, and told me to leave it at the school during regular school hours. > > Now I’d never been to the school. I parked, walked to the nearest entrance, opened the door and went inside. I poked my head into the nearest classroom and the teacher came to the door. I asked where the principal’s office was and the nice teacher escorted me to the office. > > Where I was greeted with: “How did you get in?” “Through the door.” Office staff exchanging looks. “All the side doors are locked.” Well, that one wasn’t. And everything went downhill from there. Did I talk to the art teacher? How did I know the art teacher? Well, she’s out sick today. Meanwhile, those looks. I began to wonder if Security and/or a bomb/drug sniffing dog had been alerted by a silent alarm. Finally, one of the staff escorted me to another door. I moved my car and delivered the supplies and fled the scene. > > I understand the need for security, but this was the first time I’ve ever been regarded with suspicion by so many adults at one time, all because someone left a door open. > [@Whatever4](#): > > Oh, please, lighten up. I’d have followed every protocol, silly as many of them are, if the idiot teacher expecting the freebies had told me of them and told the principal about the freebies as well. They should have been thanking me for letting them know that their lock-down had a flaw. At a minimum, offer me a seat, SMILE, and begin a conversation that expresses concern and how can we handle this? > > They can lock every damn door in the place and somebody armed can shoot out every non-bullet proof window in a flash and be gone before the two or three cops could get their car started. You’re the one who acted like a victim because people _looked_ at you. How dare they! Just because you have no idea what the situation is, or why they reacted the way they did, you were hurt because they _looked_ at you. Lighten up, Francis. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/45 "2015-02-13T01:06:40Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Yes, you are guilty of something and that something is [mopery](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mopery). Count yourself fortunate because it is a capital offense in at least four states (especially when combined with intent to gawk). I thought it was 'intent to lurk". Hmm…at any rate, the OP should know you can’t just go around giving art books to people and get off scot free. pfft…liberals. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/46 "2015-02-13T02:15:17Z")
I keep thinking that if the principal had known I am an atheist and don’t salute the flag I’d be posting from the slammer. Seriously – she had an intruder in her school/office and all she did was dither. Nobody could be sure I was the only surprise visitor. I’d think a “code blue” on the intercom, alerting all teachers to close and lock classroom doors would have been the first thing on the agenda. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/47 "2015-02-13T06:26:54Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Maybe, but this isn’t “academia” it’s an elementary school. Where the staff treat you as if you were a 7yr old, and expect you to wait in line as if you were a 7yr old. I went to school in Arizona in schools that didn’t even have fences. My kid now goes to a school in Melbourne that has fences, but the gates aren’t locked. Both countries, both generations, the office staff and teachers relate to people as if it was against the rules to be out of class in school time. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/48 "2015-02-13T08:23:22Z")
> [@wellanuff](#): > > Of course, if you were to actually question the need for all of this, well, why don’t you want our children to be safe? Shouldn’t we do everything we can? What if something happened?..etc. :smack: Ask them, that whether they should be a battery of Patriot missile stationed outside the school, just in case those damned Russians bomber show up. After all thats a lot more likely than most of the things they imagined. Or a company of marines, incase, the Bear sends his paratroopers. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/49 "2015-02-13T15:40:22Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :smack: > Ask them, that whether they should be a battery of Patriot missile stationed outside the school, just in case those damned Russians bomber show up. After all thats a lot more likely than most of the things they imagined. > > Or a company of marines, incase, the Bear sends his paratroopers. Red Dawn was actually a documentary!!! Wolverines!!! ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/50 "2015-02-13T18:42:06Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > I keep thinking that if the principal had known I am an atheist and don’t salute the flag I’d be posting from the slammer. Seriously – she had an intruder in her school/office and all she did was dither. Nobody could be sure I was the only surprise visitor. I’d think a “code blue” on the intercom, alerting all teachers to close and lock classroom doors would have been the first thing on the agenda. Maybe the principal didn’t see you as much of a threat? It’s their call. I assume the principle, and school staff, have had years of training on how to differentiate between a confused visitor (dare I say, parent?) and an actual intruder intent on harming the children or staff. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/51 "2015-02-13T19:23:24Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Maybe the principal didn’t see you as much of a threat? It’s their call. I assume the principle, and school staff, have had years of training on how to differentiate between a confused visitor (dare I say, parent?) and an actual intruder intent on harming the children or staff. Maybe. I haven’t been visited by the police. School principal hasn’t called for more information. Donated stuff hasn’t shown up on my doorstep. Maybe it all can be attributed to a trigger (can I use that word safely?) experience from being called to the principal’s office as a kid. Seriously, I was observing the tykes and tykettes in the corridor and, tho I’m only 5’2", I couldn’t believe I was ever that small. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/52 "2015-02-13T19:27:25Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Maybe the principal didn’t see you as much of a threat? It’s their call. I assume the principle, and school staff, have had years of training on how to differentiate between a confused visitor (dare I say, parent?) and an actual intruder intent on harming the children or staff. It’s my experience that the gun-toting child molesters _always_ seek out a staff member for assistance & directions. > [@Whatever4](#): > > I poked my head into the nearest classroom and the teacher came to the door. I asked where the principal’s office was and the nice teacher escorted me to the office. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/53 "2015-02-13T20:14:58Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > It’s my experience that the gun-toting child molesters _always_ seek out a staff member for assistance & directions. (Underline added) I did not know that. Thanks for the info. ---
**Author:** ![Zorkmid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e68b1a/32.png) [@Zorkmid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorkmid)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/54 "2015-02-13T20:40:23Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > cashmere, handspun Shetland, mohair, are you drooling yet? YEEEEEESSS! 😃 I’ll take it! Let me just deactivate the electric fence, spring loaded spikes, laser field, robot snipers… the pirranha pool is frozen over so that won’t be a problem… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/55 "2015-02-13T20:48:42Z")
> [@wellanuff](#): > > You are guilty of being a non-staff person inside a school building without having passed through security protocols. If you are a male, count your lucky stars that they didn’t summon the police. (If you think I am exaggerating, my local school called the police last year when a father came early and parked outside of the school, waiting to pick up his child for a dentist appointment. The staff member relating the story was proud of how rapidly the school and police responded. Of course, mothers do the same thing without the police needing to be summoned.) > > I have had kids in the local schools for 20 years, and I am so irritated by the security systems that they have put in and the attitude/thought-processes that they represent that I dread days when I have to visit the school while it is in session. > > When I was a kid in the 1970s (this same town, which happens to be an exceptionally safe town), none of the school doors were locked, and visitors could basically come and go as they pleased. I am not aware of any incidents. > > Then in the 1980s there was Laurie Dann. A legitimately horrifying story, she was someone with psychological problems who went into a grade school and shot and killed a number of children. A true outlier also, but I can understand schools locking doors as a result. > > When my kids started going to school 20 years ago, doors were locked except for the front door by the office. If you visited the school, you walked into the office, signed in, filled out a name tag, and went on your way. At the end of the school day, parents could wait in the lobby on winter days while waiting for their kids. (Kindergartners, 1st graders) > > Now, if you visit the school, there is a double entryway for you to be buzzed in twice that leads directly into the office, where you have to have your ID scanned on a system that checks you against the sex offender registry (the Raptor system). Every time you visit. Parents are not allowed to wait in the school lobby, no matter how bitterly cold it is outside. > > Of course, if you were to actually question the need for all of this, well, why don’t you want our children to be safe? Shouldn’t we do everything we can? What if something happened?..etc. The one school I’ve encountered that was on permanent lockdown, with a guard at the door, was a K-3 school in a quiet middle-class neighborhood, in a Midwestern city of 40,000. Why the security, you may ask? It was the school attended by children that age who lived at the domestic violence shelter. p.s. The guard was a contracted employee of the DV program. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/56 "2015-02-13T21:20:42Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > Bbbbbbbbut, when **I** was in school…The nuns didn’t have guns but they were deadly with a yardstick. > [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Blame the monks. 😉 Nuns with guns? Monks with skunks? Priests with beasts? Popes with ropes? Now THAT’s offensive religion! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/57 "2015-02-14T02:10:14Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Nuns with guns? > Monks with skunks? > Priests with beasts? > Popes with ropes? > > Now THAT’s offensive religion! Hey, you wanted to get schooled? There you go. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/58 "2015-02-14T16:55:42Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Hey, you wanted to get schooled? > There you go. 😉 Especially with math. Look at that dude on the + sign. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/59 "2015-02-14T18:19:35Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Especially with math. Look at that dude on the + sign. 😉 wtf? What “dude on the plus sign”? I let the beasts, skunks, ropes nonsequitur go, but what the Hell are you on about? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373/60 "2015-02-15T02:25:47Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > wtf? What “dude on the plus sign”? I let the beasts, skunks, ropes nonsequitur go, but what the Hell are you on about? 😕 Staying with popes and priests Jackson started, I was playing the religious angle – the crucifix? Kids sucks at math, parents send him to catholic school, grades jump to all A’s. Was it the skill of the nuns? Nah - first time he saw the guy nailed to the + sign he knew they weren’t screwing around. Sorry – at the time I posted it, it was perfectly clear. Of course, so was the alcohol. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-must-be-guilty-of-something/712373.md?page=4)