# Out-of-the-box idea to deal with school shootings **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363 "2018-03-28T16:43:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [March 29, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/101 "2018-03-29T17:04:40Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > TLDR: there isn’t anything remotely fucking realistic about your proposal. Its expensive and you’ve presented absolutely zero evidence it would make a difference. You would have to hire teams of people to maintain this. It would be cheaper just to hire more armed security guards. It would be cheaper to ring classrooms with electric fences. Oooohh, you may be on to something. Give everyone in the school, but students, staff, & visitors a taser-level electric shock collar. If/when they pull out a gun **::Zzzzzzttt!::** they fall down quivering for a few minutes until their muscles regain control, by which time the PD is there & have them in disarmed & in cuffs. **Pros:** [ul] [li]It will also end barking.[/li][/ul] **Cons:** [ul] [li]Cost[/li][li]Someone has to active the correct shock collar - or do we just want to Zap everyone by depressing the button[/li][li]How many of the school shooters checked in at the office before beginning their rampage?[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/102 "2018-03-29T17:14:52Z")
_I like the cut of that man’s gibberish!_[RIGHT]— The Tick[/RIGHT] Stranger ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/103 "2018-03-29T17:31:44Z")
OK, hear me out. We rig up super-dooper strong electromagnets in every doorway. When the big red Emergency button is pushed, it turns on the magnets. Anyone attempting to walk through a door, or even near one, will have their guns ripped from their hands and rendered inoperable. It has the added bonus of taking care of other weapons, like knives, nunchucks, and throwing stars. Brass knuckles might still be a problem, although I’ve not kept current with knuckle technology so maybe they aren’t still made of actual brass. I also like the idea of magnetic floors as shown in the documentary [Face Off](https://youtu.be/Q7SfihJDsiI?t=124). This would require all students and visitors to wear the special boots, but anyone who thinks that is impractical clearly doesn’t like kids and isn’t interested in solutions. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/104 "2018-03-29T17:44:58Z")
There are some good ideas here but they all require equipping students with shock collars or rebuilding schoolrooms, which is obviously impractical in the near term and that there might be various budgetary issues and/or legal challenges which could hold it up for years. We clearly need to _ACT NOW_, so the ideal solution is to obtain a supply of gaseous incapacitation agent and provide supplies to every school to pump into classrooms and hallways when needed. Russia [has some experience with this](https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/10/the-dubrovka-theater-siege-in-moscow-a-decade-later/263931/) so perhaps we can get some advice from Putin on the [proper application](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20067384). It could also be used to deal with those pesky demonstrators and striking teachers, so it is multi-purpose! Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/105 "2018-03-29T17:46:37Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > OK, hear me out. We rig up super-dooper strong electromagnets in every doorway. Now all we have to do is outlaw non-ferrous firearms. How about giving every student, teacher, principal and janitor bulletproof vests which they are required to wear at all times when on school property? ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/106 "2018-03-29T18:38:49Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Some people seriously can’t get it through their heads that there are more ideas in the world than “MUST BAN GUNZ” and “I LOVE GUNZ”, and then interpreting anyone not exactly on your side of that dichotomy as necessarily being on the other side. Seriously, it’s pretty sad to see such limited thinking. > > I thought of that, but remember goggles? Paint on goggles means you’re blinded; pepper spray on goggles less so. But I don’t hate a combo! Here’s another thing people seem to have trouble with: I’m not out to present my plan from the mountaintop, and then insist on all its particulars to the end of time. I’m totally open to brainstorming and trying different things. > > AGAIN: as another teacher backed me up on, the current thinking in education is already to have kids fight back. So I’m only spitballing ideas to make that more effective. > > Watch out: suggesting commonsense ideas to slow shooters down will get you nothing but abuse from the “BAN GUNZ!” crowd, because anything other than “BAN GUNZ!” they see as a threat to their movement and their perceived political momentum. Which may be true to an extent, but in this case I’m out for practicality, not politics. > > I suppose they might be more hesitant to razz your contribution because you’re an actual teacher; but my wife is a teacher and her endorsement of the idea hasn’t slowed anyone down. > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I like to think that when my posts don’t get razzed, it’s because they’re sensible and not just because I spent most of my adult life teaching teens. All teachers, your wife included, are horrified by the idea of shooters in their classrooms. Our desperate hope can make us imagine scenarios that are more idealistic than realistic. Your paintball/spray paint idea came from just such a sincere and laudable sentiment, and so did your wife’s endorsement of it. My own belief is that in real-life scenarios, some of these ideas just won’t work. I had a colleague who planned to have her students throw textbooks. I tried to explain to her that textbooks aren’t exactly aerodynamic and don’t make good missiles. I think the school cop finally talked her out of it, but in her mind, those textbooks would be launched with deadly accuracy by brave kids. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/107 "2018-03-29T19:05:24Z")
I agree with you, which is why something designed to be aimed in a specific area strikes me as a better idea. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > So, it is ineffective and detracts from doing anything productive to address the problem Aha, someone finally admits outright what I suspected: many of you don’t want practical mitigation schemes, because not having any keeps maximum pressure on the NRA. Sorry: in this case I’m not interested in fighting a culture war—I just want realistic, bite-sized ideas to protect my kids. Even if it leaves them 91% likely to die in a shooting instead of 92%. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/108 "2018-03-29T19:14:29Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I just want realistic, bite-sized ideas to protect my kids. Cool. When do we get to see that? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/109 "2018-03-29T19:41:08Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I just want realistic, bite-sized ideas to protect my kids. Even if it leaves them 91% likely to die in a shooting instead of 92%. Have you tried home-schooling your kids? That will keep them safe. Unless you have guns in the house, at which point they are probably safer at school. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/110 "2018-03-29T20:04:12Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Cool. When do we get to see that? You don’t. **SlackerInc** is going to shoot you in the eye with a paintball gun. No other nation in the developed world has the problem of domestic school and public mass shootings to anywhere near even the order of magnitude of frequency we have, and that is even before discounting radicalized terrorist attacks versus angry teenager shooters who have somehow managed to gain access to multiple firearms and ammunition. Maybe, just perhaps, we should look at why that is so and whether their approaches to reducing domestic violence could work for us before grasping at ridiculous and facile ‘solutions’ which provide negligible reduction in the hazard or attacking the credibility of students who protest against inaction by suggesting that they should learn CPR. The NRA has long and well earned the current broad vilification for their staunch refusal and active opposition to measures which control the access to firearms by children and emotionally unstable people, as well as their promotion of more firearms as a solution to mass shootings. They are actually the worst advocate responsible gun owners have because their extemist, non-reality-based positions make all gun owners look terrible, and their refusal to advocate for rational oversight and holding owners and sellers responsible for not taking reasonable measures to assure that their weapons are kept out of the hands of criminals and malcontents will inevitably lead to a curtailing of rights and permissivity toward firearms ownership across the board, responsible or not. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/111 "2018-03-29T20:23:58Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Have you tried home-schooling your kids? That will keep them safe. Unless you have guns in the house, at which point they are probably safer at school. As I have said repeatedly, I don’t have any guns; and yes, I did try homeschooling for a couple years. No more of that for me, thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/112 "2018-03-29T20:29:47Z")
Stranger, I agree that the NRA sucks. Though it isn’t really a top down problem: it sucks because of all the ridiculous people in it. But no amount if complaining from urbane city slickers will make those ridiculous people go away, or change the fact that Wyoming and Idaho combine for twice as many senators as California. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**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:** [March 29, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/113 "2018-03-29T20:34:26Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > OK, hear me out. We rig up super-dooper strong electromagnets in every doorway. When the big red Emergency button is pushed, it turns on the magnets. Anyone attempting to walk through a door, or even near one, will have their guns ripped from their hands and rendered inoperable. It has the added bonus of taking care of other weapons, like knives, nunchucks, and throwing stars. Brass knuckles might still be a problem, although I’ve not kept current with knuckle technology so maybe they aren’t still made of actual brass. I hate to inform you, that while well intentioned, your idea won’t work for a couple of reasons, including: [ul] [li]Any kid wearing an old-school [punk rock jacket](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6b/c3/a0/6bc3a0cc39c386d1bdd9f31efa8a538a.jpg) will be immediately asphyxiated when the magnets pull all that metal to it.[/li][li]The cost of settling emotional distress lawsuits for outing those with body piercings in sensitive areas who end up hanging upside down by the hoo-hahs when the magnets kick in.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/114 "2018-03-29T20:40:01Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > As I have said repeatedly, I don’t have any guns; and yes, I did try homeschooling for a couple years. No more of that for me, thanks! [Squabbles over the Star Wars running order, huh?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=815066) ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/115 "2018-03-29T21:22:59Z")
Haven’t shown them any of the movies yet. 😛 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/116 "2018-03-29T21:25:45Z")
I only came in to point and laugh, wasn’t disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/117 "2018-03-29T22:55:41Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Haven’t shown them any of the movies yet. 😛 > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Yeah, you gotta build up to a sacrament like that. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/118 "2018-03-29T23:54:06Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Aha, someone finally admits outright what I suspected: many of you don’t want practical mitigation schemes, because not having any keeps maximum pressure on the NRA. Sorry: in this case I’m not interested in fighting a culture war—I just want realistic, bite-sized ideas to protect my kids. Even if it leaves them 91% likely to die in a shooting instead of 92%. So help me out here. Are you saying that your proposals are so obviously practical that the only reason anyone could say they’re impractical is not because they ARE impractical but because those people want kids to remain unsafe to keep up pressure on the NRA? If so, I’m definitely not following. Remember my colleague who thought books would make nifty missiles? She was wrong, but she never thought I was trying to interfere with a (in her mind) practical solution because I was trying to pressure the NRA. My hope is she realized the error in her reasoning and came up with a better solution. I get it. It’s painful to have ideas dismissed out of hand. Don’t let it defeat you or make you dig in your heels. Go high and go back to the drawing board. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/119 "2018-03-30T00:44:30Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > As I have said repeatedly, I don’t have any guns; and yes, I did try homeschooling for a couple years. No more of that for me, thanks! So you don’t care about the safety of your own children? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363/120 "2018-03-30T01:44:50Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > So you don’t care about the safety of your own children? Not enough to continue homeschooling! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-the-box-idea-to-deal-with-school-shootings/811363.md?page=5)