# Uvalde, Texas school shooting - the political thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 24, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036 "2022-05-24T21:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 32
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/621 "2022-06-05T15:45:07Z")
Perhaps - what authority does the state have over elected officials of a city? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/622 "2022-06-05T15:57:39Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > And the duties of the Uvalde police force to protect are set out rather unambiguously on the side of their vehicles, right underneath the word POLICE: - [handwave] It doesn’t say _who_. Or _what_. [/handwave] /s ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/623 "2022-06-05T16:02:28Z")
The state can do pretty much anything it wants to cities, assuming that the will is there to pass a bill through the state legislature and get it signed by the Governor. Just a few years ago Texas passed a bill to assess significant penalties on any cities that reduce spending on police departments, this coming after Austin announced that it was going to reduce their department’s budget by a third. There’s no reason why the state couldn’t similarly take direct control of a city via a special master or emergency manager and fire the city council. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/624 "2022-06-05T16:15:07Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Texas passed a bill to assess significant penalties Penalties and assessments, but not removal from office. I believe that can only be done by the petition of a resident of the county involved. I’m not a lawyer, I leave it to those who know better. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/625 "2022-06-05T16:23:21Z")
I’m not a lawyer either, and under current state laws in Texas you may be correct. But cities and other local governments are creations of the state. It’s not like the relationship between the federal government and the states, where states are sovereign in their own right and have authorities that cannot be abridged by the federal government. The state has full authority to set and change the terms under which local governments are constituted. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/626 "2022-06-05T16:37:14Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > The state has full authority to set and change the terms under which local governments are constituted. Yeah - I assume the state can do anything it wishes to fund, but removing a city’s appointed or elected officials probably has little political value. Abbott acts like touching Uvalde is like putting his hand on a hot skillet. He can’t support Texas finest and remove Arredondo at the same time. I believe he just wants it to go away as quickly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/627 "2022-06-06T10:36:19Z")
As far as police duty to “serve and protect”-the police literally can’t do that for everyone, nor should they. The problem comes up when the choice is made about when to do so. If there’s a clear danger and the person just can’t be saved, or there’s a more serious crime elsewhere? Understandable triage. But obviously putting it on the judgment of a person in the moment can lead to tragedy and loss of life. And if the officer deliberately decides for whatever reason not to help… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/628 "2022-06-06T12:58:31Z")
Something I’ve been wondering about is that the school district police chief said he thought it was a barricaded hostage situation, which was why he was waiting for further resources. But when has that been the case in any of these incidents? They all seem to involve someone intent on killing as many people as possible, usually as quickly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/629 "2022-06-06T15:09:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > But when has that been the case in any of these incidents? I don’t know, but regardless - numerous witnesses have said that there was loud gunfire heard in the school. Arrendondo was first on the scene, and it’s really not credible that Arredondo did not hear this himself, or at least know that there was an active shooter, notwithstanding his lack of radio. Any shooting means active shooter tactics and pushing for immediate engagement, regardless of whether the perpetrator subsequently _stops_ shooting. You don’t say “He shot some kids who are dying, but let’s wait and see, hopefully he won’t shoot any more.” But it’s worse - reports are that he _did_ continue to shoot more kids after he locked himself in the classroom. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/630 "2022-06-06T16:14:27Z")
Arredondo is completely protected by the **[school board](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrJ6SWUJp5i9XkAPB5XNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzMEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1654560533/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.yahoo.com%2fgma%2fuvalde-school-board-decides-against-054019879.html%3ffr%3dsycsrp_catchall/RK=2/RS=_nTTKB89phQLr4JGggUKMwNp78w-)**. He won’t be touched. And, at present, they intend to continue to use the building, though not as a school. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/631 "2022-06-06T16:26:22Z")
Unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about someone “owning” a school board notwithstanding, the Uvalde Consolidated School District Board has 7 members, 3 of whom are “white” four are “Hispanic”, and none have the same last name. Their most recent election had thousands of votes cast for each candidate, it is unlikely a single family controls all of those votes in a city of 15,000. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/632 "2022-06-06T16:27:41Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > And, at present, they intend to continue to use the building, though not as a school. Perhaps they could lease it out as a funeral parlor. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/633 "2022-06-06T16:36:34Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > the Uvalde Consolidated School District Board has 7 members, 3 of whom are “white” four are “Hispanic”, and none have the same last name. But do you have data on whether they all use the same secret handshake? > [@Crane](#): > > Arredondo is completely protected by the **[school board](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrJ6SWUJp5i9XkAPB5XNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzMEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1654560533/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.yahoo.com%2fgma%2fuvalde-school-board-decides-against-054019879.html%3ffr%3dsycsrp_catchall/RK=2/RS=_nTTKB89phQLr4JGggUKMwNp78w-)**. Even if your hypothesis about nepotism is correct, if the local community is dominated by an extended family, isn’t there a good chance that some of the victims were in that family? Or at the very least, there must be traumatized kids in that famiily. If Uncle Pete fucks up this bad, screw Uncle Pete. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/634 "2022-06-06T17:27:48Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > screw Uncle Pete. It would seem so, but that’s not the way it works. In our New Mexico community, the jobs in the school system are all controlled by the school board and the school board is controlled by one extended family. For the most part you cannot tell anything by surnames because it is largely matrilineal. Some of the losses definitely would have been in the controlling family. But, that is the case for any other school issue. They just get defensive. What’s happening at Uvalde looks like a clique circling the wagons. Our town is about 60% the size of Uvalde and I do not know that they have the same situation. But, that’s the way I’d bet. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/635 "2022-06-06T17:28:43Z")
I would wager literally everything in this post is frankly bullshit. If you have some proof a local school system is controlled by one family, please present it. Other wise you’re just spreading conspiracy theory nonense. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/636 "2022-06-06T17:32:52Z")
I’d bet against a single family controlling things too. A town of 15000, while small in the grand scheme of things, is a bit too big for that. That said, I wouldn’t be shocked if there was a good ole boy network and they were doing what they could behind the scenes to protect one of their own. But that’s just normal run of the mill corrupt local politics all too common in most corners of America. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/637 "2022-06-06T17:33:10Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > local school system is controlled by one family That would require exposure of too much personal information. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/638 "2022-06-06T17:34:32Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > good ole boy network A likely possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/639 "2022-06-06T17:35:10Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > That would require exposure of too much personal information How convenient ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036/640 "2022-06-06T17:35:24Z")
Then we can safely conclude your posts on this topic are made up conspiracy theories, unsubstantiated claims not worthy of further consideration. I’ll also note you can’t even claim the (unsubstantiated, and likely false) knowledge you purport to have of your local town for Uvalde, a town you certainly did not know existed until this shooting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036.md?page=31) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-the-political-thread/965036.md?page=33)