I just recently wrote about how maybe kids 15 and older could stay at home and develop their school studies using the Internet. This was in response to the school shooting in Florida. Maybe kids younger than 15 could do this too.
Now, we here in Stevens County are reminded of an additional danger when getting kids to school: having them out on the road. School attendance is compulsory. Kids have to be transported to school. We are now reminded of the basic risk of being out on the roads in a motorized vehicle. We learn of the serious accident involving a school bus or van.
Kids weren't seat-belted in? And it's a gray area whether that was legally required? I actually doubt if it is a gray area. Perhaps some powers that be are hesitant to proclaim that the school bus service was negligent. Maybe some sort of insurance settlement is at stake with this. I know that my family members must be buckled in at all times. I felt startled the first time I was pulled over for no other reason than no seat belt. I figured this was during one of those enforcement crackdowns, you know, where you see PSAs on TV warning "click it or ticket" etc.
I got pulled over a second time when I figured there was no such crackdown in effect, so lesson learned: just put on the (expletive) belt and don't give it a second thought. (BTW I got a ticket the first time, a warning the second.)
If any of the overweight and bald-headed local law enforcement people are reading this - some of you look like neo-Nazi skinheads - you needn't stare to see if my family have our seat belts on - we do.
The driver of the semi in the crash said it appeared the van was going to yield. This brought back a memory for me. This was from the days when I hopped around town on my bicycle a lot. It was at night. Yes, a time to be extra careful. I was heading south on the street next to the (old) Sun Tribune building and First Lutheran Church. A car was stopped at the intersection and remained there long enough that I assumed the driver saw me. So I proceeded without hesitation. Then he applied the accelerator.
I tried making a sudden turn to avoid the car but the car did make contact with the rear of my bike, and I ended up on the pavement. The driver stopped upon making contact. You'll laugh at this as I share with you that I was actually more worried about my camera being damaged, than about my body. Joyce Van Eps was in a car behind the one that struck me, and I was pleased that she was concerned about my welfare. Of course my bike was totaled. These days I only see Joyce at Thrifty White Dug occasionally. I am concerned about her welfare too: I hope she has quit smoking.
Two interesting things about "the old days": We tolerated smoking everywhere, and we weren't required to wear seat belts. A theory on the seat belt crackdown: it may have grown from our tech-filled society wherein all our gadgets are disrupting our normal attention span. Our brain gets filled with lots of data, much of it probably of questionable value. Do you really need to be reading this blog? Just kidding. We can forget where we put our keys. Just think, in the old days we lived our lives without Instagram.
Seriously, think about how different life was in pre-digital. Can you imagine yourself living that way? People my age did. And we had to combat boredom and ennui in our lives. The digital world has not only conquered boredom, it has gone beyond to where we are surely over-stimulated. I have my laptop on in front of me. I can check the stock market futures any time I want.
A need to drive, really?
I have read that young people approach adulthood with some skeptical thoughts about whether a car is even necessary. They view cars as dangerous. The school bus accident locally reminds us vividly of that. We should be especially upset that these kids had no choice but to be on that trip. They are required to go to school. Why hasn't our education developed more to being independent of the old school building model, a model that can seem almost like prison? All the information in the world is online.
Everyone has easy access to the Internet and if certain people don't, the government should help them. Staying at home protects kids from bus crashes and school shootings. Yes there's an issue of proper supervision. But we can progress toward a more sensible model. Home schooling is already pretty well established. When I was in high school, there'd be hell to pay if you were even caught in the hallway without a "pass." How draconian. I must have had a much stronger bladder back then. A loud bell or buzzer would be heard to signal us to change classrooms. No freedom or discretion.
Does anyone realistically worry about a school shooting? Even though these horrible events are reported on the news from time to time, in a sensational manner, we all know the odds of such a thing happening in your town are very remote.
When a shooting happens, the stage is set for lots of hindsight. So, we think that having an armed teacher is the answer? Intelligent and thoughtful people feel this is no answer. These are people not influenced by NRA money. Wherever there is a gun, there is potential for trouble. Suicides are more likely to happen in households that have guns.
"Have gun, will teach?" Can we trust the armed teachers to always show the best judgment? Can we be certain they won't pull out their firearm if there is a simple disturbance in school, not involving a firearm? How can the teacher be certain that an actual shooting event is underway? Is a loud popping noise good enough? What if such a sound occurs minus a gun?
These teachers are going to know that if a shooting in fact happens, they will be obligated to run directly toward the shooter to neutralize him, whereupon the risk of the teacher getting killed will be very high. What will this do to the state of mind of the teacher? Hardly anyone can be a match for an assault rifle. We should ban such rifles. The biggest impediment is campaign money from the NRA for politicians, nearly all Republicans.
I wait nervously to see if the Democrats can get some standing back, to win one of the two houses of Congress at least. The special election in Pennsylvania had the Republican candidate saying that you "hate God" if you vote Democratic. Such pronouncements can put Democrats on the defensive. We need to get over this mindset of Democrats feeling they have to be on the defensive. One-party rule by the Republicans could virtually destroy America.
Previously in this post I noted that so many law enforcement people have shaved heads - I should allow for the possibility that these people simply have a medical condition. But a lot of them ought to lose weight.
A little head-scratching
A news report on the accident says the students "were apparently not wearing seat belts." I'm amused by the word "apparently." Oh I think we can be certain they weren't. If they were, that sentence wouldn't be in there. The Swift County sheriff is quoted saying it was "uncertain if it was illegal to not wear seat belts in school vans equipped with them." I chuckle a little because I'm certain the facts about that were probably gained pretty quickly.
If a bozo like me gets pulled over for no seat belt, I'm quite certain that students en route from school in a van would be too. Again, maybe there's fear of an insurance judgment or fear of real legal consequences - just a theory.
If the sheriff (John Holtz) is unsure about the legality, he could certainly pick up the phone. People in this community screamed at me about how I should have "picked up the phone" after the UMM goalpost incident, to talk to the coach about some things. I was supposed to find out the meaning of a certain hammer. I just think the sport of football is more trouble than it's worth. I should have just left town, the family with me, on the weekend of the goalpost incident. Fundamentally it was UMM's problem, not mine.
The Hancock superintendent gave a quote that disturbs me. Loren Hacker said "We have a really strong faith-based community here." "Faith-based?" Is this in a religious context? The quote echoes all the sermonizing Republicans telling us we "hate God" if we vote Democratic. I don't see why religion needs to be invoked at all, certainly not by a public school superintendent. He further says "I really believe this will draw us closer together."
And all I'd like to say is: let the kids stay at home. There's a quote about how the Hancock school is "the heart of the community." Maybe it should not be.
And it's not as if Republicans love God, they really love tax cuts for the very wealthy.
Addendum: I'm told that the van driver in the accident is Judy Van Eps, formerly the UMM music department secretary. We learn that she's 68 years old, getting me to think immediately: might this be too old for such a job? I'm 63 now and I'm not sure my reflexes are going to be the same five years from now.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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