Fox News Wants Your Kids to Charge at Active Shooters
According to the FBI, the first two things your kids should attempt in any active shooting situation are 1) run or, if that’s not possible, 2) hide. According to Fox & Friends, Little Johnny needs to stand his goddamn ground.
In a segment earlier today, Elizabeth Hesselbeck brought on two martial arts instructors who have apparently been busy teaching children the art of running at active shooters. But as Media Matters points out, never once does anyone explain that staying to fight should be an absolute last resort.
[There was a video here]
Hesselbeck starts by noting that “in an active shooter situation, five seconds can mean the difference between life and death. But there are some things you can do and your children can do to make a difference.”
She then asks trainer Tony Morrison (not that Toni Morrison) whether “we need to be having this conversation.” Tony replies:
Well, we can’t make our kids ignorant about the fact that the world is a dangerous place right now.... We start by telling them what kinds of things to look for, to be more vigilant, to start paying attention to their surroundings, and we call it situational awareness.
When Tony’s assistant successfully disarms him of his stapler, Elizabeth remarks on the fact that she then “turned and used some moves on him.” So if your school-age child manages to somehow approach and steal an active shooter’s gun, should they then keep pummeling the presumably enraged murderer—or should they run?:
Once you engage the gunman, you have to—you have to just take him out. You have to fight strong. So you’re not actually going to try and get away until you actually make sure that you’ve done some damage to him. Because if you don’t, then he’ll just pursue you.
“Once you engage the gunman, you have to take him out” is a “stop, drop, and roll” for a new generation of American children.
If you really want to keep your children as safe as possible, don’t ever let them watch Fox & Friends.
