We must do more. Politicians should, too.
A mass shooting at an Iowa high school echoes lack of commitment
We are heartbroken. We are pissed. We are frustrated. We are mourning.
But what will our community do about it? Seriously, what will our community do?
Thoughts and prayers.
They don’t seem to be preventing these mass shootings at our schools. I’m a person of faith. So I am not trivializing the value of prayer. I believe in it. I rely on it. But don’t we also have a responsibility to do more than just pray?
A 17-year-old in Perry, Iowa, brought two guns and some type of explosive device to his high school Thursday morning, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
Because of those decisions — whatever inspired them — an 11-year-old boy is dead, a principal was seriously wounded trying to protect students, four other students were wounded and two additional staff members were injured. The shooter then killed himself, according to law enforcement. Their families are grieving. Hundreds of other students and their families must also deal with what they saw while it happened or felt in its aftermath.
What is happening? And why?
An 11-year-old boy named Ahmir Jolliff, who apparently never went anywhere without the dimples that punctuated his ever present smile, will never radiate his vibrant smile through his school’s hallways again.
His mother, Erica, shared with the Associated Press the joyful, too short story of her soccer loving, tuba playing, choir singing son. At home, they called him “Smiley.” Read that story here.
There were predictable responses following the shootings. More guns? Fewer guns? Armed guards at every school? Metal detectors at every entrance? More support for the mentally ill? More school counselors? More religion in the classroom? Fewer violent video games? Social media bans?
Thoughts and prayers.
Yes, the 17-year-old is ultimately responsible for what happened to Ahmir.
Did years of bullying push an unstable teenager to commit such a heartbreaking thing? Was there something else behind this? Will we ever know?
We know there were heroes that day. Among them was the longtime high school principal, Dan Marburger. His daughter, Claire, posted on Facebook an absolutely remarkably thoughtful and loving message not only about her her father (whose compassion he clearly passed along to his daughter) but also about the shooter and his family. So much grace. We need more of this.
So now what?
Look how much worse school shootings have become in our country starting in 2018. Why does our country have so many of these and why has this become so much worse in the past five years?
If armed guards and metal detectors at the schoolhouse doors and teachers carrying weapons are the answers, then why don’t we already have those at every school?
If “Red Flag Laws” to keep weapons out of the hands of troubled individuals or bans of certain types of guns are the solution, then why haven’t those changes already been made?
If we have a worsening mental health crisis, then why haven’t we dramatically increased available resources for students and staff or families everywhere? And why haven’t we figured out what is causing these mental health issues if that’s what the problem is?
Why hasn’t President Joe Biden called in the nation’s governors to have a multi-day summit to devise a plan? Or Congress?
What about Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds? In June 2022, she announced $100 million in school safety funding. Is it time for something else? Call legislators together to make student safety a higher priority in 2024?
Are we not doing enough to prevent bullying? Do districts have to do more to investigate claims of bullying? Do we parents have to do more to make sure our kids aren’t bullying other kids?
Are all these questions just misguided blame? Are we just crushed and just want someone to do something or someone to blame?
Or have we failed our kids? Sure feels like we failed Ahmir.
This past week, I hosted two “digital town halls” with Republican presidential candidates. (Note: For the digital town halls, I sat down in a studio with a candidate and asked questions from viewers across Iowa.)
I did one with former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson in Sioux City just hours after the Perry High School shootings. I asked him what, if anything, federal leaders should do to better protect students. You can watch the interview here.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also joined me in Omaha. Among other things, he addressed the question of whether he is just trying to be “Trump Lite.” Watch that interview here.
This past week, I also interviewed Micah Brown, staff attorney for the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas, who believes the courts may end up deciding whether states can ban foreign countries like China from owning farmland. Watch that interview for American Farmland Owner here.
Dave Price’s Perspective is part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative, a group of independent journalists. Please check out the other writers.
thank you Dave. I read Sue Johnson’s comments. I suggest people continue their letter writing and speaking out, on both traditional and social media, depending on their comfort levels of posting on platforms, like Twitter, FB, or others. When people read your of your perspective, that gives reinforcement to people who share your opinions. People do read letters to the editors in both smaller papers and the DMR and Gazette. More and more people post on substacks or other platforms. I am working with a small group of Iowans from 5 different rural counties who are doing just that and have had success at getting letters or columns published on matters like public education, elder care, what the legisalture’s priorities should be, Veterans programs, and Reynolds denial of federal food programs. Working in a group keeps our morale up, too.
5 college friends, long time grandmas, were going to March at the capitol tomorrow. With weather we cancelled. What can we do? We vote, we write letters we are frustrated. How can we keep our grandchildren and your children safe?