Guns in Higher Ed Just a Shot Away

[dhoobler]

Guns on campuses make the vulnerable even more vulnerable, argues Philip Nel. They uphold established systems of power: white supremacy, patriarchy and the privilege of the tenured.

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/20 ... ties-essay

[The Annoyed Man]

You've got to stop posting these articles. I feel compelled to read them, and there's only 24 hours in a day, and I have a limited supply of Advil on hand......

[C-dub]

It's good thing breathing is automatic and involuntary or that author may not be able to figure it out.

[dhoobler]

You've got to stop posting these articles. I feel compelled to read them, and there's only 24 hours in a day, and I have a limited supply of Advil on hand......

I am really not trying to annoy you...

[Pawpaw]

You've got to stop posting these articles. I feel compelled to read them, and there's only 24 hours in a day, and I have a limited supply of Advil on hand......

Try switching to Aleve. It lasts longer.

It's good thing breathing is automatic and involuntary or that author may not be able to figure it out.

He would most likely conclude that there are so many pollutants in air, it is better to quit doing it.

(Come to think of it, perhaps we should encourage him along that thought path.

[Jusme]

I used to wonder why recent college graduates are so Ill prepared, misinformed, and unable to grasp simple logic. I don't wonder anymore.

[J.R.@A&M]

Harmless. The author calls for protesting, practicing civil disobedience, teaching online, striking, or leaving. I suspect few will do any of these as they would not dare put their academic job/lifestyle at risk. And in a few years nobody will notice or care.

[RoyGBiv]

I used to wonder why recent college graduates are so Ill prepared, misinformed, and unable to grasp simple logic. I don't wonder anymore.

Because their PARENTS didn't teach them right from wrong or how to think for themselves.

My kids are already inoculated against collegiate liberalism.

(Sorry.. pet peeve f mine blaming colleges for this... )

[Jusme]

I used to wonder why recent college graduates are so Ill prepared, misinformed, and unable to grasp simple logic. I don't wonder anymore.

Because their PARENTS didn't teach them right from wrong or how to think for themselves.

My kids are already inoculated against collegiate liberalism.

(Sorry.. pet peeve f mine blaming colleges for this... )

I agree, unfortunately you and I are in the minority these days as more and more parents expect public school systems and then universities to prepare their children for life, and as a result, these type of thought processes, are passed on to the majority of today's youth.

My son is a senior in high school, and he has very few friends in his circle due to their inability to make decisions, (at least proper ones) so he has no patience for them. I pray everyday that at least some of them will overcome the failures of their parents, before they are in charge of deciding important issues.

[treadlightly]

Consider two hypothetical societies. In one, the unpleasantness of crime is barricaded from contact with developing minds and any justification for self-defense is derided.

In the other country, youngsters are warned they must defend against attack. The mandate of evil is not answered with restrictions on potential victims. Instead, they direct their efforts to control crime against criminals.

I wonder which is the nicer place to live?

[baldeagle]

I not only read them, I respond.

Since it's moderated, there's a chance my comments won't be published, so I'll reproduce them here.

It's always astounding to me that college professors, who are supposed to be some of the most intelligent and educated people among us make these kinds of silly arguments.

Here's two things you need to think about. The disturbed persons who bring guns on campus to kill people don't care that guns aren't allowed on campus. Guns were banned at Virginia Tech, yet that didn't deter the shooter at all. So making guns illegal does nothing to solve that problem. As the writer points out, awareness and intervention are the keys to handling troubled people.

Secondly, most states require that you be at least 21 to obtain a license to carry. So very few of your students will even be allowed to carry legally on campus.

Furthermore, those who obtain licenses are the least likely people to use a gun in anger. In Texas, where I live, the state maintains statistics on licensed carriers. In over 20 years of maintaining that database, license carriers have amassed a record of being 17 times less likely to be convicted of ANY crime than the average citizen. In fact, Texas licensed carriers are even more law abiding than Texas law enforcement personnel.

College professors should be the most fact-based evidence-based persons among us. Instead they are filled with fear and irrationality and emotion. They lash out at everything they don't understand, just like little children do.

It makes one wonder just how effective higher education is at actually teaching intelligent thought processing, fact-based research and evidence-based opinion forming. Given the silly arguments we see, like this one, the evidence is that they are not teaching those skills at all.

[joe817]

Well, I took the time to read the article. More chicken little, the sky is falling stuff.

What I found more interesting were the comments. Actually they were a mildly intellectually stimulating debate. And there are more pro 2A comments that I expected in a publication like that.

[Soccerdad1995]

If this paper was written by a high school student, it would get a failing grade. His entire argument is based on the premise that being near guns will endanger your life regardless of who is carrying the guns. Yet he provides zero support for this premise. Presumably, this guy goes into a panic attack when an armed LEO walks near him since LEO's as a group are at least as likely as LTC holders to commit crimes.

The only support he offers is a few stories that do not even support his point. He cites a threat from a mentally disturbed former student, who would not be able to legally carry a firearm, and who was in another country. A student who showed strange behavior, yet never attacked anyone. And a colleague who had a frustrated student point at her, again with the student not being violent in any way. The author makes no credible attempt to bridge the logic gap to show how these instances will equate to violent deaths once campus carry goes into effect.

[rotor]

If legislation could actually keep guns off of campus his argument would be logical. When I was in college in the early 60's many of our lectures were in a large auditorium and we watched the lecture on video tape. No teacher in the room. Perhaps that's what this prof should be doing.