[Blondie]

You know it use to not phase me when I would see the police at my kids' school I knwe they were probably there for something simple, now it sends chills down my neck... Makes it even harder since I can see the school out my window here especially when my mom just took a bucket of paint in for her son's classroom and they let her just take it down didn't look inside it or anything and she said there were several others bringing treats etc in and no one even looked to see what they had inside...


Some of the advantages/disadvantages of a small town are my kids still do not have police regularly at their schools, here are no metal detectors, heck they just finally installed them in the courthouse within the past few years, you know the families of most of the teachers, and see them out at fuctions regularly, and up until last year you could walk into the school withou even having to be buzzed in the doors were seldom locked...

But alas, with the world we live in, it's hard especially lately to stop and look when you see the police at the grade school... amazing how things have changed...

So what's everyone's plays for today?

[No coincidences]

You know it use to not phase me when I would see the police at my kids' school I knwe they were probably there for something simple, now it sends chills down my neck... Makes it even harder since I can see the school out my window here especially when my mom just took a bucket of paint in for her son's classroom and they let her just take it down didn't look inside it or anything and she said there were several others bringing treats etc in and no one even looked to see what they had inside...


Some of the advantages/disadvantages of a small town are my kids still do not have police regularly at their schools, here are no metal detectors, heck they just finally installed them in the courthouse within the past few years, you know the families of most of the teachers, and see them out at fuctions regularly, and up until last year you could walk into the school withou even having to be buzzed in the doors were seldom locked...

But alas, with the world we live in, it's hard especially lately to stop and look when you see the police at the grade school... amazing how things have changed...

So what's everyone's plays for today?

My situation isn't too different from yours, Blondie. Small town, trustworthy people, limited security/police involvement, etc. I don't expect it to change much despite last week's events in Connecticut and the "world we live in" these days.

From what I understand, Sandy Hook had Grade-A security and a plan in place for disastrous events. They were much more prepared and "secure" than the school my kids attend -- that's for sure. Isolated acts of terror should be treated as such. I'm not saying a review of policies shouldn't be in place, but it's not like that nightmare could've been avoided if SHES was "more prepared."

Evil will find a way unfortunately. I don't want my kids to grow up living in fear and I don't want schools across the country to either because of one horrific incident.

[Blondie]

My situation isn't too different from yours, Blondie. Small town, trustworthy people, limited security/police involvement, etc. I don't expect it to change much despite last week's events in Connecticut and the "world we live in" these days.

From what I understand, Sandy Hook had Grade-A security and a plan in place for disastrous events. They were much more prepared and "secure" than the school my kids attend -- that's for sure. Isolated acts of terror should be treated as such. I'm not saying a review of policies shouldn't be in place, but it's not like that nightmare could've been avoided if SHES was "more prepared."

Evil will find a way unfortunately. I don't want my kids to grow up living in fear and I don't want schools across the country to either because of one horrific incident.

Ahh someone that understands! I know our school has great plans in place for events that could occur and even are reviewing them after the SHES incident. In the past year there has been a bomb threat and some whackjob threatening to shoot kids in the school and/or on the buses here. Which is a lot for our little town. Three times we have had to pick the kids up from school for incidents (the third was a MASSIVE storm that came through)

It blows my mind we never had this kind of shit when I was a kid at the same elementary school (at the time it was k-8 though), same high school (which is now the jr high/high school). People just walked in and out all day long in fact if you were in band as a student you HAD to walk outside every day to go to band class, hell we were leaving campus for lunch in the 5th grade as long as we had a note from home that we could; kids would have their hunting rifles in the back window of their truck, and most brought pocket knives to school without fear of expulsion..

Even in high school we would walk outside as a shortcut between classes, people would run to their vehicles inbetween classes, etc. It would have been so very easy for someone to come into the school unnoticed and cause massive damage before anyone even really realized it.

I must say though for a very small school system they handle issues very well.

At my son's band/chorus concert last night the principal made a speech about the events and I must say it was very impressive, even in spite of the fact that he was so choked up he almost couldn't finish it. After a moment of silence the chorus started singing and I hate to admit it, but I realized just how much the world has changed and the schools have had to adapt (and how I am proud our schools haven't) when I was suprised to hear real Christmas carols being sung/played and not just the regular Santa, non religious songs that most schools do so they don't offend anyone..

[Monte]

LOL glorious morning after BI collapsed, Blondie whoever you are do you have any clue what is going on here atm?

[milwaukee mike]

LOL glorious morning after BI collapsed, Blondie whoever you are do you have any clue what is going on here atm?

blondie and the other mods aren't supposed to talk about betislands. except opie because he jokes around about it.

betislands, although certainly not as tragic, directly affected a lot more people this holiday season than the connecticut shootings...

[Blondie]

LOL glorious morning after BI collapsed, Blondie whoever you are do you have any clue what is going on here atm?

Yes I am fully aware. Note the lack of true happy, perky in the thread or even humor...

[ronald]

Pretty insensitive/clueless post Blondie after half of the forum got buried by BetIslands.

GENERAL would have had more sense than that with his similar McMuffin threads.

[milwaukee mike]

Pretty insensitive/clueless post Blondie after half of the forum got buried by BetIslands.

GENERAL would have had more sense than that with his similar McMuffin threads.

they want to portray "business as usual" which we all know is no longer the case.

the curtain has been pulled back, the wizard has been exposed

[Blondie]

blondie and the other mods aren't supposed to talk about betislands. except opie because he jokes around about it.

betislands, although certainly not as tragic, directly affected a lot more people this holiday season than the connecticut shootings...

No one has stated I can't talk about it, but alas since I don't know any important details I really have nothing to say about it except I am very sorry to hear that people have lost their money that is never a good thing especially with the holidays right here upon us.

[milwaukee mike]

det/tor OVER 187 -105

[No coincidences]

At my son's band/chorus concert last night the principal made a speech about the events and I must say it was very impressive, even in spite of the fact that he was so choked up he almost couldn't finish it. After a moment of silence the chorus started singing and I hate to admit it, but I realized just how much the world has changed and the schools have had to adapt (and how I am proud our schools haven't) when I was suprised to hear real Christmas carols being sung/played and not just the regular Santa, non religious songs that most schools do so they don't offend anyone..

Has it, though? Or is this belief just media-driven?

I have no doubts that we live in a much more complex world. I'm reminded of that every day. My kids are exposed to so much more -- both good and bad -- than I ever was, which I'm sure my parents would say about us, and my grandparents about their parents, etc. The things my son has seen and heard at such an early age is both incredible and scary. They grow up a lot faster, whether you like it or not.

With that being said, there has always been good and there has always been evil. There are horrific incidents that happen today just like 50 and 100 years ago. The difference is we're bludgeoned with coverage from this "new" 24/7 news cycle and now social media. I'm not completely convinced the world is a more dangerous and violent place today -- I just think we're reminded of it so much that it almost brainwashes us into thinking it's at its scariest now and yet, somehow, just keeps getting worse.

[No coincidences]

Pretty insensitive/clueless post Blondie after half of the forum got buried by BetIslands.

GENERAL would have had more sense than that with his similar McMuffin threads.

LOL.

[No coincidences]

they want to portray "business as usual" which we all know is no longer the case.

the curtain has been pulled back, the wizard has been exposed

I, for one, am tired of the BI talk. There are 20 other threads about it if you want to discuss it.

BI has been a suspect book since day one as far as I'm concerned. People a lot smarter/sharper than me warned posters to avoid it at all costs -- people who weren't in bed with the organization and/or shilling for it.

As for SBR, well, none of this comes as a surprise to me either. I like posting here, but if you think this is the first "corrupt" practice and grading activity involving a book, I guess posters just haven't been paying close enough attention.

[milwaukee mike]

I, for one, am tired of the BI talk. There are 20 other threads about it if you want to discuss it.

BI has been a suspect book since day one as far as I'm concerned. People a lot smarter/sharper than me warned posters to avoid it at all costs -- people who weren't in bed with the organization and/or shilling for it.

As for SBR, well, none of this comes as a surprise to me either. I like posting here, but if you think this is the first "corrupt" practice and grading activity involving a book, I guess posters just haven't been paying close enough attention.

it's the biggest scandal in sbr history. i was responding to ronald's post about blondie's insensitivity in not mentioning it.

so my mention of it was only in response to a comment about someone not mentioning it

[darkhat]

had to post

anytime it shows 13 replies i feel it's a jinx for anything i bet on

now at 14 for thread

[No coincidences]

it's the biggest scandal in sbr history. i was responding to ronald's post about blondie's insensitivity in not mentioning it.

so my mention of it was only in response to a comment about someone not mentioning it

I just don't blame her for going in a different direction. Whether that's just her naievete or the fact that she's been ordered to toe the company line, I don't know.

I do know that SBR and "sensitivity" don't mix well when it comes an issue like this. That much is apparent. They've been WAY worse at damage control after the fact than they were negligent beforehand, and that's saying a lot.

Instead of issuing some sort of apology, we'll get down to the bottom of this, make sure it never happens again, etc., all I see is basically a "Merry Fvcking Christmas" salute to the posters here, who obviously rank well behind the banner-hangers on the SBR totem pole.

[Blondie]

Has it, though? Or is this belief just media-driven?

I have no doubts that we live in a much more complex world. I'm reminded of that every day. My kids are exposed to so much more -- both good and bad -- than I ever was, which I'm sure my parents would say about us, and my grandparents about their parents, etc. The things my son has seen and heard at such an early age is both incredible and scary. They grow up a lot faster, whether you like it or not.

With that being said, there has always been good and there has always been evil. There are horrific incidents that happen today just like 50 and 100 years ago. The difference is we're bludgeoned with coverage from this "new" 24/7 news cycle and now social media. I'm not completely convinced the world is a more dangerous and violent place today -- I just think we're reminded of it so much that it almost brainwashes us into thinking it's at it's scariest now and yet, somehow, just keeps getting worse.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. We don't listen to the news a lot in our house, simply for that purpose. Especially when the kids are around. I want them to be aware of what goes on in the outside world, but letting them be consumed by it is just too much. I sometimes wonder if the mass amount of exposure to horrific incidents has numbed society to a point and especially kids to the point where if they want to do something that in their eyes is sensational and newsworthy they know it has to be something beyond horrific.

Getting straight A's, following the rules, even doing positive things in the community isn't newsworthy anymore. The kid that collects 10,000 cans of food for the local pantries gets no attention, but the kid that kills innocent children is all over the news and a name in everyone's homes.

Don't get me wrong though, I am far from blaming society for evil actions, I believe wholeheartedly that each person is responsible for the things they do but I can see where their persception of reality is skewed by outside factors. I also believe that mental illness is not always an excuse for doing evil. Ok, there are some people that are just nuts, but I believe many use it as an excuse to do things that they know are not right and the media feeds into that. Aww the poor kid had (insert random illness) that's why he did it. No, he did it because he chose to.

Small towns tend to offer us advantages, my kids still play outside til the street lights come on in the summer, they can be gone for hours playing in the neighborhood and I only have a rough idea of where they are I see them when they are hungry or need to grab something from the house. They can sleep out in the tent in the backyard during the summer without fear. They are also the same kids that walk up and start talking to (or even hugging) the homeless people on the streets in downtown Chicago. That innocence is something I don't want taken away from them right now, they lose that innocence so quickly now that the longer we can keep them that way imo the better.

[No coincidences]

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. We don't listen to the news a lot in our house, simply for that purpose. Especially when the kids are around. I want them to be aware of what goes on in the outside world, but letting them be consumed by it is just too much. I sometimes wonder if the mass amount of exposure to horrific incidents has numbed society to a point and especially kids to the point where if they want to do something that in their eyes is sensational and newsworthy they know it has to be something beyond horrific.

Getting straight A's, following the rules, even doing positive things in the community isn't newsworthy anymore. The kid that collects 10,000 cans of food for the local pantries gets no attention, but the kid that kills innocent children is all over the news and a name in everyone's homes.

Don't get me wrong though, I am far from blaming society for evil actions, I believe wholeheartedly that each person is responsible for the things they do but I can see where their persception of reality is skewed by outside factors. I also believe that mental illness is not always an excuse for doing evil. Ok, there are some people that are just nuts, but I believe many use it as an excuse to do things that they know are not right and the media feeds into that. Aww the poor kid had (insert random illness) that's why he did it. No, he did it because he chose to.

Small towns tend to offer us advantages, my kids still play outside til the street lights come on in the summer, they can be gone for hours playing in the neighborhood and I only have a rough idea of where they are I see them when they are hungry or need to grab something from the house. They can sleep out in the tent in the backyard during the summer without fear. They are also the same kids that walk up and start talking to (or even hugging) the homeless people on the streets in downtown Chicago. That innocence is something I don't want taken away from them right now, they lose that innocence so quickly now that the longer we can keep them that way imo the better.

Solid post. Like I said, your family and mine are in a relatively similar boat.

I think what we are seeing today is a perfect -- and potent -- concoction of misunderstanding mental illness, easy access to military-style guns/ammunition, and a lot of mentally unstable young people who lack proper perspective that have been desensitized by the media, video games, movies, etc. Perfect storm that's leading to a lot of this madness. People want to isolate one problem, when it's kind of a combination of everything that's leading to some of these ugly incidents. Evil lives as it always does, but there are many factors in today's society bringing it out of the woodwork in a new and scary variety of ways. I can't deny that unfortunately.

[milwaukee mike]

or you guys could be overthinking it, and it's just a setup to grab everyone's guns and install martial law.

what happened to the other shooter that was detained in connecticut? at least 2 witnesses said they saw multiple shooters. and why would someone hell-bent on committing suicide like we were told adam lanza was wear cia body armor?

way too many unanswered questions to just take the media's word for it...

[Blondie]

Solid post. Like I said, your family and mine are in a relatively similar boat.

I think what we are seeing today is a perfect -- and potent -- concoction of misunderstanding mental illness, easy access to military-style guns/ammunition, and a lot of mentally unstable young people who lack proper perspective that have been desensitized by the media, video games, movies, etc. Perfect storm that's leading to a lot of this madness. People want to isolate one problem, when it's kind of a combination of everything that's leading to some of these ugly incidents. Evil lives as it always does, but there are many factors in today's society bringing it out of the woodwork in a new and scary variety of ways. I can't deny that unfortunately.

I agree completely but I would add proper discipline in with perspective. I firmly believe children in the past might have done the same things as now with different tools of course, but were afraid/respected their parents enough not to do so. Fear and respect imo are not that different. I know my children fear making me mad by doing something they shouldn't but I would like to think it is a healthy fear that they will be able to use as they become older. Fear of losing your job so you work hard, fear of not being able to provide for your family you want to have some day so you study in school, etc.

We have taught people that children being fearful is a bad thing, it isn't necessarily as long as it is a health fear. Time outs, counting to 3, taking away the computer, tv, etc do no good in the long haul. Most kids aren't afraid of those things. Some of the worst moments in my life were when my dad spanked me. Not because he beat me in any way, shape, or form but because I had let him down to the point where I had done something bad enough that I deserved it.

Now, in most conversations in would come the parents that would say ohhh spanking your children is so bad you will hurt their self esteem, you will permanently scar them emotionally, you will upset them. Well damn right you will upset them, that's part of being a parent. You upset your children on a regular basis, you tell them no, you teach them right from wrong, you damn well do not let them treat you like shit and then later wonder why they have no respect for anyone else. Maybe I am making it too black and white, but I see it every day in the youth organizations I work with. You KNOW which kids are disciplined at home and which ones aren't.

[No coincidences]

or you guys could be overthinking it, and it's just a setup to grab everyone's guns and install martial law.

what happened to the other shooter that was detained in connecticut? at least 2 witnesses said they saw multiple shooters. and why would someone hell-bent on committing suicide like we were told adam lanza was wear cia body armor?

way too many unanswered questions to just take the media's word for it...

I agree that a lot of the pieces don't fit to this puzzle, but if that were the idea MM, it probably would've happened before 330 million guns were on the open market.

[Blondie]

or you guys could be overthinking it, and it's just a setup to grab everyone's guns and install martial law.

what happened to the other shooter that was detained in connecticut? at least 2 witnesses said they saw multiple shooters. and why would someone hell-bent on committing suicide like we were told adam lanza was wear cia body armor?

way too many unanswered questions to just take the media's word for it...

I learned long ago to not take the media's word for anything. Another small town trait you pick up along the way. Small town newspapers are often famous for screwing things up. I learned at a very young age to always double check anything that was in our paper as more than likely it was wrong...

[No coincidences]

I agree completely but I would add proper discipline in with perspective. I firmly believe children in the past might have done the same things as now with different tools of course, but were afraid/respected their parents enough not to do so. Fear and respect imo are not that different. I know my children fear making me mad by doing something they shouldn't but I would like to think it is a healthy fear that they will be able to use as they become older. Fear of losing your job so you work hard, fear of not being able to provide for your family you want to have some day so you study in school, etc.

We have taught people that children being fearful is a bad thing, it isn't necessarily as long as it is a health fear. Time outs, counting to 3, taking away the computer, tv, etc do no good in the long haul. Most kids aren't afraid of those things. Some of the worst moments in my life were when my dad spanked me. Not because he beat me in any way, shape, or form but because I had let him down to the point where I had done something bad enough that I deserved it.

Now, in most conversations in would come the parents that would say ohhh spanking your children is so bad you will hurt their self esteem, you will permanently scar them emotionally, you will upset them. Well damn right you will upset them, that's part of being a parent. You upset your children on a regular basis, you tell them no, you teach them right from wrong, you damn well do not let them treat you like shit and then later wonder why they have no respect for anyone else. Maybe I am making it too black and white, but I see it every day in the youth organizations I work with. You KNOW which kids are disciplined at home and which ones aren't.

Couldn't agree more.

You're not their friend -- you're their parent. Big difference. You're failing them by being too much of the former and not enough of the latter. Too many kids don't get that at home anymore.