We are safety-obsessed in this society. We are over-protective and overly involved in our children's lives. It's stressful and harmful to our communities and to our children. I cannot sit idly by anymore—I'm speaking out.
Following is a letter that I wrote to my local MPPs about the proposed "locked-door" policy in all Ontario Elementary Schools, by Premier McGuinty, in direct response to the Sandy Hook shooting in CT:
It is with a heavy heart I write to you concerning Mr. McGuinty's decision to implement a "locked door policy" in all elementary schools in Ontario. I am horrified and deeply saddened by the events that occurred at the Sandy Hook school in the USA. But I feel this policy is just a gut reaction, a "we have to do something" reaction to placate the masses, than to actually keep our children safe. I do not honestly believe the children of Ontario or Canada are really in jeopardy. There is little you can do to prevent a random act of senseless violence, because it is just that—RANDOM and SENSELESS. These types of things, while unbelievably tragic, are rare—rarer than rare. I understand that people feel absolutely helpless against this kind of thing so "something" seems better than nothing, but it is just feeding the safety-obsessed frenzy that is current and ever-present in our society.
This is absolutely the wrong message we should be sending: "Your children were unsafe before and now they are safer." If this is really for the safety of our children, then it would lead me and children to believe they were unsafe before. They weren't—not in Ontario. Isn't crime down in this country? Aren't actual child abductions by strangers rare? Not that I do not believe it couldn't happen here—quite the contrary. I do believe it could happen ANYWHERE. You can not live life in fear of all the "what ifs." I do not want my children growing up in a Police State. We DO NOT need armed guards or locked doors on our public places. This is CANADA—not Israel or Northern Ireland—or even the United States. I truly believe this mentality only perpetuates the misinformation and misguided notion that our children and our country are unsafe.
Who are we trying to keep out? Random people? So now everyone is a threat? Again, if this is about safety then where are the bulletproof glass doors and windows on every school? What's next razor wire and cement blocked in walls at recess? Elementary kids are STILL let outside EVERY DAY are they not? So if they are safer inside their locked-in community, how long before they are not even let outside? That is ridiculous, right? But where does it stop? Our society is so afraid of everything—of germs, of chemicals, of strangers—and now homicidal maniacs with guns. This is incredibly poor risk assessment. They are not realistic fears. I don't expect my one letter to change anyone's mind about these locked doors, but I do want you to know not everyone is afraid. It was only about two years ago that our previous principal announced there would be locked doors. Before I was even able to say anything, there was a public outcry in our community. It didn't happen. We want access to our children—not have them locked in like a prison to protect them from mysterious and elusive "bad guys." Locked doors did not prevent this terrible massacre. It still happened despite locked doors. Horrible things have ALWAYS happened. They will continue to happen. We can not stop them but we can not live in fear of them. Our children are safe. Not perfectly safe because no one ever is, but safe.
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