How are you not overwhelmed with fear?

[Anonymous]

A car accident is a much more likely cause of death or harm. I understand that shootings are scary but if you want to be paralyzed by fear you're doing it wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP poster here. It's true I live in a red state, and so I'm pretty careful to ask all the right questions before sending my older girl for a playdate (it's not uncommon in our town to keep a gun, so I always ask, and don't allow my kids to play in anyone's home where there is a gun). But I'm not sure I'd feel *that* much safer back in MoCo. Conn and OR are both pretty liberal states and look what happened there...

Hmm, we have guns in our house that are impossible for an adult with all the right keys, knowledge, and security codes to access and load in under 20 minutes. Seeing as it would require a child with the same knowledge (of which there aren't any) to go to three separate places in the house and make a lot of noise, AND seeing as playdates in our house aren't unsupervised, you might consider worrying about the houses of irresponsible gun owners, irresponsible pool owners, drugs users, physical abusers, etc. I'm guessing you don't ask people if they ever have a few drinks before driving your daughter to a restaurant or home to you.

[Anonymous]

I always pray for my kids to be safe when I drop them off at school. I find it very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Bad stuff happens every day all over the world. Read some of the refugee stories from HONY on FB to get some perspective.

If you are truly that anxious that you're sitting around in your car watching some guy, and it's made you late for work, then maybe you need some IC.

[Anonymous]

You people are being assholes. Cut OP some slack.
OP, I'm probably more angry than scared at this point. Angry that our government is completely ineffective at solving this problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always pray for my kids to be safe when I drop them off at school. I find it very helpful.

That's what I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people are being assholes. Cut OP some slack.
OP, I'm probably more angry than scared at this point. Angry that our government is completely ineffective at solving this problem.

Assholes? No, more like realists.

And stop expecting the government to solve your problems for you. That would be a huge step in your anger.

[Anonymous]

You do have zero control. When it's soneones time to die it's their time to die. I was shot in a school shooting, not everyone dies when they get shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I keep reminding myself of the actual statistics. Our lives now are actually safer than they have been for most of history. Car accidents, violence, drownings, accidents in the home, death from illness etc. All of these are at record lows.

Additionally, there is immense safety in numbers. There are about 100,000 elementary schools in the US. What are the chances that a shooter would pick yours?

This is what keeps me going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am more worried about molesters than a mass shooting. But paralyzed with fear? You are going to have a hard road to college with that approach.

Me too. I could have written a similar post as OP but with molestation as the subject instead of school shootings.

[Anonymous]

I am fearful as well, OP. Sandy Hook broke me. I started working (volunteering) for the Brady Campaign and contribute to only gun control organizations. I also look around every public place where I take my little ones and make sure I know where the exits are. And I live in a very, very blue state - perhaps the bluest state in the country (California - but Arizona and their no gun laws is right across the state line).

I hate that we live in a country where this sort of thing is a real fear. Something has to change. We have to make something change.

No one can call you paranoid when this is the 45th school shooting THIS YEAR. Make sure where ever you kids go to school had security.

[Anonymous]

I don't know. Maybe I am weird but I just don't wring my hands over the hypothetical. Mass shootings, cancer, having to go to college at state *the horror*, getting cooties from grandpa kissing them, sitting in the front seat.

I just can't go about my day and parent them TODAY and worry about all the what ifs.

But it is probably just me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am more worried about molesters than a mass shooting. But paralyzed with fear? You are going to have a hard road to college with that approach.

Me too. I could have written a similar post as OP but with molestation as the subject instead of school shootings.

Me as well. I try to control who has access to my child but the knowledge that it happens so frequently worries me.

[Anonymous]

Wanna talk statistics? Really? 110,000 people shot every year.

That's a national crisis.

But, sure, those of us looking at those numbers are just worrywarts.

I try not to worry on a daily basis, but FFS, we HAVE to fix this shit!

[Anonymous]

^ that number is inflated and counts suicides and legal intervention

I want gun control too but I'm not going to exaggerate.