Uvalde & Missing the Warning Signs
Written by Robert D. Sollars
So, the warning signs are too subtle to notice. We never saw them. Those people that missed them, are idiots and keep their heads in the dirt because they’re too wrapped up in their own insignificant lives to worry about 24 people.
Warning signs in the Uvalde shooter were spotted when he was still in elementary school. He was a small kid apparently and was often bullied. In this case, the bullied turns around and becomes a bully and of course, a bully is always the one who will beat you up, right?
I’ve stood up to bullies more than a few times when I was younger and paid the price for it. But if you see me now, they left me alone and I’m fine. These incidents could have, and should have, stopped by parents, teachers, other students, support staff, and administrators. But they weren’t.
While reading the innumerable reports on this tragedy here are the warning signs that I spotted: Isolation-loner syndrome; Bullied at a young age; Now a bully; outbursts; aggression; social media – pictures of firearms; wanting to hurt or kill; fights with his mother; cutting his own face with sharp objects “for fun”; egging cars and shooting people with a BB gun; fascination with weapons
I’d think these are enough, but they were ignored by literally everyone because he was only hurting himself…right?
I’ve said for over 20 years that we can either decide to act upon or ignore the warning signs. Unfortunately, as Americans, we refuse to see the bad side of society and dismiss those who may be slipping over the edge and along a path to violence.
When an individual has 2 or 3 of the warning signs, it’s probably nothing to worry about…people being their own quirky selves, like me. But when those begin to stack up with 5, 6, 7, or more are noticed there is a problem brewing…maybe. If you wish for a copy of the warning signs, I’ll be happy to e-mail them to you.
It is up to us as a society to recognize these warning signs and never ignore them. Tell someone about them. Your boss, teachers, or administrators, it doesn’t matter who they are, as long as they can be in a position to help and prevent these incidents.
Missing the warning signs wasn’t the only issue with preventing this tragedy. The school and police are both at fault, and people blame them more than themselves for this. The school building was open for literally anyone to walk into the building, no matter their purpose. The police, idiotically waited more than 45 minutes to even attempt to enter the classroom, mistakenly thinking it was barricaded, without even checking the door, which was unlocked by a simple key.
No one wants to see parents on TV crying over the loss of a child in a shooting. But until we can start pulling our heads out of our ****, then it will continue to be here. There is no such thing as gun control without a constitutional amendment, and if you remember, it took 40 years for the Equal Rights Amendment to be dropped because not enough states would ratify it.
It’s up to us and us alone to prevent these tragedies.
It happens to Anyone…Any Time…Anywhere… For any Reason
I May Be Blind, but My Vision Is Crystal Clear
Permission to share? Of course, with full attribution.
Copyright 2022 Robert D. Sollars
