(Please excuse the expletives)
WARNING! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! WARNING DANGER WILL ROBINSON
Written by Robert D. Sollars
Now that I have your attention with a 60s television tagline and the word expletives in the title… let me tell you succinctly. Despite what ANYONE will tell you, and that means law enforcement, media idiots, and psychologists are ABSOLUTELY WRONG! When this comes to violence. Whether it be at school or a business, doesn’t matter!
I hear it all the damned time and it’s fucking frustrating when they sell you a bill of goods that isn’t true. Like if you bought a piece of fruit after being told it was fresh. Then you get home and you find that while looking good on the outside, it’s rotting on the inside!
All of those talking heads in the media, radio, television, print or any other outlet are more than happy to tell you, UPFRONT WITH FULL CONFIDENCE – even if they know for a fact they’re lying or ‘embellishing’ as they would put it. They provide the sound bites, that will get them quoted in more outlets and lend themselves to being professionals, that “They just snapped with no warning and we can’t prepare for that”. THEY ARE WRONG.
Let me ask you this if you believe that they are always right and never lie or embellish; Do we need good sound bites or the truth with this violent crime that shatters lives, and families, and leaves people with trauma for potentially decades??
Let me reiterate, again, something I’ve said for decades (my books will show that too Murder in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Prevention & Murder at Work: A Practical Guide for Prevention)…There are always warning signs to anyone who is ready to maim and kill others. At that point, does it really matter whether it’s with fists, pipe wrenches, pencils, knives, or firearms, there will always be warning signs or five.
Practically every single time a workplace or school shooting occurs, I hear on the news the worthless soundbites of ‘traumatized’ management/administration, students, co-workers, loved ones, & parents., saying that there were no warning signs and it was a total surprise to everyone. They were wrong to an infinite degree, 1,000% wrong, yet no one will admit they were that FUCKING STOOPID to ignore the signs to push the production or educational agenda forward.
Another phrase I’ve trumpeted for decades is simple as well and seems to be ignored by almost everyone who specializes in this and it hurts everyone in our society; We Can Choose to Either Ignore or Act Upon the Warning Signs. Why do they ignore this simple way to prevent these incidents?
Because, again, the media, politicians, and many others tell us “It’s not right to judge others, so if they’re out of sync with everyone, as long as they think like us, it’s okay.
There are instances throughout the history of WPV/SV where the shooter either ignored or didn’t shoot people who were right in front of them. In several cases, the shooter looked them straight in the eye and then walked by, after looking straight through to their soul – like an avenging demon seeing if they were qualified to die then or not.
In one of the best, and most remembered incidents of the past, ConnEd of Southern California in December 2011, the shooter looked in each and every cubicle he passed to ensure his intended victims were there before killing them. Sure, sounds like this guy just up and snapped, doesn’t it? As I’ve said, read the incidents and you’ll see for yourself, that the people had many of the 25 warning signs glaring like spotlights before they went off.
The Key
The key to all of this is whether or not we act upon these signs. The adage I stated above is so often derided by others in the media and law enforcement. The way we act could determine whether or not someone will die, possibly a horrendous lingering fucking death, just waiting for help, which may not come in time. Imagine yourself in that situation.
There are several things that stand in the way of reporting these warning signs…you may not think so, but making excuses for someone is at the top of the list:
- I don’t want to get involved
- He’s going through a tough time, he’ll come out of it
- He’s not capable of doing that.
- He’s got problems, who doesn’t?
- It’s not my problem, it is your problem besides being very short-sighted and potentially fatal.
- I hate this place, why should I warn them? This company needs a wake-up call anyway.
- They won’t listen to me.
Unfortunately, it’s as much the fault of the organizational culture in addition to their employees/students well that these signs are ignored. Connecting the warning sign dots is a simple exercise, especially when you know what to look for. It’s up to the organization to inform, and train, their employees on what they need to look for and connect them.
It’s not just that simple either, literally, everyone needs to know not to poo-poo what someone would tell them about a potential incident or if someone is overly stressed out (in schools many teachers are prohibited from talking about students amongst themselves to someone who can help). After that it’s all about cleaning up the blood splatter (like a bloody Hollywood slasher movie), lives, the potential lifetime trauma (which means psychological treatment), the bad publicity & damage to their reputation. Of course, after that is litigation and potential bankruptcy.
Like these blogs? Then please feel free to pass them along, with proper attribution, to friends, colleagues, or anyone who may benefit, with proper attribution. Have them subscribe to my website: Sollars Violence Prevention Training & Consulting
It happens to Anyone…Any Time…Anywhere… For any Reason
I May Be Blind, but My Vision Is Crystal Clear
Copyright 2022 Robert D. Sollars
