Ideas, Not Guns

Henrik Colm, contributing editor for the Delaware Times, stepped away from his computer. The glow from his smart devices illuminated his cherrywood skin, cropped Afro. He silenced his smartphone and switched off his tablet and notebook. He wanted to get out into the world and get his information on the six percent of private school shootings that have occurred on American soil from 2000 to 2018.

He stopped at the records and holdings section in the annals of the Wilmington, Delaware Public Library.

He combed through texts that listed the number of school shootings that had occurred over a more than two hundred year basis. But no information ever lead him to the eight schools that accounted for private school shootings compared to the one hundred twenty two shootings on government school property. He left the library and switched back on his tablet and searched for an expert in this field he shared a screen with Allende Price. The light adjacent to her allowed her emerald eyes to sparkle. Colm looked relaxed and so did Allende.

“What may I help you with on this expedition, Mr. Colm?”

“I’ve been trying to find the eight private schools that account for the school shootings which have occurred here in America. I want to know the names so that I can show just how few homicidal or attempted homicidal incidents have occurred on private school grounds.”

“I’ve never heard of such. You said that there’s eight?”

“Just in the United States. I’m sure the figure is higher for schools around the world but for the good old US of A it’s eight over the past 18 years.”

Herrick Colm, dressed in slacks and a shirt and blazer sans the tie, used his own gas money and other resources to tour the state of Delaware in search of answers. He figured that to begin at the First State would hedge his discovering something of value. He sipped hazelnut coffee.

He arrived at the New Sweden University campus in Wilmington. He strolled by students as their eyes darted like tracer rounds in the night. But this was mid-morning. Colm had arranged an appointment with one of the professors of American history, Dr. Jackson Marville. He held two PhDs: one in history the other in economics. He didn’t look particularly professorial. He was in his late fifties. He wore a t-shirt and jeans and new sneakers. No tortoise shell glasses laid on his face. Colm walked into Dr. Marville’s study. No books, just portraits and sculptures lined the walls and floor of the spacious office.

“Mr. Colm. I’m glad to see you, please enter,” Dr. Marville said. “I did the necessary study on the case that you have presented to me. I have discovered all eight of them, but I don't think it's important to know what eight in particular."

Colm’s face did not drop. He looked resolute. “Okay,” he said.

"But what I can tell you is my hypothesis is that even at parochial schools, with all of their mysticism and irrationality, there remains a shred of logic and reason that runs through those schools systems. In spite of the fact that they subscribe to the unknown and unknowable, there is a sense that they abide by the rules of the universe. The same goes with non-parochial schools which still preach about society and the ‘environment.’ A comprehension of the mind is still at the forefront of schools that are always hammering into children the ‘virtue’ of unselfishness. Again, this flies in the face of reason and is a departure from proper teachings.”

Colm scratched at his beard. “So, what you’re saying is that even though the mystical and the social schools carry irrational ideas, they still inculcate within the individual a sense of self-worth? That while their methods are improper, the student still has enough room to grow and prosper?”

“Precisely.”

“We can’t forget about the few capitalistic schools. There are not many, but there are some out there. They have no defense whatever against the onslaught of criticism and outright outrage against their programs,” Colm said.

“No, we must not forget,” Dr. Marville said.

“I just want the names of the schools. I just want to know where I can find them and investigate why they are anomalies. Why do these private schools keep the stains of blood while even more government schools have seen bloodshed? What happened in the individual mind of the shooters? And lest we forget, that at government schools, there have been bombings and other deaths that have arisen.”

“Yes, of course. The entire framework of a completely private school approach would offer those faith-based, society-based, and the third alternative to both of those schools, the free market school systems. Now, will this drive down the number of deaths on school property? We don’t know. But if the numbers that we have been presented tell us anything, it’s that government schools overwhelmingly bear the brunt of the school shootings in this country. And that’s got to stop.”

“Indeed,” Colm said. “I thank you, doctor, for your expertise and your efforts in trying to solve this enigma.”

“I’m glad that I could offer what I could by way of the research that was available to me.”

“Thanks, again,” Colm said. He exited the study and went out into cool April afternoon. He hadn’t realized that he had talked to the professor for that long. Colm headed toward his car. Even the double doctorate holder couldn’t deliver on all of the answers, he thought. He drove into Newark to the Delaware Institute of Technology (DIT). More professors in the field of social sciences may prove to be of some further assistance. Corver Hollingly and Geist Singer both shared master’s degrees in economics. They were in their early thirties. They were not related but somehow bore a striking resemblance to each other: high cheekbones, Nubian noses, wrapped in brown skin. Colm greeted them both with a handshake.

“It’s so great to have you on campus. Please come with us to the cafeteria. We can talk about all of what you came here for over lunch.”

The three of them ambled down the corridors to the canteen. Bean bag chairs and large spotless glass tables awaited them. The food on which they dined contained a ketocentric diet of high proteins and and low carbohydrates.

“You’re going to love the cauliflower pizza,” Professor Singer said.

“I hope so,” Colm said.

They finally got their food and sat down at the table like generals in their masses.

Between each bite, Colm would ask the pair about the number of shootings which had taken place on school campuses in the last 18 years.

“What you don’t want to know is what number the schools are or for us to list the private schools involved in shootings. What you want to focus on is the reason why such shootings occur in private schools, period,” Hollingly said.

“Yes, you want to figure out the background for such occurrences. When they happen, who perpetrated the crimes, and why don’t government schools have the same parameters as private ones. Is it better security? Is it increased surveillance? Is it mental health observations? We’re prepared to say that it’s none of these things. It is the free will of the individual that says that he or she is going to commit an act of force against faculty, staff, and students. It is the ideas,” Singer said.

Hollingly wiped his mouth of some crumbs. “Yes, the thinking process that goes into making government schools or private schools. Now, of course, private schools, currently, are a minority in this country. But what is it that even in these small sectors of the national educational system makes so few individuals associated with the schools resort to the start of physical force, mostly by way of the gun? Ideas relating to virtues and values do not mollify students into a stupor but allow them to understand proper behavior in private schools. So the number of school shootings should only be considered by that fact alone. That the ideology passed down through private means fairs better, by far, than any government school.” He sipped his electrolyte infused water.

Colm held up his chin. “Dr. Marville described a similar scenario. With the drive to educate these students, they haven’t been enriched with the right thinking methods for them to be life-loving, rational individuals. Even in the most backward Baptist private school, the sense is that there ought to be a moral revolution on campuses.”

The two professors nodded their heads. “And it’s not the guns,” Hollingly said. “Knife violence, club violence, truck violence, bomb violence are all acts of starting force. Just focussing on firearm violence isn’t going to solve anything.”

“Absolutely,” Singer said. “The worst thing that we can do is condemn the right to bear arms. A would be attacker will find any means that he or she (and it’s mostly he) can to destroy and damage as many lives as possible. All of the back and forth and uproar connected to gun violence is moot. That is just the method that the assailant chooses. He feels that it is the most effective means for taking out as many people as he can. What is evident in private schools is an understanding that either God or society will impinge on their ability to have a seat at the table in heaven or to visit with their neighbors in a collective community down the block.”

“With the third option, a capitalistic school, the danger of someone going against the teachings of reason and peace would still be evident. But the difference is that the rational students would be able to tackle a would be assailant and to take him down if such a vicious event occurred.

“So, ideas, not guns…” Colm said.

“That squares with the thought that most of the shootings are on government property. The way that teachers fashion students to have outstanding running ability and then proceed to bash their kneecaps is at the root of the grand majority of these cases,” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Now the kicker is that with so little evidence over these nearly two decades of private school shootings, it should only inspire those that operate school systems to opt for privatization. From the standpoint of as educators, we don’t see that arming teachers with firearms will halt all of these brutal crimes,” Singer said.

Colm ran his hands towards his forehead over his waves.

“I think that I’ve finally got it. The whole entire school system in America should be ran like a business.”

“You couldn’t be more right. But we have to consider acts of the start of force at workplaces, too, right?”

“Isn’t that off subject?”

“No. It’s any sort of killings, mass murders, serial slayings. I would bet anything to say that those brutes that systematically murdered men and women, shot up malls, movie theaters, churches, synagogues, nightclubs, Christmas parties, and music festivals received government school education as well. In these schools, there is no curriculum or course load that carries with it the thoughts of selfishness. The musty dankhole of altruism permeates through these schools. From pre-K to pre-med children are taught to share rather than trade. They are taught, even in private schools, that their lives are not their own. They belong to God or society. The saving grace of private schools, though, is that the children discard the stale bits and savor only the elements of the natural world around them.”

“Thank you both for you wisdom and insight. I’ll be able to run this story.”

Singer said, “It’s our pleasure to help out on your journey.”

Hollingly added, “I think that you will have plenty of material for your article. It may even evolve into a book. I mean the dearth of discussion of private school shootings ought to be addressed. No one is willing to see the facts as they are. The minuscule amount of events related to shootings and killings on private school grounds should impel the federal, state, and city educational programs to revamp, restructure, and revise their roles in education.”

“Thanks, again, guys,” Colm said.

Colm drove back to his apartment and sat at his desk to write.