Wait….what the hell is a hoplophile, and what do hoplophiles have to do with school safety?
Patience friends. I’ll get to school safety shortly, but first….
Ever hear of the word hoplophobe?
For those who aren’t familiar with the terminology, Urban Dictionary defines hoplophobe as a person who is afflicted with an irrational fear of firearms.
Hoplophobe is often times hurled as an insult by gundies (short for gundamentalists) at those advocating for gun violence prevention. So, I thought it only fair to flip that table, and that’s where hoplophile comes in.
Urban Dictionary defines hoplophile as someone with an irrational love of, or fetish for, weaponry (especially firearms).
So there may be a fetish associated with love of guns.
Gundies do seem to love their guns….just sayin’.
Taking that concept further, here’s a tweet from someone advocating standing up to abuse by those they label as “medical hoplophobes”.
You say that like it's a bad thing. DRGO proudly supports the safe and responsible use of firearms for any legitimate purpose, including self-defense. It's that simple. We don't stay silent when medical #hoplophobes abuse their scientific credentials to advance gun control. #2A
— DRGO (@DRGOSAF) November 12, 2018
I wonder if that makes this person a medical hoplophile. Seems legit to me.
The person who submitted this tweet touted their website Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership (DRGO).
This organization advocates that “guns in responsible hands save lives, reduce injuries, and protect property by preventing violent crime.”
Please define ‘responsible’. Otherwise, these assertions appear to me to be oxymorons of the first order.
Another person representing a news organization in West Boca Raton, FL tweeted in the same thread:
The Hi-Point 995 at Columbine used 9mm with 10-round magazines. Similar to common handguns but styled as a rifle. More accurate but not much other advantage.
— West Boca News (@WestBocaNews) November 15, 2018
This was a trigger for me because the Hi-Point 995 carbine rifle referenced was the weapon used to shoot my daughter at Columbine.
Granted, I’d mentioned this weapon earlier in the discussion regarding the SRO at Columbine engaging one of the perps before he entered the school, but “accurate but not much other advantage” pissed me off.
I wondered what “advantage” there was to this weapon as it applied to the perp shooting my daughter. I get it wasn’t that advantageous in the gunfire exchange with the SRO who was 60 yards from the perp, but my daughter? Seriously?!
In 2015 I was invited to talk with students at a metro Denver high school about guns in schools.
At that time, our state legislature was considering legislation that would allow open or concealed carry by anyone on any campus K-16.
I started the session by asking them how many supported campus carry.
No one raised their hands.
I then asked how many opposed campus carry.
Everyone raised their hands.
They were resolute in their opposition to guns on campus, and they were frustrated by adults not including them in school safety discussions.
These were just American high school kids expressing ideas, insights, and opinions on guns in schools.
I shared some thoughts about this meeting on a message board called My Mountain Town in a thread on school safety.
The first response out of the gate:
Unless you are aware of an exemption to state and federal law, the first requirement for concealed carry is be at least 21 years or older. Since this is a high school, most students are less than 19 years old. Whom exactly were they expecting to be carrying?”
The implied message – stay in your lane, kiddies. You’re not old enough to have a say in this.
Has anything changed?
This was three years ago.
What are hoplophiles telling the kids who survived the Parkland massacre?
NRA board member Ted Nugent called them “liars and soulless”.
Florida State Representative Elizabeth Porter told the Parkland student activists “adults make the laws”. She has an ‘A’ rating from the NRA according to Vote Smart.
I get ‘the Nuge’ acting this way. He’s been labeled a man-child to begin with….among other things.
But the directive to the Parkland student activists from a legislator in the state this massacre took place? I can’t even….
And, finally this from DRGO:
With a killer on the rampage there is no ideal solution. One can only limit the damage, even if no one is shot. You can what-if all day, but in the end, the policy to adopt is the one most likely to limit the damage. Armed citizens on-site have an excellent record doing that. #2A
— DRGO (@DRGOSAF) November 15, 2018
“The policy to adopt is” ….wait for it….“armed citizens”.
Will armed citizens on school campuses somehow make students, parents, and faculty feel safer?
I honestly don’t know.
So, I challenged this person to conduct a survey of school staff, parents, and age appropriate students to see if they might agree guns in schools were a good idea.
Crickets.
But guns in schools….that’s school safety….hoplophile style!
My two cents.
- My Two Cents: Quiet Rooms - December 15, 2018
- My Two Cents: Stay in Your Lane Road Rage NRA Style - November 26, 2018
- My Two Cents: School Safety Hoplophile Style - November 17, 2018
- My Two Cents: NRA, All Y’all Might Want to Consider Staying in YOUR Lane! - November 14, 2018
- My Two Cents: NRA….Your Bluff Just Got Called! - November 11, 2018
- My Two Cents: Wagon Train Advocacy - November 4, 2018
- My Two Cents: Fundies, Gundies, And School Safety - October 26, 2018
- My Two Cents: SCOTUS Takes Voter Suppression to New Level of Absurdity - October 11, 2018
- My Two Cents: A Failure to Plan That Wasn’t a Complete ‘Failure’ - October 9, 2018
- My Two Cents: Defining ‘New Normal’ - September 25, 2018
