A US School Has Been Arming Their Kids Against School Shootings With Buckets of Rocks
"We have some people who have some pretty good arms. They can chuck some rocks pretty fast."
The gun control debate in the US could already be described as farcical, except for the fact that it’s so deeply tragic. Deepening that well of bleak nonsense is the news that an entire school district is arming their children with pails of rocks.
The news came to light when David Helsel, the superintendent of a Pennsylvania school district, said at a state House Education Committee hearing on school safety that his district’s classrooms are equipped with 5-gallon buckets of river rocks.
“If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance to any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full of students armed with rocks. And they will be stoned,” said Helsel.
“We have some people who have some pretty good arms. They can chuck some rocks pretty fast,” he explained.
Apparently schools call their pails of stones “go buckets”, and each classroom has one ready in the case of a school shooting.
Helsey confirmed with Buzzfeed News that the bucket of rock strategy was not developed specifically in response to the recent Parkland shootings, but has in fact been in place for around two years.
The idea of children being provided river rocks to throw at armed intruders is both a deeply sad argument for gun control laws to be implemented, and a savage indictment of how under-resourced certain public schools in the US are.
People are obviously having a lot of thoughts about the strategy.
big brain implement common sense gun control laws
bigger brain arm teachers
galaxy brain give students rocks— ? (@loonaIovegood) March 24, 2018
Buckets of rocks. Hide kids in closets. Lock the door. Keep silent. Metal detectors. Armed security. Armed teachers.
Or ban assault rifles.
— Rory Carroll (@CarrollRory) March 24, 2018