AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER ?

This morning I watched that horror unfolding at the school in Ohio, and realized how this kind of thing is familiar now. It made me think about my days as a classroom teacher, and the huge responsibility that I felt to keep those kids safe while they were in my care. Someone was talking this morning about how important it is not to ignore any threats, or unusual statements on social media...how most cases involving these school or workplace shootings involve a threat that was somehow overlooked or ignored. That's easier said than done. I taught some pretty rough kids in my day...kids that I felt I might well be reading about in the paper some day. I'm not sure what I could have done with that "sense" about a student when they hadn't actually done anything. What about all those statements you see on FACEBOOK where people say they're fed up...or done in...is that a signal to contact them to make sure they aren't suicidal?

We are our brother's keeper, but what about that neighbor who's really odd, and has a beautiful big dog that he never walks, and you worry about whether or not he feeds him enough....or the guy down the street who has lots of bright lights in his basement and lots of people who stop by for two minutes and then leave with a little bag...or the young couple who have screaming matches that wake up the neighborhood at three in the morning? How serious are these situations, and what can actually be done unless something really bad happens?

Five kids are in the hospital this morning, shot while they were in the cafeteria at their school. Maybe the shooter sent out threatening messages that should have been taken seriously, or maybe he was just that kid who always seemed angry, or picked on, or just somebody who seemed different. Hindsight....what a powerful word.