[blindlaw] active shooter trainings?

Fri Dec 11 21:03:10 UTC 2015

Keri:

I am well aware of all of the shootings that occur in this country. I am
just as aware of the government/mass media efforts to use these situations
to create mass hysteria and an environment of unjustified fear in the minds
of Americans? And, although it might be fair to suggest that I am obviously
not concerned with being safe rather than sorry, there is good, sound and
rational reason for not being so concerned.

As pointed out, I am more likely to be struck by lightning than that I will
be confronted by an active shooter scenario. We have as many thunderstorms
in the north Texas area as anywhere in America. Yet, when we are having a
storm and I need to go to the courthouse, I get my poncho and cain and walk
to the bus stop to get downtown. And I am never in fear of being struck by
lightning. Further, all the government/mass media that could be thrown at me
to create mass hysteria about a thunderstorm would not effect me.

Similarly, I am more likely to be shot by someone I know that I am by an
active shooter scenario. Yet, I associate with the people I know and never
fear doing so. And no amount of government/mass media fear mongering could
dissuade from doing so.

I am more likely to be seriously injured or killed in an automobile accident
than I am in an active shooter scenario. Yet, I get into cars with others
every day. And no amount of government/mass media fear mongering could
dissuade from getting into a car.

I am more likely to be seriously injured in my shower than by an active
shooter scenario. Yet, I take a shower every day. And no amount of
government/mass media fear mongering could prevent my taking a shower.

I was in the Tarrant County courthouse in 1993, when a disgruntled lawyer,
George Lott, entered the courthouse, made his way to a courtroom and shot
numerous lawyers and judges, killing one of them. I was not afraid to go
into the courthouse the day before George Lott went on his rampage, and I
have not been afraid on any day in the 20 years since to go into the
courthouse. In fact, my mother was a Tarrant County deputy clerk on the day
of George Lott's rampage and she rode on the elevator with George Lott as
the courthouse was being evacuated.

So, it isn't exactly correct to say that I have no concern for being safe as
much as it is that I have nothing to fear. The notion that you are unsafe,
that you need to be protected from harm or that you should be fearful is an
illogical concept created not by an active shooter situation, but by the
mass hysteria created by the government/mass media in the wake of these
events. If you want to be so concerned for your safety, then I recommend
that you never go outside during a thunderstorm, that you cease associating
with your family, friends and acquaintances, that you quit getting into
automobiles and that you quit taking showers.

Alternatively, you can choose to quit buying into the mass hysteria hype and
fear mongering stirred by the government/mass media.

Daniel McBride

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Keri via
blindlaw
Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2015 7:34 PM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Cc: Keri
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?

Daniel,

Are you unaware how many college campuses, and other places have been
attacked lately? You obviously aren't concerned one bit about being safe
than sorry.

On 12/10/2015 7:31 PM, Daniel McBride via blindlaw wrote:
> Keri:
>
> The notion that these shootings are "rapidly" increasing is nonsense. 
> This is a fear tactic created by government and mass media propaganda. 
> Your statistical odds of being struck by lightning are far greater 
> than that you will ever be confronted by an active shooter. Do you 
> have a lightning strike plan? Where is the government and mass media 
> hysteria about lightning? We do not see the media hysteria about 
> lightning because nobody would pay attention.
>
> We live in a police state of total surveillance. It is getting worse 
> daily, weekly and monthly. Americans are volunteering themselves into 
> this total surveillance police state and these shootings are most 
> convenient for fear mongering hype and hysteria. And then they have 
> Americans, nationwide, all worked up about safety and security to 
> induce them into accepting the police state. Yet not one of these 
> Americans are the least bit concerned about getting struck by lightning.
>
> Furthermore, FBI statistics on violent crime clearly show that, if 
> you, I or any American was to be shot with a firearm, the odds are 
> greater than 80% that it would be by someone we know personally, like 
> a spouse, former spouse or other family member or acquaintance.
>
> To be concerned with the danger of being confronted by an active 
> shooter scenario is a big waste of emotional energy. You would be 
> statistically better off expending your emotional energy worrying 
> about being struck by lightning, being shot by a family member or, for 
> that matter, being in a serious auto accident or falling in your 
> shower, all of which are significantly more likely to harm you than 
> being confronted by an active shooter.
>
> Daniel McBride
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Keri 
> via blindlaw
> Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2015 5:18 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List
> Cc: Keri
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>
> Might I also point out that shootings are rapidly increasing. For 
> anyone who doesn't think about safety in these situations, they really
should.
> It is foolish not to have knowledge or a plan.
>
>
> On 12/10/2015 5:49 PM, Susan Kelly via blindlaw wrote:
>> True enough - but before these trainings were the rage, we already 
>> had a
> potential situation at our courthouse (juvenile), where a person who 
> had just assaulted a street vendor then escaped into our facility and 
> was actively evading security, suspected of being armed.  One of our 
> then-pregnant co-workers ended up locked in detention, missing lunch 
> and meds, for several hours due to the lockdown.  We don't handle 
> emergencies well as an organization, it seems.  Thus, trying to think
ahead.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>> Daniel
> McBride via blindlaw
>> Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2015 3:45 PM
>> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List' <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Daniel McBride <dlmlaw at sbcglobal.net>
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>>
>> Dear List:
>>
>> I have been following this thread with some interest. I would like to
> point out that your statistical odds of being struck by lightning are 
> greater than the odds that you will ever be confronted a so-called 
> active shooter. And I never spend one minute of my life with concerns 
> of being struck by lightning.
>> Daniel McBride
>> Fort Worth, Texas
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>> Shelley
> Richards via blindlaw
>> Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2015 10:20 AM
>> To: Blind Law Mailing List
>> Cc: Shelley Richards
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>>
>> Hiding in the evidence cabinet, I like that idea.  I would definitely 
>> fit
> in one.  I think the best advice is to figure out for yourself ahead 
> of time where the best hiding places are, and be sure you know how to 
> get to those places from anywhere in the building you might be.
>> Have someone help at first if needed until you are confident that you 
>> can
> get several possible locations on your own from anywhere you might be.  
> I have never been involved in an actual drill because my building has 
> not done them, but I have thought about it before and always figured I 
> just need to have good hiding places in mind which I know I can get to 
> confidently.  Of course I also think of places where my dog can hide with
me as well.
>> I definitely would think this might be a more difficult situation for 
>> a
> wheel chair user.  I would be interested in talking to some wheel 
> chair users to see what they might think is a good way to deal with 
> this type of situation.
>> I have to agree that relying on a sighted coworker is not necessarily 
>> a
> good plan.  I personally would not feel confident relying on sighted 
> assistance from anybody in a situation which is almost definitely 
> going to cause panic and chaos.  It is also such an unpredictable 
> situation, and nobody really knows how they will handle it until it 
> happens.  Definitely not the best time to be counting on someone else 
> who does not even know how they themselves will handle a real life active
shooter situation.
>> Shelley Palmadessa
>>
>> On 12/10/15, Susan Kelly via blindlaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> Thanks - that has always been my thought and plan.  Being small, I 
>>> figure that I can hide in an evidence cabinet in the courtroom if 
>>> nothing else exists.  Allegedly, there is a space for wheelchair 
>>> bound persons in the judicial chambers area at court, but...this is 
>>> on the second floor, and is in a mag-card protected restricted area.  
>>> It is thus difficult to figure how that will work in such a 
>>> situation, particularly given that we have only two, very small
elevators.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>>> Ronza Othman via blindlaw
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2015 7:10 PM
>>> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List' <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Ronza Othman <rothmanjd at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>>>
>>> My Agency has a function in the Security Office specifically geared 
>>> towards working with employees with disabilities.  So when we get 
>>> the Active Shooter Training, evacuation training, shelter in place 
>>> training, biohazard training, all of it, they do think about and 
>>> talk about how individuals with disabilities can respond.  For 
>>> active shooter, the rule is run, hide, fight.
>>> Their suggestions for run were to get out of there is quickly as 
>>> possible (wheelchair, scooter, whatever), if safe and if you aren't 
>>> going to be seen.
>>> They suggest we assess our flight capacity when deciding whether to 
>>> run or hide.  When hiding, they talk about how the goal is to find a 
>>> sturdy location with as much protection (3-4 walls - as possible.
>>> They suggest you scope this out ahead of time and find yourself a 
>>> couple of options for "safe rooms" like storage rooms.  They talk 
>>> about how bathrooms aren't always the best place to hide because the 
>>> doors don't lock.  They talk about how folks in wheelchairs, to the 
>>> extent possible, should either find places to hide where their 
>>> chairs are hidden too, or if they can, find ways to maneuver out of 
>>> their chairs to secure a smaller hiding place.  And with regard to 
>>> fight, they say to use whatever you have access to - hands, 
>>> equipment, whatever,
>> to fight.
>>> Hope this helps.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>>> Keri via blindlaw
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 9, 2015 3:38 PM
>>> To: Blind Law Mailing List
>>> Cc: Keri
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>>>
>>> That seems to be the most common.
>>>
>>> On 12/9/2015 1:46 PM, Susan Kelly via blindlaw wrote:
>>>> So far, the only "adaptation" we have received is that a co-worker 
>>>> look
>>> out for us.  Not exactly an empowering solution.
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>>>> Gerard Sadlier via blindlaw
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2015 11:06 AM
>>>> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Cc: Gerard Sadlier <gerard.sadlier at gmail.com>
>>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> This is interesting if a little surprising - I'd be interested in 
>>>> reading
>>> re: adaptations etc. suggested.
>>>> Thanks
>>>>
>>>> Ger
>>>>
>>>> On 12/9/15, Keri via blindlaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>> I think it is up to the trainers to do research and offer suggestions.
>>>>> At my university the campus police officer(who is a real 
>>>>> policeman) offered me personal suggestions on adapting, but I 
>>>>> don't think there is official methods. My school is willing to 
>>>>> teach for different situations however to students, staff, and
faculty.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 12/9/2015 10:24 AM, Susan Kelly via blindlaw wrote:
>>>>>> Apologies in advance that this is only tangentially a legal 
>>>>>> question (being somewhat civil rights involved), but given that 
>>>>>> many of us are governmental employees, or at least in larger 
>>>>>> groups, I am hoping there is an answer among us.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Our county has done active shooter trainings for the last couple 
>>>>>> of
>>> years.
>>>>>>     Unfortunately, they have absolutely zero training or 
>>>>>> suggestions for those of us who are blind or wheelchair-bound.  
>>>>>> Has anyone participated in a training that accounts for these
differences?
>>>>>> Does any such training even exist?
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>> --
>>>>> Keri
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>> 4
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>>>>>
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>>> --
>>> Keri
>>>
>>>
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>> --
>> Thank You
>> Shelley Palmadessa
>> shelleyrichards9 at gmail.com
>>
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--
Keri

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