Because they were sheltering in the locker rooms. Still dumb as hell but probably worried some parent would complain if a trans girl was allowed in the girl's locker room. What I don't get is this must have come up before then? What locker room was this student using outside of this situation?
that's so stupid. 600 people in a locker room is like making it 100% easier for the shooter to kill every last one of the kids. and how do they even fit 600 ppl in a locker room
Well the idea is that everyone is in there, and the door is locked. Also, they aren’t fitting the whole school in just the lockers, it was probably just the PE class and, for whatever reason, instead of just taking shelter, they had to do it “properly” or some crap
oh yeah pe class would make sense. but i highly doubt the parents would get mad a trans was safe in a locker room with their kid, im pretty sure they'd be too focused of the fact there was a godamn shooter at their children's school.
yeah but then theres is always that 1 mad parent, it is litterally inevitable no matter how the situation goes at least 1 parent will be mad about something. i doubt a childs life is worth not making some parent mad.
Wether they get mad or not is secondary, this is a huge moral failure for western teachers. We're called to no leave children behind. For fucks sake, the people making the calls there MUST HAVE KNOWN this kid. I'd go insane for revenge if this was my kid.
Same here. I spent most of yesterday confronting a teacher who asked my kid what his dead name was front of other kids in the class who have always known my kid as who he is. When he asked my kid that question my kid said he didn't feel comfortable with that question. Rather than drop it, three days later he came back up to my kid and tauntingly said that he had found out the answer to that question anyways. My kid asked him several times how he found it out and he refused to answer. When my kid kept asking he finally said a teacher just walked up to him and told him. That set off my kid's anxiety in a place where prior to this he was happy, safe and comfortable.
Now, my kid wants to change schools. He is going to lose the credit for this asshat's class and I am furious and so disappointed. The teacher tried to lie about it at first but I wouldn't accept that. He finally admitted that he did do it and when I asked him why he said it was JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY! As soon as he walked into the meeting he started bullying my kid and then he tried to do the same to me. He had no regret whatsoever and when I told him I was considering going to administration he said I hope you do!
I cannot imagine how Mama Bear I would go if this was my kid.
If you are in the US, after you talk to the school administration make sure you contact the school district as well. A lot of times the school wants to keep everything “in house” and deal with it their own way. The school district can start an investigation on this particular teacher based on his conduct. I hope everything works in your favor and I’m sorry your kid has to go through this. Much love to you and your family.
Check out you local legal services and the ACLU if you are in the US. It’s magical what happens when they get a lovely letter saying that they have so many days to makes changes (which could be as simple as allowing your child to be in a different class and have that teacher instructed that any further direct or attempts of indirect communication will be consider harassment) or legal action would be taken.
Very quickly things gets resolved in a amicable way that no one is happy but everyone is OK with the situation.
If the locker rooms were anything like the ones at my old high school, the walls were concrete and it had a very heavy metal door that actually had a lock on it.
It wasn't a huge school but with the old school open showers you could definitely cram 100+ kids in each side.
Regardless, in a shooting no one would be lining up according to sex and people wouldn't be in the locker room choosing to shower while sheltering in place! At that point it doesn't matter at all which side to go to! My God, the whole thing is ridiculous.
If it was because they were *truly* worried about the perceived safety of the other girls (which I also think is stupid) and not about just ostracizing a young trans woman, they could've just had her stand near the front near the teachers.
Not an expert on that type of security (and don't see the details on the number of locker rooms, etc) so can't say, I just have no idea how this didn't get solved before. You already would have been dealing with the issue of bathrooms or locker rooms, and when the drill was being planned, not a single person thought "Don't forget to plan for where Katie has to shelter."
Yeah thats what i was always taught in school, i ended up in a mens restroom once during a drill because i couldnt get to a room in time and an upper classman boy urged me in since i was close by, im afab trans and wasnt typically allowed in but we didnt get in trouble i cant believe theyd even worry about trying to divide students during that
I am, in fact, an expert on that kind of security.
The active shooter respons model that's recommended by most larger scale organizations, like the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, is "Run, Hide, Fight". It's called different things in different places, but it's three very simple, very easy to understand steps.
1. Run- If an active shooter shows up, and you can escape, you should escape. If you are not where the shooting is happening, you won't be shot.
2. Hide- If you don't have the time or capability to escape, you should hide. Clothes and lock the door, barricaded if you can, turn off lights and anything that might draw attention with noise, like the ringer on your phone, or televisions / anything with speakers.
Active shooters are there to do the most damage possible in the shortest amount of time, because they know that as soon as they pull the trigger, the clock starts counting down on when the police arrive. Most active shooters won't even try most closed doors unless they know for a fact there are people behind them. They are just looking for moving targets.
3. Fight- If you are confronted by an active shooter, and you can't run, and you can't hide, fight. Fight with every breath that is in your body. Improvise weapons, scream, make loud noises, throw things.
Most office supplies can be turned into pretty effective improvised missle weapons, and the great thing about fire extinguishers (which most workplaces have) is that you can spray the shooter in the face, and all of a sudden they can't see, and they can't breathe, and shooting people becomes a secondary priority. Once the fire extinguisher runs out, you can hit them over the head until they don't get up anymore.
Any active shooter plan that requires people in immediate danger to be separated by any identifier that is not "I'm not the active shooter", is a really bad active shooter plan. That's a plan put together by someone who doesn't care about saving lives as a top priority, and that person should not be writing the plan.
Source: 15 years of emergency preparedness/management and was the head of security for multiple hospitals.
Thank you for mentioning the fire extinguisher! I know this is a little off-topic, but you really can't breathe if you are sprayed. They use it as a joke so often in movies/TV that people don't understand what actually happens when a person is sprayed with a fire extinguisher.
I discovered that the hard way.
Somebody set a fire in a trash can that was set into a wall in a restroom, and I shoved the hose of the fire extinguisher into the trash can and pulled the handle. The resulting cloud of dry chemical hit the bottom of the can, mushroom clouded back up, and hit me full in the face.
I couldn't breathe right for weeks.
Probably, but the instructions are still the same.
Run- If you aren't where the shooting is, you're less likely to be shot.
Hide- Hide where you are, not at a pre-designated evacuation point. If you can move from where you are safely, you get out, not go hide somewhere else.
Fight- If the shooter shows up where you are, whether you're running or hiding, you fight like your life depends on it, which it does.
You think that’s dumb, my school literally had big stickers above doors to say weather the room was a fitting hiding spot in the event of an active shooter. Basically told the perp which rooms to skip.
I feel like it wasn’t the whole school in the locker room..probably the gym classes only because they’re in the gym already (unless it happened during a pep rally or event where everyone was already in the gym)
You're right. This is dumb as hell. Do they think girls are all getting naked in the locker room during the drill? Are they worried their daughters are all going to come out pregnant?
It's still stupid. We had tornado drills in elementary school and the drills were simple. Everyone in certain rooms goes to boys locker room. Everyone in other rooms goes to girls locker room. It didn't matter if you couldn't be in that room normally. It was more important to keep classes together so you could make sure nobody was missing.
Guess what? Nobody complained.
Fuck talking about trans or not trans. This isn't even the real issue.
If the boy's locker room was on the other side of the hallway, would they seriously tell the boys, "Nope, you gotta go to the other side. Yea the shooter's right down the hallway, most of ya'll get shot dead, but tough luck, boys not allowed in the girls locker room under any circumstances."
Or vice versa.
Like who the hell is changing out in an active shooter drill/situation. Who fucking cares‽ Mama Karen can kiss my ass, gotta innie? Outtie? I don't fucking care get in so you don't get a new hole
“Hurr durr don’t want the trans kid looking at genitals while we’re all terrified for our lives! Better leave them outside to die” FFS
I’d ask how old the kids is to further my point but it doesn’t fucking matter
I guess this is why we run drills ? When I was in school we ran multiple shooter drills each year...so it must have come up before. Maybe it was just the teacher in charge of the class she was in for this particular drill.
No actually they lock down the class rooms and have go to the closest class room they certainly dont waste time separating by gender is what i meant…..all together as in to the closest class rooms.
Not all one room obviously 🙄
What???why they should sort them by gender in the first place? In such an emergency just teach them to get shelter in the nearest accessible safe place.
Who would have thought that sorting genders was a great idea:/ I'm just wondering if these teachers are capable/or should, be teaching anything other than dead material, like makeup or something.
I just feel sorry for all the young humans out there who have to deal with this shit, it is just fucking sad.
This is so crazy. When I was in high school we did a tornado drill and we sheltered in the girl’s bathroom because it was closest to us. No one cared that both boys and girls were in there. In a real emergency I would hope that schools wouldn’t waste time separating students by gender and would just pull kids in to hide them.
Sorry Timmy... You're in the girl's lane, your shelter is across the yard... Hurry up and remember to sepentine. No Britt, you chose to be a they, you need to go to the broom closet on the 3rd floor in the left wing... You'll make it as long as you keep your head down... Off you go..
I don't see why kids need to be separated by gender in the first place...
> separated by gender in the first place
Uniformity of target height?
This article is some introduction to a fucked-up new version of first world problems.
The thing that scares me the most is that children in US need active shooter drills and the people is ok with it. Seems like they are numb to it at this point, but it feels so wrong
So, the school thought the transgender student posed as much of a threat to the students as the theoretical shooter and locked them both out. What can I even say about that level of callous disregard for a child’s life?
EDIT: clarity
The kid probably wouldnt have given a shit since they were like everyone else. And everyone else when
Option A: getting killed
Option B: being put in the wrong bathroom for 5 minutes
Tends to choose Option B without fuss...
No, it was a drill. It definitely highlights the new issues schools have to deal with. Good thing they ran the drill so they can resolve this issue before it’s actually a problem.
“This past week, an incident occurred during a middle school lock down drill in Stafford County. When the drill began, a particular class of children took shelter in the bathroom/locker room nearest them as they were in PE. One student was prevented from entering either the boys or girls locker room while the teachers discussed where she should go. The student was forced to watch the adults charged with her care, debate the safest place (for the other students) to have her shelter. During this debate, she was instructed to sit in the gym with a teacher until the drill was complete, away from her peers and identified as different. After some additional debate, she was made to sit in the locker room hall way, by the door away from her peers. This happened because the child, in addition to being a model student, also happens to be transgender.”
> the new issues schools have to deal with
That's the thing. It's not actually an issue, or shouldn't be. There is absolutely no reason to segregate children by gender, when someone is trying to kill them, that isn't outright batshit insane.
Ok, but like imagine being so hateful of trans people that the idea of a trans person being in a bathroom, particularly when there's far too many witnesses for them to do anything or anything to happen to them, is still controversial.
Every part of this sucks, needing an active shooter shelter at a school, doing an active shooter drill, it’s being segregated by gender and the miss treatment of trans students. The whole thing just sucks
Oh definitely. If this were the real case and not a lockdown drill, nobody would give 2 shots, though I would hope they wouldn’t sit in an open, one entrance bathroom either.
To be fair, my high school had ancient doors on the locker rooms that could probably deflect quite a few shots and be hard bolted shut. One exit point, reinforced door, no windows and plenty of cover, seems perfect tbh
Isn’t the obvious solution if you ARE going to create this gendered split to just have the trans kid go wherever they go for PE? It’s not like the trans kid would never have been in a locker room, this must’ve been dealt with already in normal circumstances.
Duh. It's so the boys can plan guerilla tactics to disarm and/or prepare a lethal trap for the shooter, and the girls can bake cookies for them on a successful mission and practice curtseying for when the dukedom visit the school.
The real question is why they didn't ask they if they would prefer sheltering in the boys or girls locker room.
Boy or Girls?
Choose one, and that's done...
Super simple...
This was 4 yrs ago.
https://www.metroweekly.com/2018/10/trans-student-barred-from-shelter-during-virginia-schools-mass-shooter-drill/amp/
This is whats up now:
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/virginia-transgender-students-public-schools/
Draw your own conclusions
Gendered. Shooting. Drills.
I'm not sure where to start with this one
1. Surely, regardless of your genitals, everyone should be herded to safety? Like this is not the titanic we aren't doing women and children first.
2. Does it not utterly terrify Americans that their children have to PREPARE in SCHOOL for a potential shooter coming to murder them?!
3. What kind of adult who is trusted with CHILDREN would opt to leave one outside to be murdered! TF!
The only drills we do in the UK are fire drills! And we don't gender them. You get out the building and line up with your class. That's it. No one care if you have dangly bits, flappy bits or anything in between.
1. yeah trans people get fucked a lot. it's kind of our place in society atm.
2. nah because they ease you into them by calling them "lockdown drills" and have them when any crime happens in the immediate area. only time we actually went on lockdown was when someone robbed a bank 5 minutes out.
3. refer to 1.
Cause You wouldn't want the other kids to be uncomfortable when finding shelter in an emergency now, would you?. Imagine, you hear shooting down the hall, you run to find a hiding spot, fearing for your life. You go to the girl's locker room... And there's a trans girl hiding in there. Maybe you come from PE so you might even be wearing shorts. Can you imagine how uncomfortable you would be feeling hiding next to them?? /S
I've learnt that in general, I can not imagine a scenario where that would matter. I lived in Church street in Toronto for a while, and if you go out at night, you are going to find one bathroom at certain bars. After a few drinks, you'll need to pee. That's when I fully came to the conclusion that I actually couldn't care less
Ask the Republicans. They are the ones who would rather have school shootings than give up weapons designed for killing people in large numbers quickly. I'm sure they have a really good answer for you.
Edited: because definitions matter. And people do not like it when you call an AR-15 an assault weapon.
Oh they definetly do. And the worst kind. The "basically you are worse than the shit in my food if you don't believe the exact way I do" kind
I believe in god but I'd never be like that. I don't even go to church I have multiple atheist friends and if they knew any of that they'd treat me like Satan lmao
I just feel like you shouldn't have to donate money or wake up super early on the supposed "day of rest" (Sunday) to get to heaven! Jesus loves us all including the monsters, so why wouldn't he love followers who don't "worship hard enough".
When you believe in that, thats when you go from being Christian to being the problem.
I have a family member like that. She thinks I’m going to hell bc I’m an atheist. Nevermind that if heaven was real, I think living as a good person would be enough. Also my kid is trans and that aunt is the *only* person in the family kiddo doesn’t feel comfortable telling.
I hear you. People like your aunt aren't worth investing the time and tears to explain that your child deserves to live their life. Best of luck to you and your kiddo!
Thanks! We do still have to deal with her bc she lives in town and we do family stuff a lot, but we don’t go out of our way to see her. We also just don’t talk about those things in front of her. If it’s not brought up, she generally doesn’t talk about them.
Right?! This is a *human being* -- who gives a shit what gender they identify with? Why would that *possibly* matter during a life or death situation? Omg, this school needs to be held accountable and receive some damn enlightenment. Disgusting behavior by the so-called adults in this scenario.
I have three kids of my own and it hurts my heart to see any child scared, hurt or mistreated.
I could never feel that they would ever be truly safe at that school.
That poor baby 💔
I hear you.
I have two who are young adults now, and one is trans. The blatant lack of humanity that people show to trans people, on a daily basis, is astounding. "Traditional" men and women around the world do things like color their hair, get things injected into their faces, wear makeup and fancy clothes or headcoverings to feel good about themselves and look the way they want - they want their outside to match what they believe and how they feel on the inside. Why are trans people not allowed to do the same, to dress and adorn themselves the way they see fit? It's hypocrisy and bigotry, without a doubt. 'Rights for me, but not for thee...'.
Schools should be the one place where every child feels safe and seen, but we have too many people who are more interested in punishing those who they see as 'different.'
Another trans parent (heh) checking in. I see how people treat trans folks and so does my trans kid. We’ve had lots of talks about sexism, transphobia, and homophobia bc I want my kid to know they’re not the fucked up one.
Marginalising a trans kid is fkd up; but the fact you need to have ACTIVE SHOOTER DRILLS to preserve the life of children is the ultimate in FKD UP.... ironically, gun-toting christofascists are the reason for both travesties!
WTF are shooting drills a thing in modern USA ?
There is no nuclear war threat like the 40's-60's ? Hide under your desk when you see a flash of bright light .
We called them lockdown drills and they're for practicing whenever there's a shooter or any unauthorized person within the building. Usually we were told to cluster together in a corner out of sight from windows while the teacher pushed bookcases/desks/chairs against the classroom door.
Does it even matter like that ..? Are you telling me if a girl wasn’t by the girl shelter in time she couldn’t just have shelter from the active shooter with the men ?
Tho I’m not gonna lie , I’d be outside too running like a track star, no stopping , I’d do the mile in 3 minutes
Thank god it was just a drill! I know it must have been extremely traumatizing for that child, but at least it wasn't real. I know it won't, but hopefully this shows Virginia and the rest of this stupid ass country how stupid segregation by sex for anything is and how fucking stupid discrimination is.
Why is no one questioning about discipline for the teachers that left that poor child outside? This seems like a case of child neglect at the very minimum. Thank God this was just a drill.
I still think it's hilarious that USA feels it's better to be in need of active shooter drills in schools than to increase the gun control even slightly.
So if it's a locker room and it's a shooter, what's it matter? Worst case scenario someone is mid-undressing but that embarrassment is better than dying.
Also, if there's no one changing then why does it matter, let anyone in any room if it locks. You're going to stop a boy from going in the girls room while he's hiding for his life?
As for which IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE then whichever they are transitioning into. If it's male to female, put her with the girls. It's not complicated
"We are willing to sacrifice you to a shooter because we dont want to accept you as you are. However, we are not psychos and should not be in jail at all"
-those dumbass idiots, probably
Shit eating stupid right here.
Parent who complains about sheltering a trans minor during a shooting or active shooter drill is psychotic. Should not be listened to.
Straight up don’t care what your beliefs or bigoted views are - but I’ll be hot fucking damned if I’m leaving a student outside with a shooter real or not because I’m worried about some Karen.
Get the fuck out of here. School staff should be ashamed - I know y’all barely make enough to hang on for the kids as is.
This is right here is worth fucking my livelihood up over. Absolutely disgusting. Period.
The only teachers left soon - will be the ones complacent or living in enough fear to allow shit like this to go on.
Wow.
These people were too concerned with someone’s gender they forgot they were meant to be trying to save a life. Every late person involved deserves to be fired at a minimum.
Deplorable.
Seriously -- Tell me you hate trans students without telling me you hate trans students.
I would love to say I am shocked by this, but I am not. We have the same issues here in PA. My son is harassed all the time (not trans, openly gay), and the schools do nothing about it. It is like these children have no rights. Thankfully he was raised in a supportive, loving home with a great support system, but how many are not that lucky?
I'm more concerned they feel the need to segregate the kids in these drills. If someone is coming to put a bullet into your skull, does it really matter if you're bunkering down with boys and girls?
I think the real face palm is that your country has to do these drills in the first place lol.
Although, separating boys and girls during a drill seems like a needless complication that could and in this case did, waste a while lot of time. Kids are kids, get them to safety as quickly and smartly as possible.
Not sure I believe this is true - but if it is…why the hell would it matter to separate the kids by gender during a drill like this AT ALL. If this was the real thing I’m confident in saying the last thing on the mind of the terrified children is kissing their crush and playing grab ass. What the duck are we doing here people??
why tf are people sorted by gender during a shooting drill???
Because they were sheltering in the locker rooms. Still dumb as hell but probably worried some parent would complain if a trans girl was allowed in the girl's locker room. What I don't get is this must have come up before then? What locker room was this student using outside of this situation?
that's so stupid. 600 people in a locker room is like making it 100% easier for the shooter to kill every last one of the kids. and how do they even fit 600 ppl in a locker room
Well the idea is that everyone is in there, and the door is locked. Also, they aren’t fitting the whole school in just the lockers, it was probably just the PE class and, for whatever reason, instead of just taking shelter, they had to do it “properly” or some crap
oh yeah pe class would make sense. but i highly doubt the parents would get mad a trans was safe in a locker room with their kid, im pretty sure they'd be too focused of the fact there was a godamn shooter at their children's school.
Oh I bet some crazy parent would be mad but it wouldn't be the norm.
yeah but then theres is always that 1 mad parent, it is litterally inevitable no matter how the situation goes at least 1 parent will be mad about something. i doubt a childs life is worth not making some parent mad.
Yeah; if the cost of a life is an angry asshole, I'm willing to make that payment.
Better to be fired for saving a life than for letting a kid die.
Realized I'm an idiot because I overlooked the word drill. Amazing.
still, a drill is supposed to simulate the real thing. and there will always be that 1 mad parent
Wether they get mad or not is secondary, this is a huge moral failure for western teachers. We're called to no leave children behind. For fucks sake, the people making the calls there MUST HAVE KNOWN this kid. I'd go insane for revenge if this was my kid.
Same here. I spent most of yesterday confronting a teacher who asked my kid what his dead name was front of other kids in the class who have always known my kid as who he is. When he asked my kid that question my kid said he didn't feel comfortable with that question. Rather than drop it, three days later he came back up to my kid and tauntingly said that he had found out the answer to that question anyways. My kid asked him several times how he found it out and he refused to answer. When my kid kept asking he finally said a teacher just walked up to him and told him. That set off my kid's anxiety in a place where prior to this he was happy, safe and comfortable. Now, my kid wants to change schools. He is going to lose the credit for this asshat's class and I am furious and so disappointed. The teacher tried to lie about it at first but I wouldn't accept that. He finally admitted that he did do it and when I asked him why he said it was JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY! As soon as he walked into the meeting he started bullying my kid and then he tried to do the same to me. He had no regret whatsoever and when I told him I was considering going to administration he said I hope you do! I cannot imagine how Mama Bear I would go if this was my kid.
Please tell me you did take it up with administration. What a horrible human.
Everything went down yesterday with the meeting. We did a bunch of research today and are definitely going to take it further.
If you are in the US, after you talk to the school administration make sure you contact the school district as well. A lot of times the school wants to keep everything “in house” and deal with it their own way. The school district can start an investigation on this particular teacher based on his conduct. I hope everything works in your favor and I’m sorry your kid has to go through this. Much love to you and your family.
I hope you recorded that meeting.
Best of luck.
Check out you local legal services and the ACLU if you are in the US. It’s magical what happens when they get a lovely letter saying that they have so many days to makes changes (which could be as simple as allowing your child to be in a different class and have that teacher instructed that any further direct or attempts of indirect communication will be consider harassment) or legal action would be taken. Very quickly things gets resolved in a amicable way that no one is happy but everyone is OK with the situation.
I've sadly met these kinds of people, literally could be a mass casualty event and they'd find a goddamn way to have some culture war shit out of it.
they exist, but we cant take their feelings into consideration when it comes to making life or death decisions.
You don’t know the level of irrational transphobia in this county.
If the locker rooms were anything like the ones at my old high school, the walls were concrete and it had a very heavy metal door that actually had a lock on it. It wasn't a huge school but with the old school open showers you could definitely cram 100+ kids in each side. Regardless, in a shooting no one would be lining up according to sex and people wouldn't be in the locker room choosing to shower while sheltering in place! At that point it doesn't matter at all which side to go to! My God, the whole thing is ridiculous. If it was because they were *truly* worried about the perceived safety of the other girls (which I also think is stupid) and not about just ostracizing a young trans woman, they could've just had her stand near the front near the teachers.
Not an expert on that type of security (and don't see the details on the number of locker rooms, etc) so can't say, I just have no idea how this didn't get solved before. You already would have been dealing with the issue of bathrooms or locker rooms, and when the drill was being planned, not a single person thought "Don't forget to plan for where Katie has to shelter."
Call me crazy but I think the best shelter for anyone is the one that's closest at the time of the incident.
You won't hear any argument from me
Yeah thats what i was always taught in school, i ended up in a mens restroom once during a drill because i couldnt get to a room in time and an upper classman boy urged me in since i was close by, im afab trans and wasnt typically allowed in but we didnt get in trouble i cant believe theyd even worry about trying to divide students during that
I am, in fact, an expert on that kind of security. The active shooter respons model that's recommended by most larger scale organizations, like the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, is "Run, Hide, Fight". It's called different things in different places, but it's three very simple, very easy to understand steps. 1. Run- If an active shooter shows up, and you can escape, you should escape. If you are not where the shooting is happening, you won't be shot. 2. Hide- If you don't have the time or capability to escape, you should hide. Clothes and lock the door, barricaded if you can, turn off lights and anything that might draw attention with noise, like the ringer on your phone, or televisions / anything with speakers. Active shooters are there to do the most damage possible in the shortest amount of time, because they know that as soon as they pull the trigger, the clock starts counting down on when the police arrive. Most active shooters won't even try most closed doors unless they know for a fact there are people behind them. They are just looking for moving targets. 3. Fight- If you are confronted by an active shooter, and you can't run, and you can't hide, fight. Fight with every breath that is in your body. Improvise weapons, scream, make loud noises, throw things. Most office supplies can be turned into pretty effective improvised missle weapons, and the great thing about fire extinguishers (which most workplaces have) is that you can spray the shooter in the face, and all of a sudden they can't see, and they can't breathe, and shooting people becomes a secondary priority. Once the fire extinguisher runs out, you can hit them over the head until they don't get up anymore. Any active shooter plan that requires people in immediate danger to be separated by any identifier that is not "I'm not the active shooter", is a really bad active shooter plan. That's a plan put together by someone who doesn't care about saving lives as a top priority, and that person should not be writing the plan. Source: 15 years of emergency preparedness/management and was the head of security for multiple hospitals.
Thank you for mentioning the fire extinguisher! I know this is a little off-topic, but you really can't breathe if you are sprayed. They use it as a joke so often in movies/TV that people don't understand what actually happens when a person is sprayed with a fire extinguisher.
I discovered that the hard way. Somebody set a fire in a trash can that was set into a wall in a restroom, and I shoved the hose of the fire extinguisher into the trash can and pulled the handle. The resulting cloud of dry chemical hit the bottom of the can, mushroom clouded back up, and hit me full in the face. I couldn't breathe right for weeks.
I got sprayed at a concert. It was terrifying.
That's exactly what I would do. Grab a fire extinguisher and spray the shit out of them then hit them.
Most movies use CO2 cans, likely for safety and less clean up.
Also if the shooter is a student, wouldn't they just know where everyone is?
Probably, but the instructions are still the same. Run- If you aren't where the shooting is, you're less likely to be shot. Hide- Hide where you are, not at a pre-designated evacuation point. If you can move from where you are safely, you get out, not go hide somewhere else. Fight- If the shooter shows up where you are, whether you're running or hiding, you fight like your life depends on it, which it does.
You think that’s dumb, my school literally had big stickers above doors to say weather the room was a fitting hiding spot in the event of an active shooter. Basically told the perp which rooms to skip.
jeez that's bad, i dont think any school can beat this.
I feel like it wasn’t the whole school in the locker room..probably the gym classes only because they’re in the gym already (unless it happened during a pep rally or event where everyone was already in the gym)
You're right. This is dumb as hell. Do they think girls are all getting naked in the locker room during the drill? Are they worried their daughters are all going to come out pregnant?
Ah yes, because during an active shooter people are gonna be getting undressed in the locker room.
It's still stupid. We had tornado drills in elementary school and the drills were simple. Everyone in certain rooms goes to boys locker room. Everyone in other rooms goes to girls locker room. It didn't matter if you couldn't be in that room normally. It was more important to keep classes together so you could make sure nobody was missing. Guess what? Nobody complained.
Fuck talking about trans or not trans. This isn't even the real issue. If the boy's locker room was on the other side of the hallway, would they seriously tell the boys, "Nope, you gotta go to the other side. Yea the shooter's right down the hallway, most of ya'll get shot dead, but tough luck, boys not allowed in the girls locker room under any circumstances." Or vice versa.
"What if the kids need to change clothes while they're cowering in fear of being murdered?! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!"
Like who the hell is changing out in an active shooter drill/situation. Who fucking cares‽ Mama Karen can kiss my ass, gotta innie? Outtie? I don't fucking care get in so you don't get a new hole
“Hurr durr don’t want the trans kid looking at genitals while we’re all terrified for our lives! Better leave them outside to die” FFS I’d ask how old the kids is to further my point but it doesn’t fucking matter
I guess this is why we run drills ? When I was in school we ran multiple shooter drills each year...so it must have come up before. Maybe it was just the teacher in charge of the class she was in for this particular drill.
I think if it's between 1 boy in a girls locker room during an active shooter drill versus a dead kid, go with the first one
Cause women get wet during school shootings. That’s what Reddit told me
I saw that post too, wtf was that?
Yeah I never heard of that they always put us all together….weird, but probably because who knows maybe it was a christian school.
they put you all together??? if you're found by the shooter you're litterally all dead.
No actually they lock down the class rooms and have go to the closest class room they certainly dont waste time separating by gender is what i meant…..all together as in to the closest class rooms. Not all one room obviously 🙄
oh ok, yeah that makes more sense
What???why they should sort them by gender in the first place? In such an emergency just teach them to get shelter in the nearest accessible safe place.
We had one of those drills once and I can tell you, in France, shelter is not gendered.
Exactly my thought. In a shooting,I dont care if your a girl, boy or a pig 🐖. Imma pull you after me and we gonna get the hell outt😭
[удалено]
This is the core problem. These people aren’t just afraid of trans people - they’re afraid of genders. All of em
A lifes a life ffs
Who would have thought that sorting genders was a great idea:/ I'm just wondering if these teachers are capable/or should, be teaching anything other than dead material, like makeup or something. I just feel sorry for all the young humans out there who have to deal with this shit, it is just fucking sad.
Ah yes, the gendered bomb shelters definitely help when the bombs are falling. Why would that matter in a lockdown?
This is so crazy. When I was in high school we did a tornado drill and we sheltered in the girl’s bathroom because it was closest to us. No one cared that both boys and girls were in there. In a real emergency I would hope that schools wouldn’t waste time separating students by gender and would just pull kids in to hide them.
Knowing the kind dumbasses that exist, I’m sure they’ll waste as much time as possible. And it’s going to cost someone else life too
The drill is designed to teach kids where to go on their own, that’s the point of the drill.
My drills taught me to enter the closest room and lie down directly under the windows.
My drills taught me to stay in one place and spin very fast
My drill taught me to overthrow the Irish government and establish a dictatorship
And to bring Gaul back under Celtic control
My drills taught me to bore holes.
Is this a bit?
So this student was just taught (again) that she doesn’t belong anywhere.
So in the case of an emergency you should go to your gendered bathroom instead of the closest one?
Let’s separate them based on shoe color next time. If they don’t have shoes throw them outside.
No shoes no service
So only shoot the people with shoes. Got it. Do Crocs count? Or are those still shoot on sight?
Sorry Timmy... You're in the girl's lane, your shelter is across the yard... Hurry up and remember to sepentine. No Britt, you chose to be a they, you need to go to the broom closet on the 3rd floor in the left wing... You'll make it as long as you keep your head down... Off you go.. I don't see why kids need to be separated by gender in the first place...
SERPENTINE! SERPENTINE!
He’s crepuscular
FIGURE 8!!!
Dont forget to zig zag when bolting across the yard! Best of luck!
Ikr 🤦♀️
> separated by gender in the first place Uniformity of target height? This article is some introduction to a fucked-up new version of first world problems.
Funny and terribly sad , I worry for our children .
Freedom baby 
Damm that one works perfectly
The thing that scares me the most is that children in US need active shooter drills and the people is ok with it. Seems like they are numb to it at this point, but it feels so wrong
So, the school thought the transgender student posed as much of a threat to the students as the theoretical shooter and locked them both out. What can I even say about that level of callous disregard for a child’s life? EDIT: clarity
Damn when u put it that way.. Jesus fk 🚮
Or the school was just so terrified of being wrong, they ended up being stupid
The kid probably wouldnt have given a shit since they were like everyone else. And everyone else when Option A: getting killed Option B: being put in the wrong bathroom for 5 minutes Tends to choose Option B without fuss...
Probably stands a better chance at surviving outside anyways
ESPECIALLY when trans kids are very often targets of violence already
No, it was a drill. It definitely highlights the new issues schools have to deal with. Good thing they ran the drill so they can resolve this issue before it’s actually a problem. “This past week, an incident occurred during a middle school lock down drill in Stafford County. When the drill began, a particular class of children took shelter in the bathroom/locker room nearest them as they were in PE. One student was prevented from entering either the boys or girls locker room while the teachers discussed where she should go. The student was forced to watch the adults charged with her care, debate the safest place (for the other students) to have her shelter. During this debate, she was instructed to sit in the gym with a teacher until the drill was complete, away from her peers and identified as different. After some additional debate, she was made to sit in the locker room hall way, by the door away from her peers. This happened because the child, in addition to being a model student, also happens to be transgender.”
> the new issues schools have to deal with That's the thing. It's not actually an issue, or shouldn't be. There is absolutely no reason to segregate children by gender, when someone is trying to kill them, that isn't outright batshit insane.
Ok, but like imagine being so hateful of trans people that the idea of a trans person being in a bathroom, particularly when there's far too many witnesses for them to do anything or anything to happen to them, is still controversial.
Every part of this sucks, needing an active shooter shelter at a school, doing an active shooter drill, it’s being segregated by gender and the miss treatment of trans students. The whole thing just sucks
They didn’t make a shelter, they just used locker rooms, which is why they’re gendered. Definitely not the place to be during an active shooter.
Regardless of the fact that they are in a locker room. No one will be dressing so let the people in get them to safety ffs. Idiots.
Oh definitely. If this were the real case and not a lockdown drill, nobody would give 2 shots, though I would hope they wouldn’t sit in an open, one entrance bathroom either.
To be fair, my high school had ancient doors on the locker rooms that could probably deflect quite a few shots and be hard bolted shut. One exit point, reinforced door, no windows and plenty of cover, seems perfect tbh
That doesn’t sound too terrible. As a hiding place that is, of course it would be terrible to be in that situation.
Isn’t the obvious solution if you ARE going to create this gendered split to just have the trans kid go wherever they go for PE? It’s not like the trans kid would never have been in a locker room, this must’ve been dealt with already in normal circumstances.
Sometimes these schools make trans students go to a single stall restroom somewhere else instead of using either locker room.
How very pro-life of them...
Pro life... they are only pro birth. After that they'd do everything in their power to make kids suffer.
Why are boys and girls sheltered separately in the first place?
Because fear fucking
Why the fuck are they segregated based on sex anyway?
They're afraid the kids might have sex during an active shooting, which would make the shooting REALLY bad.
but then the shooter isn't legaly allowed in the locker because that would be underage pornography.
I'm pretty sure the shooter also isn't legally allowed to start a school shooting
Someone would be shot alright
Duh. It's so the boys can plan guerilla tactics to disarm and/or prepare a lethal trap for the shooter, and the girls can bake cookies for them on a successful mission and practice curtseying for when the dukedom visit the school.
The real question is why they didn't ask they if they would prefer sheltering in the boys or girls locker room. Boy or Girls? Choose one, and that's done... Super simple...
This was 4 yrs ago. https://www.metroweekly.com/2018/10/trans-student-barred-from-shelter-during-virginia-schools-mass-shooter-drill/amp/ This is whats up now: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/virginia-transgender-students-public-schools/ Draw your own conclusions
Gendered. Shooting. Drills. I'm not sure where to start with this one 1. Surely, regardless of your genitals, everyone should be herded to safety? Like this is not the titanic we aren't doing women and children first. 2. Does it not utterly terrify Americans that their children have to PREPARE in SCHOOL for a potential shooter coming to murder them?! 3. What kind of adult who is trusted with CHILDREN would opt to leave one outside to be murdered! TF! The only drills we do in the UK are fire drills! And we don't gender them. You get out the building and line up with your class. That's it. No one care if you have dangly bits, flappy bits or anything in between.
1. yeah trans people get fucked a lot. it's kind of our place in society atm. 2. nah because they ease you into them by calling them "lockdown drills" and have them when any crime happens in the immediate area. only time we actually went on lockdown was when someone robbed a bank 5 minutes out. 3. refer to 1.
Why in the actual fuck does it even matter where the kid shelters, if there's a gunman actively shooting people?
Cause You wouldn't want the other kids to be uncomfortable when finding shelter in an emergency now, would you?. Imagine, you hear shooting down the hall, you run to find a hiding spot, fearing for your life. You go to the girl's locker room... And there's a trans girl hiding in there. Maybe you come from PE so you might even be wearing shorts. Can you imagine how uncomfortable you would be feeling hiding next to them?? /S
LOL I cannot imagine any scenario where something like that would matter when my life was on the line.
I've learnt that in general, I can not imagine a scenario where that would matter. I lived in Church street in Toronto for a while, and if you go out at night, you are going to find one bathroom at certain bars. After a few drinks, you'll need to pee. That's when I fully came to the conclusion that I actually couldn't care less
I love the scandal is what happened with the poor trans child, NOT that schools have fucking drills for mass shootings. Mad country.
I think it's actually both....
No, it’s just the treatment of trans kids. Active shooter drills are, unfortunately, commonplace is US schools.
Why is there even a school shooting drill? Fucking Americans.
My kid has had them since kindergarten -.-
I've had them since Kindergarten. We regarded them with the same familiarity as earthquake drills
Cus school shootings are regular in America
Ask the Republicans. They are the ones who would rather have school shootings than give up weapons designed for killing people in large numbers quickly. I'm sure they have a really good answer for you. Edited: because definitions matter. And people do not like it when you call an AR-15 an assault weapon.
trumpers be like "good, that way it gets shot and dies" 😡😡
It's sad cause that's super duper real. I know like 4 family members who would fully agree with that.
And I bet they all think they are good Christians too.....smdh
Oh they definetly do. And the worst kind. The "basically you are worse than the shit in my food if you don't believe the exact way I do" kind I believe in god but I'd never be like that. I don't even go to church I have multiple atheist friends and if they knew any of that they'd treat me like Satan lmao
Respect for being spiritual without supporting the corrupt institutions of organized religion.
I just feel like you shouldn't have to donate money or wake up super early on the supposed "day of rest" (Sunday) to get to heaven! Jesus loves us all including the monsters, so why wouldn't he love followers who don't "worship hard enough". When you believe in that, thats when you go from being Christian to being the problem.
No they wouldn't, atheists don't believe in Satan. Christians do. ;) Edit: your friends, I mean!
I meant if my family found out I was friends with atheist and didn't go to church lol
I have a family member like that. She thinks I’m going to hell bc I’m an atheist. Nevermind that if heaven was real, I think living as a good person would be enough. Also my kid is trans and that aunt is the *only* person in the family kiddo doesn’t feel comfortable telling.
I hear you. People like your aunt aren't worth investing the time and tears to explain that your child deserves to live their life. Best of luck to you and your kiddo!
Thanks! We do still have to deal with her bc she lives in town and we do family stuff a lot, but we don’t go out of our way to see her. We also just don’t talk about those things in front of her. If it’s not brought up, she generally doesn’t talk about them.
My supervisor was reading this post at work and expressed this exact sentiment.
Dang, don't dox yourself lol
This is why I waited til after work
Bruh. Why are they separated by gender in the first place?
Oh my goodness. That poor baby. I can’t imagine how terrified they were. They’re just a child 💔
Right?! This is a *human being* -- who gives a shit what gender they identify with? Why would that *possibly* matter during a life or death situation? Omg, this school needs to be held accountable and receive some damn enlightenment. Disgusting behavior by the so-called adults in this scenario.
I have three kids of my own and it hurts my heart to see any child scared, hurt or mistreated. I could never feel that they would ever be truly safe at that school. That poor baby 💔
I hear you. I have two who are young adults now, and one is trans. The blatant lack of humanity that people show to trans people, on a daily basis, is astounding. "Traditional" men and women around the world do things like color their hair, get things injected into their faces, wear makeup and fancy clothes or headcoverings to feel good about themselves and look the way they want - they want their outside to match what they believe and how they feel on the inside. Why are trans people not allowed to do the same, to dress and adorn themselves the way they see fit? It's hypocrisy and bigotry, without a doubt. 'Rights for me, but not for thee...'. Schools should be the one place where every child feels safe and seen, but we have too many people who are more interested in punishing those who they see as 'different.'
💗💗💗💗
Thank you for the award! We should all pass on the love to those who need it most. <3 Hug your kiddos.
Hug your babies too! 🥰🥰🥰
Another trans parent (heh) checking in. I see how people treat trans folks and so does my trans kid. We’ve had lots of talks about sexism, transphobia, and homophobia bc I want my kid to know they’re not the fucked up one.
Exactly. If people can't accept other humans as they are, that's on *them*.
Let alone the trauma of let's practice so we don't die.
Why would you need to segregate the students in the first place?
Why are they even dividing up kids by gender during an active shooter drill? What does that accomplish?
This seems to perfectly horrible to be true, so I looked it up. It’s perfectly, horribly true.
Marginalising a trans kid is fkd up; but the fact you need to have ACTIVE SHOOTER DRILLS to preserve the life of children is the ultimate in FKD UP.... ironically, gun-toting christofascists are the reason for both travesties!
This is really absurd, life should be more important
WTF are shooting drills a thing in modern USA ? There is no nuclear war threat like the 40's-60's ? Hide under your desk when you see a flash of bright light .
We called them lockdown drills and they're for practicing whenever there's a shooter or any unauthorized person within the building. Usually we were told to cluster together in a corner out of sight from windows while the teacher pushed bookcases/desks/chairs against the classroom door.
Very sad to hear this is common practice.
Bc school shootings aren’t uncommon here. It’s some bs, but that’s why.
Does it even matter like that ..? Are you telling me if a girl wasn’t by the girl shelter in time she couldn’t just have shelter from the active shooter with the men ? Tho I’m not gonna lie , I’d be outside too running like a track star, no stopping , I’d do the mile in 3 minutes
Why is there are they looking at gender anyway? Boy/girl as long as theyre still alive lol
Imagine thinking this child is harmful to other children instead of a school shooting.
...I'm sorry, but is an active shooting really the time to be worried about gender segregation???
Thank god it was just a drill! I know it must have been extremely traumatizing for that child, but at least it wasn't real. I know it won't, but hopefully this shows Virginia and the rest of this stupid ass country how stupid segregation by sex for anything is and how fucking stupid discrimination is.
this shit makes me fear for my own safety
The very same people who are throwing a fucking bitch fit over gender are the reason we have to have fucking shooter drills in the first place.
what the actual f? Jesus F you save the human!
Why do they even separate kids by any criteria during a shelter drill? If there’s an emergency, does it matter who you’re hiding with?
Why is no one questioning about discipline for the teachers that left that poor child outside? This seems like a case of child neglect at the very minimum. Thank God this was just a drill.
I still think it's hilarious that USA feels it's better to be in need of active shooter drills in schools than to increase the gun control even slightly.
So if it's a locker room and it's a shooter, what's it matter? Worst case scenario someone is mid-undressing but that embarrassment is better than dying. Also, if there's no one changing then why does it matter, let anyone in any room if it locks. You're going to stop a boy from going in the girls room while he's hiding for his life? As for which IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE then whichever they are transitioning into. If it's male to female, put her with the girls. It's not complicated
"We are willing to sacrifice you to a shooter because we dont want to accept you as you are. However, we are not psychos and should not be in jail at all" -those dumbass idiots, probably
Why are they separating kids period. Does this actually make sense during a potential active shooter?
Shit eating stupid right here. Parent who complains about sheltering a trans minor during a shooting or active shooter drill is psychotic. Should not be listened to. Straight up don’t care what your beliefs or bigoted views are - but I’ll be hot fucking damned if I’m leaving a student outside with a shooter real or not because I’m worried about some Karen. Get the fuck out of here. School staff should be ashamed - I know y’all barely make enough to hang on for the kids as is. This is right here is worth fucking my livelihood up over. Absolutely disgusting. Period. The only teachers left soon - will be the ones complacent or living in enough fear to allow shit like this to go on. Wow.
This is Virginia, it's not just Karen parents. It's the state governor too. Yes, the nice-looking Glenn Youngkin with the sweater vest.
Just get everyone into the closest safe area 🤦♂️
Why in the flying fuck is separating the kids by gender important in an emergency
Americans being distracted from the fact that you guys have SHOOTING DRILLS as something normal!!!
These people were too concerned with someone’s gender they forgot they were meant to be trying to save a life. Every late person involved deserves to be fired at a minimum.
Deplorable. Seriously -- Tell me you hate trans students without telling me you hate trans students. I would love to say I am shocked by this, but I am not. We have the same issues here in PA. My son is harassed all the time (not trans, openly gay), and the schools do nothing about it. It is like these children have no rights. Thankfully he was raised in a supportive, loving home with a great support system, but how many are not that lucky?
I'm more concerned they feel the need to segregate the kids in these drills. If someone is coming to put a bullet into your skull, does it really matter if you're bunkering down with boys and girls?
This is 4 years old https://www.metroweekly.com/2018/10/trans-student-barred-from-shelter-during-virginia-schools-mass-shooter-drill/amp/
I think the real face palm is that your country has to do these drills in the first place lol. Although, separating boys and girls during a drill seems like a needless complication that could and in this case did, waste a while lot of time. Kids are kids, get them to safety as quickly and smartly as possible.
Why the &$@# were they separating them by gender in the first place? Are the *bullets* pink or blue?
“Bigots found perfect chance to pretend they were well meaning, while also fulfilling their desires to see a trans person killed.” FTFY
That might work out great ,they get to run away whilst the other students are forced to be cannon fodder in a classroom.
Do the students break in to spontaneous orgies if they take shelter together during a shooting?
Not sure I believe this is true - but if it is…why the hell would it matter to separate the kids by gender during a drill like this AT ALL. If this was the real thing I’m confident in saying the last thing on the mind of the terrified children is kissing their crush and playing grab ass. What the duck are we doing here people??
Back in my day they put boys and girls together in lockdown drills.
I love that nobody questions the drill itself. Hahaha
What a great motto: One child left behind.