Attention: Tomorrow is allegedly "School Shooter Day"

I received this letter from my kids’ school earlier today… 

Dear School Community,

We are aware of national generic social media activity that threatens violence against schools on December 17. While the threats are not specific to any school or town, we have been in contact with the Ridgewood Police Department about this concern.  

The Ridgewood Police Department is monitoring the situation carefully and maintaining close contact with us. Out of an abundance of caution, they are increasing patrols in and around our schools. Messages such as this one are often posted to cause confusion and increase anxiety.  

While this activity has not been deemed a credible threat, the safety and security of our staff and students are always our top priority. We will continue to update the community should there be any further developments regarding this issue.

Respectfully,

XXXXXXXX

To be 100% honest, I didn’t pay the email any mind. It was wedged in between two other correspondences from the same source warning the high school seniors where they can and can’t park, so it was easy to just delete them all, en masse.

However, I was speaking to one of my oldest kid’s friends this evening and learned that her school was actually closed tomorrow as a precaution in front of what the kids are now calling December 17th: School Shooter Day. 

I Googled it, obviously, and then took to Twitter and TikTok because those are the only ways to become aware of what is going on nowadays, and, sure enough, news outlets in Maryland, New Jersey, Chicago, and LA were all echoing the same message… According to some anonymous sources on social media, bad shit is supposed to go down tomorrow in schools across the country. 

Now… I don’t want to treat this too lightly. Especially if a group of mental midgets decides to act upon this TikTok trend and do the unthinkable to the innocent. 

But I also can’t help but wonder… Is this really what we’ve become?

In less than a generation, we have gone from either pulling a fire alarm or faking a cold to get out of classes to starting a trending topic that trivializes a horrible tragedy?

I fucking weep for the generation that has to navigate shit like this because even though I am a strong-minded and strong-willed individual, I still have some pause as to sending my 3 liabilities to school tomorrow just in case something does go down and they literally get caught in the crossfire. 

You need to take a test to drive a car, and you’re urged to take a class before childbirth. But it’s shit like this… Nonsense that lives on the outside of any parenting manual… That tests my resolve as a father. 

And I pity the people who will have to decipher the next potentially deadly trend. 

Wish me luck, and stop having children.

Take a report. 

-Large