Tears and Laughter: Never take a non-lethal weapon to a gunfight 

It is unfortunate that school shootings, while still rare, have become common enough that schools are discussing which weapons to give to whom. 

Autauga County Schools could become the first school system in the state to provide non-lethal weapons in classrooms. The weapons would include pepper spray, collapsible batons, and Flexi-cuffs.  

I guess the plan would be to use the pepper spray to throw the attacker off balance, bonk them firmly on the head with the baton, and then handcuff them with a Flexi-cuff until the authorities arrive. 

I like it. 

In theory. 

It’s the same way you fight a wasp. Except generally we stomp the wasp to death. Do we owe a would-be school shooter any more compassion than we do the average insect? 

Who came up with the idea of non-lethal weapons? It sounds good, and it is very politically correct, but in what circumstance exactly would one need a non-lethal weapon? A weapon’s purpose is to protect. Whatever happened to the old adage, “never take a knife to a gunfight?” 

There are two types of people in this world – those who are comfortable with guns, and those who are scared to touch them. 

If you live in a rural area, you learn not to fear guns. Children grow up being taught to respect them and how to use them. Shotguns are still kept in certain corners of many country people’s houses. In the Black Belt, there are hen houses to protect, cattle to be kept safe from coyotes, and wild hogs that have to be controlled. Boys are gifted guns before they are old enough to hold them, 

Men promise guns that their granddaddies left to them, to grandsons who haven’t even been born yet. Guns are linked back to survival. If a man – or woman – had a gun, they could eat and they could defend their family.  

A gun is still the great equalizer. A 120 pound woman can take on a 300 pound man effortlessly with most any loaded, cocked, and aimed firearm – if need be. 

It is an agreement you just have to make with yourself. Set your boundaries, and hold your ground. If someone chooses to enter your home – or your classroom – and they are wielding a gun, shoot them, and take it up with the law and the Lord later. 

Someone has to be prepared to protect students. 

That’s where we are. 

And we have to accept that if a gunman enters a school…they aren’t there to rob the place. There is no room for compromise.  

Who is going to protect the students? 

The children? Yet we are going to provide them with non-lethal weapons. We are going to equip them with no possible chance of winning. 

Who the hell is running the show? 

 Amanda Walker is a blogger and contributor with AL.com, The Thomasville Times, West Alabama Watchman, and Wilcox Progressive Era. Contact her at walkerworld77@msn.com or at https://www.facebook.com/AmandaWalker.Columnist