So, where are we?  Now that the first 24 hours of rumors and false reports have passed regarding the terrible events in Uvalde, we're facing a new reality: it appears (although is also still not confirmed) that the school was completely vulnerable and that the police bent their energy to keeping parents out rather than on rescuing the children.  If that is indeed what happened, there are some important takeaways moving into the future.

Now we know:

(1) The killer did not exchange fire with the school's armed school resource officer because there was no armed school resource officer.

(2) The killer waltzed in through an unlocked door.

(3) Law enforcement dithered for an hour outside the school before finally moving in on the killer.

As is often the case, Tucker Carlson's opening monologue provides a helpful starting point:

Uvalde Massacre: we need to know exactly what happened. pic.twitter.com/MqGV44aoLs

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 27, 2022

What is the takeaway from this debacle?  The takeaway is that the safety of our children — just like their education — is too important to be left to the roaring incompetence of government!  Parents must take charge.  Mama Bears need to step up!  They are going to have to push aside the milquetoasts of local law enforcement and school boards and protect their children's lives.

This isn't rocket science.  Truly, there are only two choices.  Either abandon the public schools or make them bombproof.  There is nothing in between.  Eschewing both options only means more slaughter.

Among the policies that require close examination is the lockdown policy.  School districts all across the fruited plain, including community colleges, colleges, and universities, employ the lockdown at the drop of a hat.  Uvalde itself locked down 48 times in 2021 for a wide variety of reasons, none amounting to "active shooter."  What is the rationale for the lockdown?  How does a lockdown make children safe — or safer?

In Uvalde, the 19 children and 2 teachers killed were all killed in a single classroom.  Isn't a lockdown exactly what a killer would hope for?  Thanks to that rule, there were numerous victims collected in a classroom like peas in a pod awaiting his dispatch.  Would they not be safer screaming and running in all directions than sitting quietly in a classroom?

The children are at the mercy of the system.  Are they not entitled to believe that the institutions their parents send them to are safe?

It's Mama Bear Time.

Image: Tucker Carlson Twitter screen grab.