School shootings: Forget gun control; arm sheepdogs to protect young herd; destroy wolves

Another instance of a mass slaughter of three unprotected children in a school has taken place. By the way, the school is a gun-free zone. Feel any better?

In the movie,"American Sniper," in an early scene set at the dinner table, Chris Kyle’s father tells him there are three kinds of people in the world: “wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs.”

The sheepdog speech comes from Lt. Col. David Grossman’s book, "On Combat," published in 2004.

Grossman writes:

"If you have no capacity for violence, then you are a healthy, productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath — a wolf. But, what if you have a capacity for violence and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, protecting the sheep from the wolf."

As a former New York City police officer, it's remarkable to me, that in all the recent and previous slaughter of children (the sheep) in schools by one shooter (the wolf), there was no sheepdog (an armed officer or civilian) to stop him.

Not one teacher, not one employee of those schools, was equipped to kill the wolf. Not the three staff members who were slaughtered. Not the three children in the school. Not even for self-defense. Like sheep.

On average, slaughters like this take about 5 minutes. The average police response is 11 minutes, but by the time the police arrive, the real slaughter is done ... it's too late. And, it could be your child you sent to school that morning who's dead. You could wonder of the child's last words or thoughts ... "Mommy?" "Daddy?"

Just put yourself in the position of those helpless three children and three educators in those first 5 minutes of horror. You would be hoping for a gun or a sheepdog.

In Grossman’s telling, the wolves will do anything they can to hurt sheep. Grossman makes it clear that, no matter how much society fears its sheepdog, protectors carrying guns, the sheep need their sheepdogs.

I say, never mind those, "feel good" schools that proudly proclaim, "This is a gun-free zone." Get over it!  That stops no one with evil intentions and a killing attitude. It should read, "We're armed to the teeth and will fight back."

It's time parents and teachers recognize there are wolves in the world. We need more sheepdogs (non-uniformed, armed staff) in schools to kill the (shooter) wolf when he strikes, and not to wait for the police to arrive.

Those children, like others before them, were not killed; they were slaughtered. You get killed in an auto accident, or when a plane drops from the sky or a building falls on you.

All too often, there are no sheepdogs present when these mass shootings occur. In the case just before I wrote this, the Nashville police were right on top of it and aggressively hunted down the killer. Still, six were slaughtered before they arrived. Three adults and three children.

We need more sheepdogs to act within the first 5 minutes of an attack.

Our politicians and president talk  of more gun control. What we need is more guns in the school so when someone shoots out a glass door to gain entry, those with the guns take up an attack position.

Let the wolf beware!

Jim Grant  Jensen Beach, was a New York City police officer for 24 years, including 10 years in the homicide department.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Nashville shooting: No gun control; arm sheepdogs to take out wolves