I Don't Even Know What To Say

Well, actually I do.  I saw this little gem pop up on MSN today: Man Stabs 28 Children.

Really?  I know that the mental health system is shaky at best in China and that they're blaming this recent rash of attacks on the mentally ill.  But really?  Attacking four year-olds?

The school officials have admitted that security could be improved.  You think?  A man walked into a kindergarten, slashed his way through a security guard and two teachers before carving up the kids.

Now, I know some of you are expecting me to jump on here and spout off that the teachers or security guards should have been armed.  After all, I am GunDiva.  But guess what?  I'm not going to.  I'm not sure that this could have/would have been prevented by an armed employee.  The attacker was subdued by a delivery man with a fire extinguisher.  Remember, that our best defense is our brain.  The delivery man used his brain and a handy weapon to subdue the attacker.

Anything - and I mean anything - can be used as a weapon.  We just need to open our eyes and our minds.  Just because the bad guys have a gun (or a knife) and we don't doesn't mean the battle is over, it just means we need to use our brains and be a little more inventive in our choice of defensive weapons.

I'm not trying to scare anyone by saying that anything can be used as a weapon; that's not my point at all.  We shouldn't be afraid because anything can be used as a weapon, we should be empowered!

And, wow, this post went in a totally different direction than I thought it would, but I'm not changing a thing about it.  I will, however, get to where I thought I was going.  One of the best gifts we can give our children is the gift of knowing that they can defend themselves no matter how small they are.  The confidence that they can do something about "bad guys" is the best gift we can give them.  The thing that broke my heart about this attack (besides the fact that some deranged madman attacked four year-olds) is that, by culture, Chinese children are obedient and subordinate.  Sometimes, it's good for children to be disobedient and insubordinate.

Of course, news like this is bound to make any parent anxious.  Heck, any news at all is bound to make parents anxious.  I am an unabashed fan of Gavin de Becker's work.  When Crazy B was stalking me (yes, I know we haven't gotten to that point yet), I found a lot of comfort in Mr. de Becker's work.  As my children became more independent and wanted to do things "all by themselves", I found comfort in Mr. de Becker's work.  Because of that, I'm going to give away a copy of THE GIFT OF FEAR and a copy of PROTECTING THE GIFT to two of our commenters.  Be sure to comment before midnight (MST) on Sunday, May 2nd to be eligible for the drawing.

Those of you who have read de Becker will think it's rather funny that I'm touting his books because he comes across as very anti-gun.  He's a man who carries a gun for a living and hires people who carry guns for living.  My interpretation (I've never had the opportunity to meet the man face-to-face) is that he's anti-gun in the respect that people buy guns to "protect themselves", but are not fully trained or mentally capable of taking another's life.  In that, I support him.  There is a definite mindset about carrying for protection, but we'll explore that at another time.