In a poignant video released by March For Our Lives, a youth-led organization advocating against gun violence, a young girl named Mia guides a group of adults through the chilling realities of active shooter drills. This initiative aims to support the passage of Senate Resolution 42, the Background Check Expansion Act, which seeks to eliminate dangerous loopholes in gun sales, potentially reducing the necessity for children to practice survival techniques at school.
The video, titled “Generation Lockdown,” starkly illuminates the absurdity of children, some as young as four, participating in these drills. Mia, likely in fourth or fifth grade, is introduced as an “expert” on active shooter protocols, instantly capturing the audience’s attention. The adults expect a seasoned professional, perhaps law enforcement or military personnel, but instead, they hear from a child who shares her knowledge with unnerving calmness.
“If there was an active shooter, you’d all be dead,” Mia states bluntly, causing an uncomfortable silence among the adults. She explains how to remain silent and hidden, emphasizing the importance of not revealing one’s position. “Sometimes we play a game called ‘who can stay quiet the longest’ to help us remember,” she says, her casual tone reflecting the grim reality faced by 95 percent of public school students across the U.S.
Mia continues, detailing strategies for barricading doors with furniture and covering windows to obscure visibility. “You can’t cry; it gives away your position,” she advises, a statement more fitting for a tactical trainer than an elementary school kid.
In a disquieting manner, she mentions hiding in bathrooms by standing on toilet seats to avoid detection. Mia shares that while they hide, they must also remain vigilant for any sounds that may indicate the shooter’s location. “If you hear a lot of bangs, the shooter might be down the hall. If you hear fewer, louder bangs, they could be right outside your door,” she explains.
The gravity of her words continues as she states that if the shooter enters, simply screaming won’t help. “You have to fight back if you can’t escape,” she asserts, detailing an emergency escape plan involving breaking a window to flee.
Mia concludes with a song learned in school designed to help students remember the lockdown procedures. “Lockdown, lockdown, let’s all hide. Lock the doors and stay inside…” she sings, a haunting reminder of the normalization of such drills in their young lives.
For parents who haven’t experienced their children casually recounting these drills, this video may seem exaggerated. However, as the parent of a sixth grader who has participated in active shooter drills since the Sandy Hook tragedy, I can attest to the reality. My child has echoed Mia’s tips over the years, demonstrating how ingrained these survival strategies have become.
Reflecting on my own childhood, where fire drills induced anxiety, it’s shocking to consider that today’s children are trained to listen for a shooter’s cues and suppress their fears. My son, during his first-grade year, proudly mentioned being the “kid who stood on the toilet” during drills, unaware of the serious implications behind these exercises. While treats like lollipops are given to encourage quietness, they serve a more profound purpose in preparing the youngest students for potential real-life scenarios.
Feeling uneasy yet? The goal of March For Our Lives is to mobilize action. “Instead of passing laws to prevent guns from falling into dangerous hands, politicians have forced millions of kids to become experts in survival,” they state. Their mission is to amplify noise for gun reform to ensure the safety of children against gun violence.
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In summary, the March For Our Lives video featuring young Mia serves as a harrowing reminder of the normalization of active shooter drills in schools. It challenges us to confront the reality that our children are being trained to navigate life-threatening situations rather than enjoying a carefree childhood. The organization calls for legislative change to protect children from the threat of gun violence, urging us all to take action.
Keyphrase: Active shooter drills in schools
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