Orléans Weekly Journal
Published: Friday, November 23, 2007 Lockdown fears reflect today's chilling new reality ATTENTION: LOCKDOWN, LOCKDOWN, LOCKDOWN. Understandably, these four words would send chills up the spines of students and parents alike. Sadly, they are a reflection of the sometimes tragic and violent society in which we live. Think École Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989, think Dunblane, Scotland in 1996, think Columbine, Colorado in 1999. In April of this year, 33 students tragically lost their lives at Virginia Tech and just two weeks ago an 18-year-old took nine lives in Tuusula, Finland (50 km north of Helsinki). Closer to home, these four words have rang over the intercom of too many Ottawa-area schools since late September. And I have no sympathy for the students who will be charged for their criminal mischief. These false lockdowns are not funny; the kids who are charged and convicted should also be expelled from their schools and either they and/or their parents should pay substantial fines back to the city to defer some, if not all of the costs of emergency response. The saddest part and what has brought this issue home for me is that these four words echoed through my son’s primary school this past Monday. Fortunately and thankfully, it was a drill. And the school communicated with parents late last week to let us know in advance what was happening. Both before and after the drill, we engaged in an encompassing dinner conversation about life, violence, and what you do in a lockdown. I have no doubt that this scene was repeated in households across our community. It was also one of those moments in your life where you realize that you truly have become like your parents when you yearn for simpler times. As a student the only drills we ever did were fire drills and we all dreaded that once a year winter fire drill. But today’s lockdown drill is a separate and chilling reality. From staying away from windows to being totally silent to closing windows, lights and hiding in safe places, this is a frightening prospect for our kids, whether they are eight or 18 years of age. And lockdown only ends when the police, not the principal, but the police open your classroom door and tell you it is safe or move you to safety. The lockdown drill is a sobering reminder to all of us that our world is indeed, at times, a very dangerous place. Yet there is reassurance in knowing that our school system and the authorities are working hand in hand to keep our kids safe. And of course, we hope and pray that a real and dangerous lockdown tragedy never occurs here. No parent should have to bury a child and if the rest of the world never hears of Orléans, Ontario, Canada like we know of Dunblane, Columbine, and Tuusula, that’s just fine with me. Do you think I’m right? Send a comment to orleansouttakes@transcontinental.ca and let me know your opinion. = = = = = Walter Robinson is the former chief of staff to Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien and a proud Orléans resident. |