In the world's worst edition of misheard lyrics, we have a school receptionist and one of the most famous television theme songs of all time.
Last Thursday in Beaver County, Penn., a receptionist at a local eye doctor's office called 19-year-old Travis Clawson to remind him of his appointment. When she was connected to his voicemail, terror ensued and police were contacted. A quick confirmation turned into a district-wide terror as schools across the county were sent into lockdown for a half hour until Clawson was located, who was then detained for three hours.
What deadly and dangerous message could have possibly sent the town into such disarray? A recording of Clawson singing Will Smith's "Fresh Prince of Bel Air."
When the receptionist called Clawson and heard his rendition of a song that could easily be on the American citizenship test, she didn't hear the lyric as "Shooting some b-ball outside of the school;" she heard "Shooting some people outside of the school."
An isolated incident would be ridiculous enough, but there have been a slew of post-Newtown reports in the last two months. A 6-year-old in Maryland who made a gun gesture at a classmate with his hand and said "pow," a couple of first-graders in the same state playing cops and robbers and a Philadelphia fifth grader carrying a piece of paper that resembled a gun were all suspended. These three incidents are just part of a long line.
Since the Dec. 14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which resulted in the death of 20 children and seven adults, the country has been in a state of constant caution. Immediately following, school security and firearms reform became a focal point in politics. Our own state of New York was the first to push for and pass tougher gun laws when Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed NY SAFE into law on Jan. 15 with stricter national restrictions following soon after. These cautious but smart moves have been vital to make sure those children and teachers didn't die in vain.
But there's a difference between being cautious and being paranoid, and as a country, we have made that dangerous transition.
Cities like Detroit and Chicago, which set a new homicide record in January as the rate continues to rise (535 people were murdered in Chicago last year, up from 433 the year before), get the attention for being constantly violent, but rural Newtown, Conn. triggered a wave of panic and brought a very controversial, personal and heated argument into the national spotlight.
Where there are children involved, it's a new situation, a whole new level of alertness. Each school is looking at one another to see what its next move should be. Each parent is questioning if his or her child is safe, and each teacher is wondering what he or she needs to do to protect those children. How should a situation like a potential threat be handled? How should the student or students be dealt with?
Fear drives society. We need to believe we and the people around us are safe, and it causes some people to report the smallest incidents the same way it causes others to buy guns. That same concept of fear drives people to act irrationally during that moment of vulnerability, passing more fear off onto the next person.
The children who actually understand the magnitude of the tragedy are few and far between, however. Look back to a tragedy from when you were younger (Sept. 11, 2001 is a good place to start if you're in the 18-25 age group) and recall your actual comprehension of the subject. Most of these cases have been young children, and by pulling them out of school for every possible episode, what is that teaching them? Nothing - it's confusing them if you're not explaining anything to them.
If you're that worried as parents or teachers or concerned townies, then do what you're supposed to be doing, whether that means drills, meetings, lessons, whatever, instead of overcompensating every time some 6-year-old plays with a water pistol.
What happened at Sandy Hook could happen anywhere - from a church in Fort Worth, Texas to a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. But if we live with the mentality that every little joke or every possible situation could end in catastrophe, then we are only going to go backward.
Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com
