Via the NYT, this seems like it could be a big fucking deal:
LOS ANGELES — Public schools were abruptly shut down and students were sent home on Tuesday after the police here received what officials described as a credible bomb threat.
Ramon C. Cortines, the superintendent of schools, said he would keep schools closed until the police had searched buildings to make sure the campuses were safe. Buses that had taken children to school early this morning were turned around and sent back. The threat was received electronically.
The district, the second largest in the nation, has 640,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade at more than 900 schools and 187 charter schools.
The action came as the region remains on edge after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino less than two weeks ago that left 14 people dead and 22 wounded. Over the past two weeks, there have been a number of bomb threats. This one, Mr. Cortines said, raised more concerns.
“A threat had been made to not one school but many schools in this district,” he said. “Some of the details talked about backpacks and other packages. After talking with him, also with the board president, I made a decision to close all of the schools.”
It’s probably a fake threat from some dumbass kid who wanted to avoid taking an exam. And if so, boy, is that kid gonna to wish he’d just studied for the fucking test once the authorities get through with his ass.
But for now, at least, the big fucking deal part isn’t what is going on in LA — it’s how we’re going to choose to respond to this sort of thing going forward. Are we going to ‘keep calm and carry on” or shit ourselves in fear? The preliminary data doesn’t look good.
In the LA schools case, I obviously don’t know the particulars, so I’m not saying shutting down the schools was the wrong thing to do. I’m a parent; I wouldn’t want MY kid at school if there was a “credible” threat. I sympathize with administrators who have to make these decisions and understand their wanting to err on the side of caution.
However, what are we going to do if al-Baghdadi, leader of Daesh-ISIS-ISIL, decides to open a Ministry of Ooga-Booga to tweet bomb threats to US school systems on a weekly basis? Or the NY Stock Exchange or Capitol Building in DC? Or malls in flyover country?
Given our media and political environment, I’m not optimistic that our fellow citizens will handle threats real or imagined with courage and grace. What do you think?
Bomb Threat Shuts Down All Public Schools in Los AngelesPost + Comments (142)