In one of the recent spat of mass shootings and killings across the Fifty States, we have the Michigan killings in Oxford High School. The 15-year-old shooter (still alive and bugging his jailers about how much press mention he is getting) killed three and wounded another 7 teens and a teacher. (A fourth student may have died later in hospital).

One of those is rightly hailed as a hero: 16-year-old Tate Myre, a football player, attacked the killer barehanded, in an attempt to stop the killer. While he did not stop him, it is reported that his brave action allowed many people to escape safely.

Horribly and sadly, Tate is like many, many other students. Not necessarily as brave or liked or photogenic. Not necessarily as smart or capable. And not without the sense of duty and love for his classmates. And not necessarily to the point of death.

Why is he like them? Because he was failed by people whom he should have been able to count on.

Tate should NOT have had to be the one person in all those hundreds of adults and teens who tried to stop the killer. He should NOT have had to attack the killer by himself, without any tools or training. He should NOT have been placed in a situation in a school that caused him to decide on his courageous action. But he was all of these things because people failed him.

Failed by whom? Their schools and governments, to start with. And the staffs of those organizations. Apparently (this being Michigan and near Detroit makes it worse) there were no armed persons in the school: no administrators, no support staff, no teachers. Maybe even no “school safety” police officers (which are increasingly NOT armed, anyway). And apparently they had no USEFUL plan on how to deal with violence, which is nearly always sudden. (I understand he kept shooting as he strolled down the hallways until the sheriff’s officers showed up.) The staff and faculty seem to either have no training or were afraid to use that training – only a single young man out of hundreds of people showed any courage (as far as we know). The students themselves were not taught how to defend themselves against a violent person out to harm them. Again, can we not see how their school failed them? Just as many (even most) American schools fail their students: whether it is failing to teach them basic skills or failing to protect them from real hazards, or teaching them propaganda to push whatever philosophy is the current fad?

(Yes, I know that the local Sheriff claims that “the lockdown protocols, training and equipment Oxford schools had in place saved lives.” Until demonstrated otherwise, I treat these as nothing but government lies. Just as I believe that the Sheriff’s description of the area as “a quiet sweet community that had its innocence shattered” is also absolute nonsense.)

The legislatures of most States have this warped belief that passing a law prevents crime and especially prevents killing. And that a mental case like this young killer will be deterred from his evil actions by signs and papers declaring a place as “gun-free.” So the kids in that school were also failed by those legislators. (This stupidity is shared by the county commissioners, school board members, and administrators in this Michigan county as well as far too many others across this land.)

But there is more. The killer in this case seems to have been failed by his own parents. Yes, sending him to a public school is part of their failure – as much or more as their apparent failure to secure the gun or teach their son at home how civilized, morally-upright people should live. And by failing to address and help him in whatever nasty behavior by others might have encouraged him to react like this. Including removing him from the toxic environment of so many modern government-run tax-funded schools which seems to have existed at Oxford.

It would not be far off the mark to say that the people of Michigan – the adults for several generations – failed him as well. First off, they voted all these people – from Dictator Whitmer to legislators to county commissioners and school board members – into office. And continue to do so despite their obvious stupidity and denial of basic common sense. (I bet that every one of those elected officials boast of “doing the will of the people” and deny their obligation to defend the liberties and lives of the people.) The people of that county and State failed to rein in their elected officials when they took away the rights and ability of people to defend themselves against monsters like this killer.

So what can we do? Other than not sending children to these horrible institutions which can, in a moment, become hunting grounds for evil people? Hold ourselves and those who claim to serve and lead up to standard most of us expect a ten-year-old to meet. Much less an adult. Protect ourselves from the stupidity of those who have ANY control over any part of our lives. And make sure that we and those we are responsible for have the ability – knowledge and will – to defend themselves and others, regardless of the conditions we may face.