What would Pooh Bear do during a school shooting? Run, hide and if there is no other option, fight against the aggressor, according to a book recently distributed among students in the United States, where these violent acts are common.
The text has been edited by the Praetorian security consultancy, based in Houston, Texas, a conservative state in the south of the country, the scene of massive shootings, such as the one that occurred a year ago at a school in Uvalde, where 19 children and two were killed. Adults.
“If there is danger, Winnie the Pooh and his friends teach you what to do”, says the book with a red cover, which has the image of the popular character. Its titled “Stay Safe” (Stay safe) and also has three keywords: “Run Hide Fight” (Run, Hide, Fight), protocol recommended by the authorities in the face of shootings.
“If danger finds you, don’t stay, run away”, is the suggestion, as long as there is no immediate danger. If not, the student must close and lock the doors of his classroom and hide somewhere where he cannot be found, without making noise.
And if in the end “You can’t run away, you have to fight with all your might”, says the text, accompanied by the image of Kanga and Roo, a kangaroo mother with her son, wearing boxing gloves. Piglet, another beloved character from the series, also appears ready for combat.
Then, when it’s all over, the text advises them not to react angrily and to wait for a police officer or a teacher to come for them.
“Normalize” shootings
On the verge of finishing the school year in the United States, “What I want is to take my children home and sit with them on the sofa. But I know that there are families in Uvalde that will not be able to do that, and this book shows me», commented to the Oak Cliff Advocate portal the mother of the family Cindy Campos, whose two children received the books at their school in Dallas.
Although, in his Facebook account, Campos says that he resists “normalize” the fact that bedtime stories to read to your children refer to how to react to a shooter.
The texts have the original images of Pooh created at the beginning of the 20th century in the United Kingdom by AA Milne and that are free of rights. As detailed by the consultant on her website, the police can take up to 8 minutes to arrive at the scene of the shooting, and during that period the students must know what to do.
The consultant explained that the book has been prepared with a simple and appropriate language for children, with the participation of police officers and teachers.
“Winnie The Pooh Is Now Teaching Texas Kids About Shootings Because His Officials Don’t Have The Courage To Keep Our Kids Safe And Pass Common Sense Gun Laws”California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted.
This year there have been more than 220 shootings in the country, according to the NGO Archives of Armed Violence. Last Wednesday, one year after the Uvalde massacre, President Joe Biden insisted that the use of weapons be regulated, especially AR-15 military-type rifles, a measure that has met with resistance in conservative territories.
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