> nowadays there probably isn't an offer that would make me move there.
I concur. For a start, here in Europe, I don't have to worry each day that someone is going to run amok in my children's school with semi-automatic weapons. You can't place a value on that.
I know fears are irrational, but the probability of your kids being killed by a mass shooter at school in the US is extremely low. Logically, if you’re worried about that level of risk, you should never leave the house, even in Europe.
The sibling commentator mentioned Islamic terrorism which I think is a good analogy. You would probably think it was ludicrous (and I’d agree with you) if someone said they didn’t want to move to Europe because they have to worry about being run down by someone in a truck.
So I wanted to offer my view on this - I know that the risk of actual shooting is so low that it's not worth worrying about. But what I'd definitely have an issue with is the entire security theatre that American kids are subject to - the fact that many American schools have metal detectors at the doors, the fact that their bags are searched when entering, the fact that many schools have armed security or even policemen on campus - that's crazy to me and I wouldn't want to subject my kids to any of that. It normalizes something that's very very wrong in my opinion.
Metal detectors and bag searches are not the norm in American suburbs. Post school shootings, the changes made in my district were that the front door is locked by default and you need to ring the bell and be buzzed in.
What is the norm though is a "do something, anything" mentality that has led school districts to dump billions into unproven initiative after unproven initiative, from macbooks to netbooks to SROs to anterooms and buzzers on a neverending keeping up with the times treadmill of pointless education reform.
> That would be like saying you're afraid of the Islamic terrorism amok on the streets of Europe.
Whole Europe has had 1 incident in 2019, 7 in 2018 and 10 in 2017/2016. Even with record 17 incidents in 2015, five years of Islamist terror together don't even come close to one average year of school shootings in the US, and are a blip compared to one year of mass shootings in the US.
Of course, morally the risk is unacceptable. I would consider one school shooting a year too high. Let alone the 17 deaths due to guns in schools in 2019.
And as was pointed out previously, the security theater (shooter drills, etc) are traumatizing. I am appalled at this aspect of America.
But, despite what you see on the news, most Americans are not exposed to guns on any kind of a regular basis.
As far the school deaths, they are appalling but I am sure many more children die each year due to asthma attacks, food allergies, etc. I do not excuse our gun situation but it should be viewed in perspective. Again, I do agree that one gun death is too many.
I concur. For a start, here in Europe, I don't have to worry each day that someone is going to run amok in my children's school with semi-automatic weapons. You can't place a value on that.