I’m A Black Female College Professor in Texas. Should I Get a Gun?

[SecularMotion]

When I return to the University of North Texas for the fall semester, I’ll have no way of knowing who is carrying a firearm. As of August 1, students, faculty, and staff with concealed weapon permits may carry guns on public university campuses, under a law approved last year.

I’m a black female professor working in a Texas town with a prominent Confederate memorial. I teach journalism courses that spark debate about race, gender, and nationality. I have serious reservations about campus carry.

Proponents of the new law claim that if more people are armed at institutions of higher learning, we will all be safer. Days after he signed the bill, Governor Greg Abbott declared that would-be shooters in Texas would now understand that “somebody is going to be watching them and have the ability to do something about it” if they open fire on a college campus.

But I don’t feel safer. The idea of working in an environment where anyone may have a gun makes me feel perpetually under threat. I’m afraid of accidents, mostly, but also of misplaced anger and emotional distress. I’m afraid that situations that occur every day on college campuses, like a classroom debate or an office visit about grades, will escalate into deadly shooting.

https://www.thetrace.org/2016/05/black-female-college-professor-texas-campus-carry-gun/

[riversedge]

1. No, I would not feel safe on your campas, knowing that anyone who wants to settle

an argument can just pull his or gun. Too many guns IS the problem.

[Downwinder]

3. On top of that, she will be expected to have a gun.

[1StrongBlackMan]

44. Which is the source of her anxiety.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

19. Houston area has a lot of CC gun owners

And I feel perfectly safe.

Would I feel safe on a college campus?

Hell, no! Well, not like I do, now. I don't even think about it, now. College campuses - where the majority of folks are still young and too many of them think that a night of fun is getting wasted and doing crazy shit? Hmmmmm Frontal lobes and all that...

[Brickbat]

2. I like her thinking when it comes to carrying as part of black liberation. She also comes to

the right conclusion -- if she doesn't know what her own response would be to ambiguous situations and doesn't feel she could live with her actions, she shouldn't carry. It would be interesting to know if she ends up at least taking a class or two.

[Sissyk]

40. I agree with this message. N/t

[1StrongBlackMan]

45. Great comment ... One that could only come from having read the entire article ...

I suspect (from reading the posts in this thread) a majority of commenters, didn't bother.

[SecularMotion]

74. Thanks for taking the time to read the article.

I thought it was worth sharing as a viewpoint not often heard in the debate over allowing guns on college campuses.

It was posted in the gungeon last week and re-posted here in light of the UCLA shooting.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1172194262

[1StrongBlackMan]

79. LOL. You had me at ...

I’m A Black Female College Professor in Texas. Should I Get a Gun?

I think she wrote a thoughtful article that, you are correct, was from a viewpoint not often heard in the debate over allowing guns on college campuses.

[Blue_Tires]

4. Sure, why not?? Why should white folks get to own them all?

[sulphurdunn]

24. We could have like rainbow bloodbaths!

[awoke_in_2003]

90. Ebony and ivory

shoot together in perfect harmony

[Mendocino]

5. Bunches of drunken frat boys

waving guns around campus, what could possibly go wrong?

[valerief]

34. One of them could be a future GWB, so no great loss. nt

[hack89]

67. They would all be arrested

1. few of them would be old enough. 2. It is illegal to handle weapons while intoxicated. 3. "waving" = brandishing which is a crime. Open carry is legal only when the gun is carried in a holster.

[socialist_n_TN]

6. As a Classic Red, I'm not afraid of guns............

And as a martial artist with 30+ years of experience in Kung Fu, I'm not afraid of self-defense. So I would, if I were in her situation, get and carry a gun. HOWEVER, I don't think that anybody should get and carry a gun without some training, not only in gun usage, but also in WHEN to use.

The reality is that the increasingly rabid right in this country has forced this issue because they think that they will be the only ones armed and can, thusly, intimidate anyone with an opposing view. THAT is what fascism is all about. With fascists, you can either fight them in the streets or give up and allow them to intimidate you. There is no middle ground. I won't be intimidated.

[sulphurdunn]

26. Yep,

most anyone who would want to pack on a college campus should should be on their knees, wearing skivvies, and have their hands in the air as soon as they arrive.

[Tortmaster]

46. You missed the point.

She doesn't want a gun. She's using reverse psychology to make a point that guns are stupid and deadly, especially on college campuses.

But don't let that keep you from your fantasy of drilling with AR-15s on your shoulder with a squad of "Reds" (????) down aisle 12 of the local Walmart, while a company of armed Tea Partiers executes a pincer movement between aisles 14 and 15. "Column left, Hhharch!"

[socialist_n_TN]

71. I answered the question asked.....

And your second paragraph is the attitude of the "liberal" everywhere when it comes to fascists. That they can be "reasoned" with. Fascism is not about reason, it's about intimidation.

I take situations as they are, not as I wish them to be. The facts are that I don't want the proto-fascists to be the only ones armed. Apparently you do.

[raccoon]

87. I think you're right.

The reality is that the increasingly rabid right in this country has forced this issue because they think that they will be the only ones armed and can, thusly, intimidate anyone with an opposing view.

[Yupster]

7. If you're in Texas

anyone could have a gun when they meet you now.

My advice though is if you don't feel safe at work, you probably need a different job. Life's too short to feel threatened every day at work.

[barbtries]

9. that's how i feel.

my first impulse, look for a new job in a new state, one with sensible gun laws.

[friendly_iconoclast]

82. "(L)ook for a new job in a new state, one with sensible gun laws." Like, say, California?

[TipTok]

11. There are very few places in America...

... Where some form of concealed carry is totally illegal.

No big difference...

[metalbot]

12. This, mostly

If you're terrified of "guns on campus", I don't see how you would not be terrified during the other 72 waking hours of your normal week when you're in a state where people might or might not be carrying guns.

The flips side of this should be, if you weren't freaked out about living in Texas before this, why would you be more freaked out about the notion of guns on campus?

[tenderfoot]

14. I say that to cops that incessantly complain about how dangerous their jobs are.

eom

[NV Whino]

8. Naw, just move out of Texas.

But probably not to California.

[TipTok]

10. Go for it...

Get some training, try different types, carry if / when you feel like it.

[ancianita]

13. I'd say yes. Try to wrap your head around the idea that a gun is another tool you learn to use.

Learning to use that tool is about vigilance, proper care. Conceal and carry will make student gun carriers respect you, even if it's a fear-based respect. An alternative might be to, instead of pay for house cleaning, pay for an "assistant" or "observer" or "intern" to be unobtrusively present during your classes -- one who is really your armed security guard.

I'm sorry you find yourself in this circumstance, but you don't have to be trapped in it. The power of your class's learning climate and what you teach are so needed by students raised in Texas gun culture and the South in general. Perhaps this can be a good experience for everyone.

Even discussing gun culture, how it dampens intellectual discussion and debate; what, in the need for "freedom of expression" is behind the need for confederate symbolism; oppositional concepts in the classroom, the nature and rules of good argument; these are a democratic move to defuse tensions.

Needless to say, if you remove yourself from this place, it would be their loss. I wish you all good things.

[braddy]

15. Anyone can already have a gun and always could, what has changed it that law abiding normal people

can have a gun for their defense.

Are you worried that you may need to defend yourself against a rapist or murderer, or are you imagining using a gun against normal everyday people around you?

Some women are confident with self defense and being self sufficient, some aren't, each individual has to figure that out on their own.

[stone space]

30. When that happens here, folks call 911, and I get telephone and email alerts from campus security.

Anyone can already have a gun and always could, ...

Then the perp is arrested.

That's what currently happens at her university today, as well, I would imagine.

Trump and the NRA want to change that, not just for Texas, but for all of us.

That's a HUGE difference.

[braddy]

42. So 911 protects an individual from being raped or murdered or robbed, and protects their family at

night when they find a killer in their house, we should publicize that number so that we can all be safe from bad guys and unanticipated situations.

[Tortmaster]

49. Get a dog ...

... not a gun.

[braddy]

55. LOL, sure, that will end rape, murder and robbery, and home invasions, don't drug dealers and the

bad guys use dogs a lot meaner than most of us own, and I don't think that I can keep my dog in pocket all day as I lead my life.

[stone space]

56. What does that have to do with what happens when a gun is spotted on a university campus?

If I have reason to believe that there is a gun in my classroom, I'll cancel class immediately and dial 911.

[braddy]

58. Yeah, you repeat that over and over on every thread.

If you do that repeatedly in a state where carry is legal, then at some point you are going to have the school or the police tell you to knock it off, if you don't get someone killed first.

[stone space]

59. You asked what has changed. I told you what is about to change at her university.

Then you changed the subject.

[braddy]

61. I never asked what had changed, I pointed out what was changing, and I am on topic.

[stone space]

62. You made this claim. My experience at my own university tells me this is false.

Anyone can already have a gun and always could

If this were true, I wouldn't get telephone and email alerts whenever a gun is spotted, and the perpetrators would not be sought by the police.

[braddy]

65. My claim is accurate, why are you making so many trivial time wasting posts, and why

do you keep repeating that same thing about yourself over and over and over, on this thread and every gun thread?

[stone space]

66. Your claim was a lie. It is currently illegal, even on her Texas campus. (nt)

[braddy]

68. LOL, it isn't a lie, it is a fact, read what I posted.

""Anyone can already have a gun and always could, what has changed, is that law abiding normal people can have a gun for their defense.""

[beevul]

80. So was a murder suicide at UCLA.N/T

[ileus]

16. Start with a nice plinker and enjoy family range time.

at first....just shoot for the fun of the sport. Something the whole family can enjoy.

After you get serious about personal safety you can take a class and then decide what personal safety device you'd be willing to carry.

Don't let some salesmen hit you with the glock pitch that there's only one gun than you can depend on in a life saving situation. Believe me you can learn to use a DA/SA, DAO, or a manual safety equipped pistol.

Of my 3 CC pistols two have a manual safety, and the other is a DAO.

[IronLionZion]

17. Anyone can feel threatened by anyone

so it can be a little too easy to whip out a gun and fire simply because someone is scared that the other person might shoot them.

So if everyone is heavily armed (polite society), then if someone is perceived to be less polite than they could easily be shot dead just in case. Preemptively. Over insults or nothing at all.

[bjo59]

18. I don't want to be forced to give up my right not to carry a gun to protect myself from people

who have been given the right to carry a gun. I'm a professor in Texas too and I feel sick about having to go back into the classroom in the fall after the new Texas law takes effect. Guess I'm going to be one of those grade-inflation professors. As for everyone.

[Exilednight]

20. you can NEVER put the bullet back in a gun if you kill someone.

Some things to think about:

1. Shooting a target is not like shooting a human being. When I went in the army I was a medic assigned to a scout platoon with four sniper teams. I've seen the most highly trained marksmen miss what should have been simple shots of less than 3 feet in close quarters combat.

2. You're more likely to end up dying from a violent crime. In fact, according to the FBI, gun owners are 400% more likely to die from violence - usually this involve domestic violence or kids getting ahold of someone's gun.

3. If your firearm is ever stolen it will be in the hands of someone who is more than likely going to use it to commit violent crimes.

[sulphurdunn]

32. I agree.

Knowing when to drop or not to drop the hammer on a human being requires split second reactions learned from experience that cannot be taught at a gun range or firearms safety course. Even then, who gets hit when the target shoots back is as much a matter of luck as training. The real problem though isn't the guns. It's all the unskilled, paranoid, macho assholes walking around with them looking for trouble.

[Tortmaster]

52. Almost a quarter of a million ...

... firearms were stolen last year.

Now the burglar has a gun!

[malthaussen]

21. A kevlar vest might be a better choice...

... a different venue, best of all.

-- Mal

[Vote2016]

22. It depends. Do you live with children or other loved ones who you would want to protect from an

accidental gunshot death?

If you get a gun, it is much more likely to be at the center of a tragic accident killing a loved one as compared to the unlikely event that it will ever be used to increase your personal security.

Do you ever get depressed? If you get a gun, it is much more likely you will use it on yourself in a moment of depression as compared to the unlikely event that it will ever be used to increase your personal security.

I'm not anti-gun, but statistically guns more often lead to unintended tragedies than they provide the intended security.

[reign88]

23. Accidents, possible but unlikely

but I wouldn't worry about misplaced anger or whatnot. I have two guns in the house. My wife and I have had some fun fights over the years, and never once has "gun" popped into my brain. I hope the same goes for her!

To normal human beings, which I think most of us are, a gun isn't a solution to a normal fight. I have never carried, other than to and from a range or what not, but I would imagine someone carrying has the same experience. They forget the gun is there unless they really need it.

[ieoeja]

28. Statistics are not your friend.

The most common reason for murder is a heated argument. In fact, according to the 2011 FBI Uniform Crime Report, the majority of all murders came about during an argument.

Murder during a crime, such as robbery, is relatively rare in comparison.

[Major Nikon]

88. Everyone's emotional side is capable of overriding their rational side

People who think they would never do anything irrational with their gun are simply lying to themselves.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. Do I dare to eat a peach?

I would think that a college professor would have the brains to know what she wants to buy. Guns? Butter? Hey, prof, it's your money, do what you want.

She seems to be concerned that, in the future, she will not know who is armed. So, same as last year, and the year before, we don't know who's armed.

[LanternWaste]

29. Lacking rational though, I'd trivialize her concerns as wel

Lacking rational though, I'd trivialize her concerns as well, and imply the decision process for a purcahse is indicative of a lack of brains. I'd also post an irrelevant statement under the pretense of common-sense as my closing argument-- hoping against hope people perceive me as more clever than I am.

Thankfully, I'm not irrational.

[TipTok]

47. Anything to add relevant to the discussion?

Or are you just going to stick with repetitive and strangely worded personal attacks?

Twice...

[Gene Debs]

38. Was that response meant to sound dickish, or am I just misreading it?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

84. A bit. I mean, buy a gun or don't buy a gun ...

... the purchase will not affect the attitude about personal safety.

[1StrongBlackMan]

54. Try reading the article BEFORE making wise-ass comments ...

it'll make you look less Bozo-like on this board.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

85. It's still her decision to buy or not.

If she wants to write an essay about how she fears that she will pull a gun on any students who act strange, fine. She might examine her choice of profession, as it puts her in contact with puzzled people.

[1StrongBlackMan]

86. Oh ... you went back and read it; but ...

it didn't help.

[saidsimplesimon]

27. SecularMotion, First Texas came for our

textbooks, now they endanger their own teachers? ALEC groups and the NRA are all funded by the Kochs. Why do the Kochs hate Americans?

[people]

31. Guns at College - Craziness

I completely feel for you. That sounds like a really anxiety provoking daily situation. No, I would not get a gun. I've never heard one story where a gun in real life in everyday civil society made anyone safer at all. People may FEEL safer if they can threaten someone with a gun but that's a lot different than actually being any safer. I would at least consider applying for jobs out of state, but life is very unpredictable and there's no way for any of us to know from day to day wherever we are who may be around us who is a nut and may be angry and have a gun.

Hopefully your campus and you will be fine. Wondering if you ever discuss the public university campus carry gun law in your class?

[turbinetree]

33. Put a sign up on your door------------------------NO GUNS ALLOWED

if they have to have one, tell them to go to another place, but Not in this classroom. Paranoia is not allowed
And if the college says that you have to let them in say NO, what are they going to do fire you---------------then that's a problem on the college and the right wing nationalist fascists running that state
I know it's easier said than done, but you also have a right's---------------and that's to NOT have people with guns in your class room, and lets not forget, there are other "students" that don't want them..
Hell you can't even vote in that backward state if you don't have a ID, but if you have a gun and the "license" to have one you can vote, all you have to do is show the stupid thing--------------------------------amazing

[TipTok]

48. It isn't their classroom..

It belongs to the school and they are obligated to follow state and federal law.

[hack89]

69. They can't

the classroom is not a private space. She does not have the "right" to not have people with guns in her class if state law says they can legally be there.

[Scalded Nun]

35. Getting a gun would not necessarily be the safest thing for you.

You need to realize that the caveat on all gun laws (regardless of state) is that they apply to whites. If you are not white you carry a weapon at your own peril.

[TipTok]

50. I'll have to tell all my black Army friends...

... Who are also gun enthusiasts that the gun laws don't apply to them.

I suspect they will be surprised.

[Eleanors38]

78. Odd, virtually all gun control laws are modeled on Jim [large, raucous black bird] laws.

You might want to check the history on this: It is baldly obvious. Even Robert Sherrill, early modern-era gun controller and one-time correspondent for The Nation, said in his book "Saturday Night Special:"

The Gun Control Act of 1968 ws passed not to control guns, but to control blacks...

Just one more in a long line of egislation measures with very similar ends. You should note the debate surrounding the "Sullivan Laws" of NYC in your review of these apartheid-era laws.

[Gene Debs]

36. Being a white guy I'm not sure if my interpretation is totally valid, but I know this—

if I were black ANYWHERE in the United States today, I don't know if I'd feel safer having a gun on me. And that's thinking of the police, not criminals or shooters. The police in this country have shown time and time again that they're quite happy to kill black people for being armed with things like packs of Skittles, their own wallets, or a handful of empty air. Just think what might happen if you should ever cross paths with a cop and they realize you have a gun on you. Will it matter that you're a college professor? How many times have you heard about black judges and CEOs being pulled over by the cops because they were driving a nice car? Because if a black person's driving a nice car, clearly he stole it, right? The fact that police can casually execute unarmed black people in the street, and suffer no consequences for it whatsoever, makes me afraid for what might happen to an ARMED black person who encounters police, and makes me think no on the gun. Add "Texas" to that and my response becomes oh HELL no.

Just a thought.

[sarisataka]

37. Friends send me job ads in other states.

Which states, I wonder? If the fear is " anyone may have a gun" where is there an ironclad guarantee that no one has a gun?

California has very strict gun laws and AFAIK prohibits weapons on campuses.

[Matrosov]

39. Did she have a way of knowing before?

Anybody can carry a firearm on campus. If your state or school prohibits campus carry, it doesn't physically keep anyone from having a concealed weapon on them anyway.

I'm one of those crazies who actually wants to outlaw private gun ownership entirely, but these concerns about open carry and campus carry are just stupid. People who want to commit a crime, whether hardened criminals or law abiding gun owners looking to get their first kill, aren't going to care about what the law says.

[1StrongBlackMan]

43. You didn't read the article ... whether someone else was carrying a firearm is ...

completely besides her point.

[Matrosov]

64. Her point isn't entirely clear

At first she says 'The idea of working in an environment where anyone may have a gun makes me feel perpetually under threat.'

This is a common theme among those who oppose campus carry. Again, I don't endorse it myself, but the idea that suddenly everyone will walk around with a six shooter on their hip is as silly as those who think legalizing marijuana will suddenly turn into a pothead.

Then she says 'Black women do not enjoy the same privilege of self defense as others.'

So which is it? Does campus carry make her feel perpetually under threat, or does she think it's a good idea, but she feels that African-Americans won't be granted the same right to self-defense as white faculty and students?

[randome]

70. If the concept is 'popularized' by the Legislature, however, more guns on campus will be the result.

Which adds to the uncertainty. And the likelihood of accidents. And threats. And murders.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[1StrongBlackMan]

73. Never mind ... her point was entirely clear for those that read the entire article.

[stone space]

60. I'm not sure what they do there now, but here, I get alerts via telephone and email...

...whenever a gun is spotted by anybody on campus.

Did she have a way of knowing before?

Anybody can carry a firearm on campus. If your state or school prohibits campus carry, it doesn't physically keep anyone from having a concealed weapon on them anyway.

That's one way of knowing.

[1StrongBlackMan]

41. I really like her approach to the topic ...

rather than focus on what might happen to her, as a result of campus carry, she focuses on what might happen BY her, given the anxiety of her reality.

[sarisataka]

72. An important point

And why I said no she shouldn't when this was posted in RKBA a few days ago.

Whenever someone asks my advice on purchasing a gun my first reply is 'why do you want one'? Not from the perspective of a gun is good or evil, but what is the motivation of the future operator. Have they considered the responsibility that comes with owning a gun and the potential risk vs potential benefits.

[1StrongBlackMan]

75. That is a great point and good advice. ...

I agree, she shouldn't get a gun. It's just a blessing that she has the ability to honestly, self-reflect.

I suspect she arrived at the same conclusion ... but, unfortunately, that might change should she encounter a real threat. And, sadly, after that encounter, she will carry the same anxiety she described in the article.

[LiberalFighter]

51. Unless you are fully trained and comfortable I would not.

Also, why pay for something that is not likely to benefit you? It is a waste of your own personal income.

Maybe what you should be doing is demanding that the university supply a security at your classrooms and office. But that shouldn't be necessary either. Or maybe there should be additional requirements for anyone to attend your class. Namely, that your class will be gun free zone. And also talk to your department head any other possible people that might be representing you.

[lagomorph777]

53. You won't be allowed to vote unless you do.

With the draconian new voter ID laws, if your usual ID (voter ID card, school ID, driver's license, military ID) show you are black, it will be invalid. In that case, you will have to use a gun permit.

[Hoyt]

57. According to "well educated" students like this, everyone should carry a gun or two.

?app=278

[Throd]

63. She didn't know who was carrying before August 1st either.

She probably shouldn't get a gun.

[stone space]

77. You don't know that. She may get phone calls and emails from campus security like we do here.

She didn't know who was carrying before August 1st either.

It happens whenever anybody spots a gun on or near campus.

[Throd]

81. "Concealed" as in "can't be seen".

[stone space]

83. Sometimes they are seen, and folks dial 911.

Then alerts via telephone and email go out, and the police search for the perpetrator, and hopefully arrest him.

[TipTok]

89. Maybe in your very limited area..

The rest of us get by just fine.

[hunter]

76. If a gun is the answer, you are asking the wrong question.