Mares Hirchert
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On the Blog Post Boston Marathon Tragedy: Heartbreak for Runners Everywhere
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On the article Senior Center Director Prepares for Semi-Retirement
Mares Hirchert
5:01 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
ReplyHi Alice,
I'm so glad you will be free to concentrate on what you love. I'm hoping you'll consider coming to the Weds 12:30 pm bridge game. Thanks for all your help supporting the seniors to do what they love! -
On the Blog Post Encouraging armed teachers by "Retake our Gov't"?
Mares Hirchert
5:25 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Hi Scott,
I've e-mailed Tatum and she can't find my original response-it may have been a technical problem on my end. Anyway, I haven't gotten any response from Steph or Julie about their opinion on arming teachers, they may be too busy trying to help their students! Social Workers and Teachers in the School system deal daily with a lot of social problems in their students' homes and community besides the school environment. Adding more stress into their lives by added gun issues doesn't seem like a positive force for the children nor the teachers. Thanks, Scott, for your kind words about our family. -
On the article Hartland Schools Person of the Month for March
Mares Hirchert
1:45 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
ReplyWhat a positive story on your experience teaching in the Hartland School District. My two daughters graduated from Hartland High in 1989 and 1993. I would like our Hartland school system to continue to teach to the whole child and for every child. I am concerned that there are those in our community who want our school personnel to carry concealed weapons, do you have an opinion about that? I want our kids/teachers to feel safe at school not fearful.
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On the Blog Post Encouraging armed teachers by "Retake our Gov't"?
Mares Hirchert
6:01 pm on Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Hi Scott,
I wrote a response to your e-mail and it wasn't published. I've asked the editor what happened and am waiting for a response. It was good to hear from you. I don't know if Julie and Steph have never had to deal with a school shooting. They both work in schools. They may have dealt with people carrying guns outside of schools just by being part of the community they live in. I will ask them their opinion! -
On the Blog Post Encouraging armed teachers by "Retake our Gov't"?
Mares Hirchert
10:49 am on Sunday, February 24, 2013
ReplyDear Chris,
I'm not out to "hurt" anyone, I'm out to protect children from living in fear on a daily basis. Right now we have child protective services which is overwhelmed with the number of cases to investigate here in Michigan. They rely on family members, neighbors, school personnel, hospitals, doctors, to alert them if they suspect abuse.
Children don't need to be worried about being shot at school whether by accident or intentional. If our priority is to safeguard children then lets act on what we can do to accomplish that rather than debate the 2nd Amendment. -
On the Blog Post Encouraging armed teachers by "Retake our Gov't"?
Mares Hirchert
10:02 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
ReplyMother Jones offers graphs and articles on the rise of mass shootings in the US.
http://www.motherjones.com/special-reports/2012/12/guns-in-america-mass-shootings“In the wake of the massacres this year at a Colorado movie theater, a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, we set out to track mass shootings in the United States over the last 30 years. We identified and analyzed 62 of them, and one striking pattern in the data is this: In not a single case was the killing stopped by a civilian using a gun. And in other recent (but less lethal) rampages in which armed civilians attempted to intervene, those civilians not only failed to stop the shooter but also were gravely wounded or killed. Moreover, we found that the rate of mass shootings has increased in recent years—at a time when America has been flooded with millions of additional firearms and a barrage of new laws has made it easier than ever to carry them in public places, including bars, parks, and schools.”
Hope that the community will read this article and educate themselves. Thanks to Mother Jones for doing the research.
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On the Blog Post Encouraging armed teachers by "Retake our Gov't"?
Mares Hirchert
9:36 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
ReplyDear Chris,
Crazy people don't care if there are armed people or not, they are not in touch with fear, more likely they are in touch with anger, and they are operating without rational thought. The possibility of "COULD" be carrying doesn't enter into their consciousness, they aren't thinking, let alone "thinking twice." I think parents/grandparents/citizens should be operating rationally and talking to their legislators to pass laws to keep guns out of the hands of the general population if they really are trying to protect children. Let's face it, our general population has a history of violence, we have the most prisoners in our jails and prisons than any other industrialized country. We have prescription drug abuse, alcoholics, and thousands of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq who suffer from post traumatic stress, PTS. We should be thinking of reducing the number of guns in the home and the community for not only the children's sake but for everyone's sake. -
On the Blog Post Encouraging armed teachers by "Retake our Gov't"?
Mares Hirchert
12:10 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
ReplyDear Matthew,
I'm seeing words such as "combat", "minimal or no cost", "last line of defense," "deterrent," and I want to know if you have children and if you want to raise them with this fear of their neighbors, society, humanity? Yes, culture does have a lot to do with how children perceive their world, sad that you want our schools to reflect this dismal view of our wonderful world. Lets focus on education in our schools, not fear. Yes Hartland has changed in the last 35 years and it isn't about a crazed gunman killing 20 innocent children and 8 adults. Our country pre-emptively attacked Iraq and killed over 108,000 civilians, many of them women and children, and continues to kill Pakistani children with drones, over 176 so far, all part of "collateral damage." What needs changing is for the adults in this world to realize that bombing, killing, etc. is not the way to solve problems. Until all children are valued, no child is safe. Americans need to stop accepting the killing of other children around the world in the name of national security. Parents in Hartland need to realize that their children will not be safe by arming adults, trained or otherwise.
Feeling safe for children, relies on their families telling them that what happened at Sandy Hook was an isolated incident. They don't need to be afraid at their school, the wonderful teachers and others care about them. -
On the Blog Post Encouraging armed teachers by "Retake our Gov't"?
Mares Hirchert
11:49 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
A practical matter is will the one trained, armed teacher be there that day or in the right spot? I think the story of the guard at one school leaving his gun in the bathroom is more likely to happen. Philosophically I would rather live daily in a non violent atmosphere (gun free zone) and raise the next generation that way. I think children have enough stress these days at their homes without adding to it by having the fear of armed teachers being vigilant against a crazy that may at any time choose to come and kill them. I know my teacher daughter needs parents to come to conferences, school activities and partner with her to give their children a good education. Parents need to calm their own fears and realize that no one can be responsible for someone who is crazed and willing to kill themselves and hurt others in the process. All any of us can do, is to care about and raise healthy, happy, and kind children. Parents, Grandparents, schools, community can help with that. It doesn't happen at the end of a gun.
Mares Hirchert
10:37 pm on Saturday, April 20, 2013
I am hoping that the spirit of running which I have seen on video by Internationals running thru Palestine to show their support will spill over to every part of the world where communities live with bomb blasts, drone strikes, terrorist attacks daily, the smell of burning flesh, helicopters, rubber bullets, check points, torture, funerals of small children. Maybe the spirit to run freely, without fear, will result in more people becoming aware that we do have the power to change things. The human spirit of love and compassion and caring is really the only security we have as human beings. Thank you, Megan, and the other runners who commented, for articulating that spirit. May you continue to run free without fear and with joy!