Gun violence: Why Texas’ Winnie-the-Pooh book for kids has caused outrage

Imagine Winnie-the-Pooh, the children’s beloved cartoon character, teaching them ways to stay safe in case of a school shooting. No, this is not a dark joke but a real story. Some schools in Texas, United States, have given an instructional guide to students as young as four on how to “run, hide, fight” if a shooter enters their building. The Stay Safe book has caused outrage and alarm among parents and teachers, with people also expressing anger and concern on social media. What does the book say and why is there an uproar? Let’s find out. ‘Run, hide, fight’ Published by Praetorian Consulting, a Houston-based law enforcement consulting firm, the book – featuring the honey-loving bear created by AA Milne and illustrator EH Shepard – was distributed to students in pre-kindergarten and elementary classes in Dallas, as per The Guardian. The book’s cover says: “If there is danger, let Winnie the Pooh and his crew show you what to do”. As per The Washington Post, one of the pages reads: “Danger is scary, but our legendary friends Pooh and his crew are here to help us through”. Another page, which has other characters other from the Thousand Acre Woods – Kanga, Piglet and Roo – wearing boxing gloves, reads, “If danger finds us, don’t stay, run away”.

“If we can’t get away, we have to FIGHT with all our might.”

“If it is safe to get away, we should RUN like Rabbit instead of stay … If danger is near, do not fear. Hide like Pooh does until the police appear. Doors should be locked and the passage blocked. Turn off the light to stay out of sight,” the booklet says. The “hide” page shows Pooh burying his head in a jar of honey.

#whatcouldgowrong
Kindergarten Parents in Texas Outraged that Their Children Are Being Prepared for School Shootings
To do this, they were given FBI books with Winnie the Pooh on what to do in case of an attack on the school. pic.twitter.com/ClEKtlbhbo

— RustamX🫀 (@TweetsAkh) May 27, 2023

As per Global News, “run, hide, fight” is the protocol recommended by the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in case of an active shooter situation. ‘Tone Deaf’ Cindy Campos, who got the book from her five-year-old son, told The Associated Press (AP) that it was “tone deaf”. Both her sons, aged 5 and 7, received the instructional book from their school, Leslie A Stemmons Elementary School in Texas. Speaking to The Washington Post, Campos questioned the school district’s “tone deaf” timing as the book was distributed just days before the first anniversary of the mass shooting at an elementary school that killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. [caption id=“attachment_12662202” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Stay Safe book has caused outrage and alarm among parents and teachers. AP[/caption] Other parents also expressed distress that the book was sent without a heads-up or explanation. A teacher from a Dallas elementary school told The Guardian that she found the book “terribly disturbing”. “I found it extremely disturbing, and was very uncomfortable with the whole contents of the book”. California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom took to Twitter to slam the dystopian book. “Winnie-the-Pooh is now teaching Texas kids about active shooters because the elected officials do not have the courage to keep our kids safe and pass common sense gun safety laws,” he wrote. Retweeting his tweet, a user wrote, “Yeah teaching children how to fight back against the weapons of war is the logical answer for the @GOP instead of limiting the weapons of war to their petty greedy wars”.

Vinay Menon, Canadian newspaper Toronto Star’s pop culture columnist, wrote in an article, “Awareness, training and public education are never bad ideas. “Run, hide, fight” is a suggested tactic from the FBI. But I’m pretty sure agents who came up with the three words were not expecting four-year-olds who can’t yet tie their shoes to overpower a homicidal maniac firing a weapon of war in a classroom. Is this really the best our neighbours (America) can do to keep their kids safe?” ALSO READ: America’s Darkest Side: How gun violence claims 114 lives on an average every day ‘A reality’ As per The Washington Post, a spokesperson for the Dallas Independent School District said the district faces a “reality … no different than any other school district in America” in terms of gun violence. In a statement on Friday, the school district said it works “hard every day to prevent school shootings” by enhancing security, conducting active shooter drills and tackling online threats, reported AP. “Recently a booklet was sent home so parents could discuss with their children how to stay safe in such cases,” the spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, we did not provide parents any guide or context. We apologise for the confusion and are thankful to parents who reached out to assist us in being better partners,” it added. Texas gun laws

Texas has some of the most liberal gun laws in the US.

This report comes at a time when Texas’s Republican-led legislature has declined virtually all plans to tighten gun laws, noted AP. In 2021, Texas’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, approved a law allowing people to carry concealed handguns in public without a license. Texas has seen two mass shootings in May alone. However, gun violence is not just an issue in Texas but the entire country. In this year alone, the US has seen 24 school shootings. A recent PBS/NPR/Marist poll showed that 40 per cent of Americans believe “schools in their communities are not safe from gun violence.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.