Breaking the Security Norm

School Security checks

Security is becoming stricter in airports, schools, shopping malls, and many other public places. An article I found interesting called “TheseDeadly Times: Reconceptualizing School Violence by Using Critical Race Theoryand to Disability Studies,” informs that school systems are adopting very strict security systems. The authors Ivan Eugene Watts and Nirmala Erevelles, write about their studies on low income African American and Latino males in relation to school violence. The authors believe that school violence results because of the oppression in social conditions that force students, especially African American and Latino low income males, to break school expectations.

The authors analyze many different texts about the critical race theory or CRT and disability studies, relating it back to the oppression of minority students. The authors also analyze the theories that other authors believe to support their argument. Although many believe that security in schools is for the safety of the students, I believe there is an invisible narrative in this article. I think the invisible narrative in Watts and Erevelles’ article is having high security because of the constant fear of violence caused by African American and Latino males.

Rather than silencing a certain group of people, this article tries to shine light on the problem. Low income African American and Latino males are seen as people who are more likely to cause trouble. The authors state that African American and Latino males get oppressed, or treated unequally which results in feelings of vulnerability. The vulnerability they experience cause them to resist the normative school systems and security. The vulnerability males feel also leads to another invisible narrative of how males have to have a “strong” image in other words, using violence to mask their vulnerability.

Society makes an image for men to be strong and masculine; because they feel vulnerable, they act in a “manly” manner to seem tough. The “manly” act they proceed is usually violence, which is most often only brought to light if African American and Latino males are involved. The media also portrays males to be “strong” by a woman’s hero or having big muscles. Having guidelines to how a man should behave, restrains many thoughts and behaviors of men. For example, male students do not go to counselors to seek help for their problems. Some males may have fear of being labeled as gay, feminine, weak, etc. for doing certain things males in media and society do not do.

Although African American males are the majority of the prison population, most school shootings are White shooters. Connecting back to masking vulnerability with violence, a shooter name Elliot Rodger is a great example. Elliot Rodger said he wanted to slaughter every blonde girl he sees in a sorority house because they rejected him. He also stated that the girls looked down on him and think he is inferior as a man. Elliot Rodger felt vulnerable and being a White male, powerless, therefore he resulted in violence. 

Shooters who are males of color usually shot those who they believe have wronged them or treated them unfairly, and usually do not lead to a suicide. On the other hand, White shooters, tend to think that if they are going to die, everybody else is going to die also. White males have advantages solely based on their race and gender, so they feel they have the power to control other’s lives based on their lives.

Being African American or Latino and being a male forces a lot of pressure on students. Because of their race and gender they are judged for every little thing they do. In the minds of many, the only way to avoid judgment is by violence, but because of violence occurring, more judgment is passed to the race and gender as a whole.