By Steven Singer
Are you responsible for gambling with another person’s life?
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says “yes.”
Back in 1947, James Malone, 17, and William Long, 13, played a version of Russian Roulette during a sleepover.
Malone stole a revolver from his uncle and Long sneaked into his father’s room and got a bullet.
They put the cartridge in a chamber, spun the cylinder and then took turns pointing the gun at each other and pulling the trigger. On the third try, Malone put the gun to Long’s head, pulled the trigger and the gun fired, killing Long.
Malone was convicted of second degree murder even though he said he hadn’t intended to kill his friend.
The case, Commonwealth v. Malone, eventually went to the state Supreme Court where justices upheld the conviction.
They ruled: “When an individual commits an act of gross recklessness without regard to the probability that death to another is likely to result, that individual exhibits the state of mind required to uphold a conviction of manslaughter even if the individual did not intend for death to ensue.”
Lawmakers and school administrators better pay heed to this and similar nationwide decisions.
Reopening schools to in-person classes during the Covid-19 pandemic is tantamount to playing Russian Roulette with the lives of students, teachers and families.
Every day with this virus in the physical classroom is like spinning the cylinder and pulling the trigger.
You might survive, but every time you enter the building your chances of getting sick increase until the law of averages will come for someone… perhaps many someones.
With Coronavirus cases rising by about 60,000 a day in the United States, there is simply too much virus out there to ensure anyone’s safety in the physical classroom.
Students inevitably will get sick and spread the disease to adults – teachers and their own families.
We can’t take such chances with people’s lives.
But don’t just take my word for it.
Decisions makers are taking the possibility seriously enough to try to change the laws to reduce their liability.
They want to ensure they won’t end up in court if they reopen schools and people get sick.
In May, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for schools to be legally protected from lawsuits that could arise due to resuming classes.
Along with fellow Republican Senator John Cornyn, McConnell proposed new liability laws protecting schools and businesses from Coronavirus-related lawsuits.
McConnell told reporters: “Can you image the nightmare that could unfold this fall when K-12 kids are still at home, when colleges and universities are still not open? That is a scenario that would only be further aggravated in the absence of some kind of liability protection that reassures school administrators that they can actually open up again… Without it, frankly that’s just not going to happen as soon as it should have.”
The Kentucky Senator went on Fox News in late April saying that such legal protections would be necessary for Republicans to even consider any new Coronavirus relief bills.
And it’s not just lawmakers. In May, 14 college presidents from around the country teleconferenced with Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos asking for the same thing.
According to those who were either on the call or were knowledgeable about the conversation, the college presidents said they needed to know their institutions would not get sued if people got sick – which they thought was almost a certainty.
One way the federal government can help “is to have some kind of liability protection,” said University of Texas at El Paso president Heather Wilson, who was on the call. Wilson is a former Republican congresswoman from New Mexico.
Big business is also calling for liability protection. Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been asking to be freed during the pandemic from being held liable if workers, customers or others get sick on their property. Notably, a lawyer for Texas Christian University told senators such a situation is “foreseeable, perhaps inevitable.”
All of which begs the question of what we mean by safety.
Is it our responsibility to make sure customers, workers, students and teachers are safe from the virus? Or is it our responsibility to make sure businesses and schools aren’t sued for taking chances with our lives?
There are things we can do to increase safety.
We should not reopen schools until the county where the district is located reports zero new Coronavirus cases for two weeks. That would be taking safety seriously.
And it shouldn’t be too much to ask because other countries have been able to do such things.
Other nations have been able to test for the virus and identify those who have the disease. They have been able to trace these people’s contacts and isolate them from the rest of the population.
But that requires a vast expansion of our testing ability through coordinated federal action.
The problem is our lawmakers don’t care enough to do this.
Nor are they willing to provide us with federal relief checks, personal protective equipment (PPE), protection from evictions, and universal healthcare so that were can weather the storm.
Some will say the danger is overblown.
Children, in particular, are less susceptible to Covid-19 than older people.
And while it’s true that young people have shown fewer symptoms and include the lowest numbers of deaths, this virus has been around barely more than a year. We simply don’t know much about it and its long term effects.
A recent study from the journal the Lancet found that teenagers are just as susceptible to the disease as older people.
Researchers found few children 5-9 (the youngest included in the study) who had contracted the disease but those ages 10-19 were as likely to contract it as people ages 20-49 – and more likely than adults older than that.
So even if young people remain mostly asymptomatic, it is entirely possible they can spread the disease to older people who have a more difficult time fighting it off.
We certainly don’t want to end up like countries that have opened schools too quickly with too high infection rates.
In May, two weeks after Israel fully reopened schools, there was a Covid-19 outbreak. There were at least 130 cases at a single school. Students and staff were infected at dozens of schools causing a rash of renewed closings.
We should not be taking chances with schools.
Any action comes with some level of risk, but we should err on the side of caution.
Our government needs to serve us. Representatives who do not serve our interests need to be sent packing.
And anyone who gambles with our lives needs to be held liable.
Anyone who demands we place our heads against the barrel of a loaded gun as a prerequisite to jump start the economy, needs to be held responsible for that decision.
The chances of dying during the first round of a game of Russian Roulette using a standard six-shot revolver is 1/6. With each pull, the chances increase – 1/5, 1/4, etc. The average number of consecutive pulls before the gun fires is 3.5.
We know more about that than the Coronavirus.
In effect, we don’t know how many chambers are loaded, but we know there are bullets in the gun.
There are too many hidden factors to be able to say for sure what our chances are exactly. And in the presence of such ignorance, we should assume the worst.
That’s exactly what decision makers are doing by trying to protect themselves from responsibility.
We should take that as seriously as a loaded gun put to our temples.
Steven Singer, a husband, father, teacher and education advocate, is the author of “Gadfly On the Wall: A Public School Teacher Speaks Out on Racism and Reform,” and writes regularly on the Covid-19 pandemic and public schools at gadflyonthewallblog.com.
Don says
Stands to reason that a union teacher wants to keep schools closed she’s getting paid no matter what. Well how about the mom’s and pops that have to go to work or don’t get paid, or they have to pay extra for daycare if they can find it. How about the kids that only get a good meal at school. The teachers union doesn’t want school’s open, they’ve politicized this whole event.
Jonathan says
Don’t put school and Coronavirus together with Russian Roulette…
Yes the infection rate is going up in younger ages, but notice this… The death rate per week has dropped significantly since the start of the pandemic. Also teens health is weakening when you lock them in a home isolated from society almost completely (mentally and physically). Also the most teens have been getting from Coronavirus has been a fever, chills and sniffles. That’s it. Most deaths are due to older people because of pneumonia while others is because they already had health conditions like cancer or heart issues.
If you try to make another year of school online (really forever because this virus isn’t ever gonna end it’ll always be here) you’ll ruin our teens mental health and also physical health and strength, because if you notice it’s only just started affecting teens and kids after being forced inside for 6 months and they finally get outside with weak immune systems making them more vulnerable.
Also you can’t force masks on teens are truly anyone because of penal code 876.12 which states “No person or persons over 16 years of age shall, while wearing any mask, hood, or device whereby any portion of the face is so hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter upon, or be or appear upon any lane, walk, alley, street, road, highway, or other public way in this state.” Or else really people could be arrested due to this law that is still in place, and is also why there isn’t going to be a state wide mandate.
MyTwoCents says
The problem here in Palm Coast is that over 70% of families WANT their kids back to school for whatever reasons.
This is a PANDEMIC, it supposed to be difficult. Nothing feels right, because it’s NOT.
We as parents can not allow things to go on as if it’s back to normal. It’s not, and not going to be anytime soon if at all.
My son will definitely not go back, no natter what someone else says. I have common sense and will do what I have to do to keep him and the rest of my family as safe as possible. That means I have to make serious sacrifices and ADAPT to the world we live in now. Simple as that!
Deirdre Rutledge says
As a teacher I absolutely agree there’s no need to open schools physically in Florida in 3 weeks, we are the EPICENTER of the pandemic WORLDWIDE, this is insane. ALL the other teachers I know I feel the same way, and although the rates are not extremely high in our county yet, they have been going up quickly, and sending thousands (just in Flagler County alone) of students back in school put’s everyone’s lives at risk.
We were able to social distance and teach virtually last year, I don’t see why we can’t do it this year as well, at least initially. Kids can get very sick and die from this also, they can bring it home to their families, and it’s absolutely impossible to socially distance in any classroom I know. How are we going to feel if their family members get sick or even die because it was inconvenient to learn virtually?
It’s hard to believe teenagers will really wear a mask and social distance all day every day, they can’t follow directions for other things regarding safety – we shouldn’t have to tell them not to text while driving but they feel invincible.
Plus, while masks are ‘strongly encouraged,’ we can’t force anyone to do so and even with mandates there’s no consequences for not wearing one in this area.
Trump is absolutely not correct in saying he could legally cut off funding to our public schools for not opening them on his timeline, he obviously doesn’t seem to care about putting our health and lives in jeopardy as long as the economy improves, and DeSantis is on the same page.
They still want to put on a 15,000 person rally in Jacksonville although the rate of Covid has increased there over 500% since the big party was planned, even if the event ends up being outside instead of inside. He does not model safety, so many of his followers won’t wear masks either, and we’re going to have a big jump in cases due to this, plus holidays like the Fourth of July and Labor Day where so many people don’t socially distance.
Most of the teachers I know want to retire ASAP because we’re risking our lives. Many people in the medical profession get sick in spite of being super knowledgeable and cautious! Taking temperatures really won’t keep the virus from spreading, younger people often have the virus without a temperature.
Inconvenience is less important than putting our lives at stake, we can open the schools when it’s safe, and our students are able to learn virtually until then. Let’s face it, when millions of children return to school in early August in Florida, the COVID-19 cases are going to skyrocket from about 10,000 a day to probably over 100,000 a day, and our schools are going to close down anyway, but this time a lot of people will be desperately ill because of it. Lets do the safe and logical thing before people get sick; protect our children, their families, and anyone who works at our schools.
Bobby Carter says
Well, you got your masks mandates and now you’re going after the schools. Nice, well written essay. Argumentative for sure. Lots of statistics for sure. My first day in college statistics class, my professor told us, statistics lie. How about this: schools don’t open, teachers don’t get paid. You closed the restaurants, you closed other service-related industries, and none of the employees got paid. So it would seem that if the schools don’t reopen the teachers should not get paid. Right?
r g s says
Let me see. Let’s make our children a test case for the spread of a pandemic virus by sending them back to school. Maybe they will get it (or not) or maybe they will spread it. Hmmm. If you have ever been a parent, you know you have come down with a cold/virus from your child. They are breeders of infections, not of their own fault, but because they cough, sneeze or spew germs because they don’t think about their reactions. Since there are alternatives such as virtual classrooms, home schooling, and distance learning available, please keep your children safe, as well as yourself, in order to put a cap on this pandemic. I know that money for your local schools is important from your government sources but the health of your children is more paramount.
RGS
Joe Jackson says
Teachers can wear N-95 masks if they are worried. Let the kids go to school. If teachers are that worried then they shouldn’t be going to the beach, shopping at Publix or Lowe’s, or going to anywhere else but I bet they move about just fine and don’t worry about the health of a Publix clerk they come into contact with on a regular basis.
Percy's mother says
To put things in perspective . . . the stats from the Florida Department of Health posted Saturday, July 11, 2020 FOR FLAGLER COUNTY:
In Flagler, TOTAL DEATHS SINCE MARCH = 5. Still at 5. Divide that by 133 days and you get a 0.4% death rate.
In Flagler, TOTAL HOSPITALIZATIONS SINCE MARCH = 43. That’s 43 TOTAL hospitalizations since March (in 4 months). Divide that by 133 days, and you get 3/10 of a percent. Hospitalizations not even at anywhere near 1%
In Flagler, TOTAL POSITIVE CASES SINCE MARCH = 464. Divide that by 133 days, and you get 3.4%.
If you look at the actual numbers and percentages, it would logically appear that the hysteria is misplaced.
Forget about the “positivity rate” as Mr. Snyder likes to talk about, which to me is meaningless, and which no layperson would understand. The numbers above are accurate as posted on the Florida Department of Health website. The math does not lie.
2 of the above percentages are less than 1%.
1 of the percentages is just 3%.
If you look at it as I have posted it, it will put things in perspective. I invite Bob Snyder and/or Gretchen Smith to dispute the numbers above.
Dave says
Left wing nuts writes this crap.
Might as well turn on CNN.
Be ashamed says
I think it’s disgusting that you are using someone’s pain and bringing back up again for what??? There is NO COMPARISON. Disgusting media. Are we going to close schools down every year to the flu??
Mr. D. says
As a teacher, I used to joke about school being the petri dish. It’s pretty much going to come to fruition if we go back as scheduled. I can’t see a situation where this is going to work out without consequences to students, faculty and staff, all of them being negative.
Don’t get me wrong. I want nothing more to be in my classroom with my students. That’s where the most significant educational impact is made, but should it come as a threat to not only to my life, but my family’s as well?
I don’t know how this is all going to shake out, but it sure does make me feel like I’m expendable.
Maria says
You’re blowing it all out of proportion our kids are in camp we are working parents who have to put our kids in camp over the summer time so we can have a job and pay for the things we need and pay our bills and you’re making it that our kids can’t go back to school they’re in camp they’re not sick they’re learning to social distance they’re learning to do things at camp and then follow the rules they’re not sick follow the lead on that one
Joe Freeman says
Let’s just hide under our beds forever until all threats are completely eliminated from out lives such as car accidents, cancer, lightning, shark attacks, asteroids, herpes, paper cuts….you catch my drift.
Mike says
Well Written. And sadly enough, we are going to discover how correct you are in a few short weeks in Florida, mainly because of an inept governor and morally bankrupt president.
Jimbo99 says
Spending that much energy to compare an actual case of Russian Roulette to opening the schools in the fall is disingenuous at best. One is a case of taking a loaded revolver and shooting another vs a random person caching a random virus in a job where one voluntarily chooses to work. Why ? Just because a school opens this is just like a restart to the NBA season or any other job. the employee chooses to return to work, at any time an employee can opt out of the school’s reopening in the Fall before reporting to work. Do they lose their job ? Is that up to a teacher’s union to protect an employee like that ? Perhaps ? But if the teacher opts out of returning to work, at the very least a substitute teacher could be sought to fill a vacancy.
If the zero new cases is the benchmark to open, schools will not reopen, ever, that’s like saying no new cases of the flu hould’ve been the benchmark for any given school year. And for the school as a workplace to be liable, wouldn’t the case of Coronavirus have to originate from the school itself. Nobody is testing the environments for Covid-19 beyond the individuals. You’d have to prove the Coronavirus was caught at the specific location. That means I or anyone can’t sue Wal-Mart because a child or anther adult showed up from somewhere else with Coronavirus. The same holds for the schools. Too many other places, people & objects for the school to bear all the liability. Let’s say a teacher catches the flu, has a condition that places them in a higher at-risk category and that escalates into Pneumonia and death happens. That has always been a possibility.
Anyway, if you don’t want to be a teacher at the school, that choice of occupation & career is not a mandatory requirement. Just like when I chose accounting an later branched off into information technology that was a choice, whether anyone hired me or that I ever worked in either industry was never a guarantee.
Dennis says
I would think it’s pretty hard to prove in a court of law where you contacted the virus. I see nothing but idle threats here.
HenryRaymond Koscinski says
Parents don’t gamble with your children, keep your children home where their safe. The virus is rising every day here in Flagler and the hospitals are full of Covid- 19 cases. Listen to your doctors, not the school officials.
Mythoughts says
A Florida Doctor was on MSNBC this morning and said she felt it is not safe to make children go back to school until the virus is under control and it is not in control in Florida. The number of people getting infected in Florida continues to rise, and the test results are one to even more weeks behind which means the number of people infected is probably even higher than being reported.
The Florida Doctor also said she would not be bringing her children to Disney in Florida and said it is not safe no matter how the claim they have safety measures into place.
What does it take more deaths for people to realize the dangers of this virus?
It appears the thing the Republicans care about is getting the economy back up and running feeling that is going to be their claim to fame, well at this rate that is going to backfire when more deaths happen, then what are they going to do? Blame others of course for their negligence.DeSantis can’t make an intelligent decision on his own, he has to follow only what Donald Trump tells him to do. He is failing the citizens and also the visitors of this state.
TD1 says
While I certainly agree with the premise and case laid out by the author , reality says that this Florida governor will do whatever Trump wants .
Trump has shown no empathy toward 130k lives lost , thousands who fight for their lives in hospitals daily . This is a man who arguably has committed crimes against humanity by caging children .
Using our kids as pawns in order to ensure his re election is not even disputable based on his actions to date .
As far as other countries have managed the virus and we are lagging behind , I think it’s very clear that the American people cannot unite on tackling this problem .
Teach007 says
Bravo!!! As a retired educator I can tell you that opening schools will be totally insane. Schools are a hotbed of disease anyway without throwing this into the mix!!! There is NO WAY you can enforce social distancing with little kids and they have their hands on EVERYTHING!!! You simply can’t constantly sanitize everything and enforce guidelines without becoming a drill sargent! What a nightmare! It is totally unacceptable for our state to even consider reopening the schools! Over 200,000 people have lost their lives due to our quote unquote “leaders” stupidity in handling this situation. I guess people are just considered expendable!! A pitiful shame what our country has become!
CB from PC says
Well then the FCSO needs to patrol Wal-Mart, Public, Lowes etc. and all the small businesses
and advise Non-Mask wearers they need to vacate premises immediately or face arrest.
That sounds Draconian, but is the only way that number in the “County” has a chance of hitting zero.
Mike Cocchiola says
Republicans across the country have sold their honor and integrity for power. They no longer represent America or its values. They represent Donald Trump and his madness. Republican governors have clearly demonstrated that they are willing to risk our lives in a show of unity with Trump and his ego-driven quest for another disastrous term in office.
Most appallingly, these soulless governors, at Trump’s insistence, are declaring our country is safely open for business in the face of a deadly resurgence of the coronavirus. They are demanding that schools open as normal because parents and students alike need and want to go back to crowded classrooms and risk the lives of the kids, their teachers, and school staff. All for the glory of Trump and political power.
How are we as a nation going to live with ourselves when the coronavirus strikes classrooms and dormitories? Who will answer to the first death of a child, a teacher, or a custodian? How will Trump, DeSantis, Abbott of Texas or Ducey of Arizona distract us and dismiss their responsibility?
Td1 says
Trump will blame someone just as he always does .
The orange man will use anyone as pawns in his re election bid .
So what if teachers and kids get sick or die .
This is a person who is hollow , has no empathy toward anyone .
Gary R says
@Bobby Carter – You are absolutely correct! And, we should get a tax credit for the days the kids are not in school.
CB from PC says
How about those open border policies and sanctuary cities and protests championed by DEMOCRATS. We would still have Chinese coming into the country with the ChiComm Government’s blessing if not for Trump. Unfortunately, some idiots still do not “get it”.
And BTW, schools closed, then cut off pay for teachers and anyone else not on site. Very few people who own or work for small companies received a paycheck while off.
Cathy says
Agreed. The people willing to play Russian roulette with the lives of our students and teachers sicken me. Shame on them.
Mr. D. says
Teachers still taught online and that was probably tougher than being at school. There’s a lot more on the line here than you realize.
Although I realize my health is of zero importance to you, I worry about my three year old son contracting the virus and the unknown effects it could have on his future health if I were to bring this home to him. There’s too many unknowns with this virus to risk this.
I’m all for schools reopening and me being able to do my job. I’m just not sure if it’s worth the risk to all of our Flagler schools families.
Gary R says
CNN: Shootings, Murder Surge in Democrat-Controlled Cities. Chidren are being killed. On June 25, 2020, the Washington Post noted that out of the top 20 cities for violent crime in America, 17 have Democrat mayors. How are these mayors distract us and dismiss their responsibility? So, Mike Cocchiola this is alright with you? Democrats across the country have sold their honor and integrity for power. They no longer represent America or its values. See how that works Mike.
Sherry says
Regarding trump’s restrictions on Chinese people coming to the US. . . . can we please discuss FACTS instead of FOX/FACEBOOK talking points? Over 40,000 Chinese have been allowed in since the restriction. In addition. . . . have a good read about the flights since restrictions were eased in June:
U.S. Further Loosens Restrictions on Chinese Airline Flights
Delta plans to fly to Shanghai next week as standoff between two countries eases
By Alison Sider
Updated June 15, 2020 9:25 pm ET
The Trump administration further eased plans to restrict passenger flights by mainland Chinese airlines to the U.S. after China said it would permit more passenger flights by the US. airlines.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Monday it would allow a total of four round-trip flights a week by Chinese airlines, double the level it had set earlier this month. The move came after Chinese authorities said they would allow both of the U.S. airlines seeking to return to China to operate two weekly flights each.
Sherry says
Also, although “teachers” may not end up doing their jobs in a physical class room, they will still be working quite hard to educate children remotely and safely. The thought that they should not be paid merely because of the physical location of their jobs is extremely short sighted.
ENOUGH! Vote DEMOCRATIC says
Let’s have Trump/DeSantos supporters go back to school and be the “canary in the coal mine”!
{Would love to know where GOP will be sending their children to school?}
deb says
I got a little heart burn on this topic. My father has cancer , has been through treatment and his immune system is weak. he doesn’t leave the house except to go to his doctors in Daytona. I live with my parents ( husband passed while in the ARMY) to help with the care of my father and I have a young child in the 5th grade. So if I’m forced to send my child back to school, how do I protect my father from any virus my child could bring home from school. We in this household have all been tested, including my child and we are all negative. We can’t lock my father up away from my child, we can’t place him in some quarantine for the rest of his life until some working vaccine is ready. So sending my child into a school environment could end up killing my father, if infected. Someone is not thinking this through at the Federal, State and local level. . Sure a child might not get the serious medical ramifications from the virus as an adult, and might not even exhibit hardly any symptoms , unless they to have a medical condition that could cause them harm, , but infecting an adult with a weaken immune system is really hard to cope with.
Gary R says
Schools can open by everybody (teachers and students) wearing a hazmat suit. You could even tell the kids it is dress up day. You could even have a spider-man hazmat suit, batman hazmat suit, star wars hazmat suit, etc. The possibilities are endless. Fixed it!
School Board owes me.
Trailer Bob says
So I see some of you got “Trump” out of this article. It there a Trump Flu going around? Haven’t some of you had enough with all the political crap yet? Geezzzz.
Cissy Young says
Sending kids back to school with this virus still raging as it is now at the beginning of August = Here is a month’s pay but we want the life of your child in exchange for it. Or your loved one who can catch it from your child. Hope it’s enough money for you. How stupid does it sound? It’s the reality of the ones who just have to go to work but need to school to babysit for them so that they can go. Remember, stupid is as stupid does. My grandkids will NOT be attending school until there have been no reported cases for a length of time that makes it safe for them to go. Without masks. Think carefully what your loved ones lives are worth and don’t volunteer your family for this insane experiment about to go down in the schools. Think, people. And as much as you would like to say my words are baseless you can’t. Because this experiment with sending kids to school and wait to see what happens has not happened yet. Oh, but it will. Prisoners are being released early due to the COVID19. Meetings are done online due to COVID19. Eating establishments and bars are only allowed to open under strict guidelines due to COVID19. Small businesses have been closed down and are going out of business due to COVID19. People are having to be quarantined for weeks after exposure due to COVID19. The massive precautions that have been ordered taken do not mesh with the idea that schools should be open. The only reason schools are opening are financial and the lame excuse of kids needing socializing and that they don’t get proper nutrition unless they go to school is ridiculous. They don’t need anything the school has to offer when it means the real possibility that someone is going to die because of it. Good luck to those who participate. Take a pause and really think about the risks involved. We know that something real bad is going to happen from the schools opening. It’s not if, it’s when. It’s a no brainer for those with good sense.