"No, there wasn't as much talk about autism, or transgender kids, or any number of topics growing up in the 80s and 90s, because they weren't understood or discussed in the same way not because they didn't exist. But it's striking, watching the new HBO documentary Thoughts and Prayers, the degree to which it shows a demonstrable change from the experiences of someone growing up 30 or 40 years ago versus today:"
"We definitely did not grow up doing this, either, and I think there will be a huge part of the audience that will look at this and be like, wow, right, I knew this was happening, but [still surprised] to see it.' And there will be this whole other part of the audience that will be like, yeah, mom, dad, I do this three times a year and have since I was five years old.'"
"Thoughts and Prayers surveys many of those lockdown drills, and the many supplements available to contemporary schools designed to offer further protection from an active shooter: bulletproof backpacks, in-classroom shelters, and astoundingly elaborate real-life simulations, complete with stunningly realistic makeup for bullet wounds."
Contemporary schools have implemented universal emergency action plans that extend far beyond traditional fire drills. Measures include lockdown drills, bulletproof backpacks, in-classroom shelters, and highly realistic active-shooter simulations complete with wound makeup. Many children practice these drills from early elementary years, sometimes three times a year starting as young as five. The prevalence of these practices marks a clear generational shift from the 1980s and 1990s, when such topics were less understood and less discussed. Reactions vary by generation: some adults are startled by the normalization of these measures, while many children accept them as routine.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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