The Army Is Developing a School Shooter Survival Simulator, and the Internet Is Appalled

Teachers didn’t choose a career where they expected to have bullets flying at […]

January 4, 2018, 8:00pm

Teachers didn’t choose a career where they expected to have bullets flying at them…unfortunately, that’s becoming a reality. pic.twitter.com/bThvHTXGYD
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) January 3, 2018

School shootings are the worst. It’s horrible seeing innocent lives lost within the perceived safety of a school building. With that, it appears that the U.S. Army is doing something about it, though not everyone is agreeing with the approach.

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Gizmodo recently posted a video that talks about how a new shooting simulation game is being made to train teachers on what to do in such an emergency. You can see the video above, but be warned – it might not sit easy with everyone.

Tamara Griffith, who works with the Army Research Laboratory in Orlando, explained, “The more experience you have, the better your chances of survival are. So this allows you to practice and have multiple experiences, know what works, what doesn’t work.”

We then see glimpses of the gameplay, which apparently features multiple roles, including unarmed teachers and the gunman in question, firing their way through a hallway.

“The U.S. Army and DHS developed the simulation, which is based on real events,” Gizmodo explains. “This technology is designed to be used in schools, where nearly one-fourth of mass shootings have occurred.”

Apparently, the Army consulted with one of the parents of a child who was killed at Sandy Hook, applying that into the experience of the game. Homeland Security officials hope to launch it in schools by spring 2018.

However, despite the good intentions of those involved, there are those on the Internet who think that the game is not only a bad idea, but also very distasteful. You can see a few responses below, including a team that has shown support for a young girl killed in a school shooting, Vicki Soto.

We condemn this in the strongest way possible. To use a video game to simulate a school shooting is disgusting. Why does this world keep inflicting painful memories on us?
— Team Vicki Soto (@TeamVickiSoto) January 3, 2018

Others have responded as well, including a user named Oskar, whose wife serves as a teacher.

My wife’s a teacher. The day I see her having to practice this on her computer, I will have to try hard not to cry.
— Oskar Pineño (@opineno) January 3, 2018

The argument goes back and forth with many people, with some even going as far as questioning why real guns wouldn’t be banned.

I mean you could just ban guns…save on playing a video game….save lives…save stupidity. Oh no… that would make too much sense!
— Jenn Ludgate (@MissJLud) January 4, 2018

And finally, Linda Gottileb made her point, clear and simple.

Unacceptable. Deplorably horrifying. Completely inappropriate. School shootings are not potential games to be entertained by. Making this game diminishes the horror.
— Linda Gottlieb (@linda_gottlieb) January 3, 2018

What do you think about the existence of such a simulation?