Calm Leadership Critical During Terrifying Period

Calm Leadership Critical During Terrifying Period
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It was a hectic and scary week for the vast majority of folks in our region, as loud sirens from first responder vehicles and firetrucks pierced through the chilly January air, creating an eerie and terrifying tone that is quite unfamiliar to our resort community in the offseason.

The bomb threat at Ocean City Elementary School on Tuesday and then again at Stephen Decatur High School on Wednesday sent parents into a state of shock and fear that caused a few of them to try and evade police barricades to get to the scene and pick up their children as quickly as possible.

Yet, despite the near hysteria that the separate incidents created in our community, and the tension that can reach a boiling point during any breaking news situation, the thing we found ourselves most struck by is the vast juxtaposition between the calm and concise efforts of teachers, students and first responders and the fear-fueled, kneejerk and speculative comments made on social media by people who weren’t directly involved.

Simply put, in a breaking news situation, what the public needs is facts, and anything but the facts just muddies the waters, heightens the fear and speculation that the event is already creating, and makes it harder for everyone to do their job.

Opinions matter, but what we believe a portion of the general public has forgotten while swimming in the constant 24-hour stream of information is a lesson most of us learned as little kids — sometimes you should keep your opinions to yourself. A breaking news situation like a bomb threat at a school is one of those times.

For instance, while you may find it beyond the realm of possibility that pranksters could be “coordinated” enough to orchestrate robo-calls to more than a dozen schools in the tri-state area this week, it doesn’t necessarily mean that these threats were a terrorist attack and ISIS has set up a terrorist cell in the woods near West Ocean City next to a homeless encampment.

It is also ludicrous to think that a bomb threat situation where information about the threat is being disseminated to parents and the public as quickly as possible over various platforms is the perfect time for you to wax poetic about your views on the public school system, Common Core, Muslims or the President. Posting wild fears that hold no credible truth to them in a public forum is immensely irresponsible behavior for adults to engage in. Furthermore, while you have the right to have an opinion, we hope that the next time the irrational choose to enter a conversation in a public forum on social media, they will remember that in those situations, it’s not about their feelings, it’s about the facts. There will be lots of time after the situation is over to play armchair quarterback.

Look, we get it.  In the wake of school shootings and terrorist attacks in our post 9/11 world, we understand that our minds quickly go from zero-to-tragic in a moment’s notice. Yet, even in those tragic and horrific incidents, the all-business and cool-under-pressure mentality of those directly involved helped save lives and bring people to justice.

The teachers and staffers of OCES and SDHS and the first responders should absolutely be commended for the way they handled these threats, and the hundreds of families who had kids evacuated from those schools agree.

Two of our staffers here at The Dispatch, this reporter included, had kids at OCES that morning. It was a stressful situation. We tried to get information out to the public as quickly as possible while trying to figure out where our kids were going to be and how to pick them up.

Yet, when I arrived at the fire station on Keyser Point Road, I was amazed to see hundreds of elementary school kids sitting quietly in rows flanked by their teachers, who remained calm, enacted the planned protocol and got the job done. Our children will always remember that day, like we recall where we were when the Challenger exploded or JFK was assassinated, but they likely won’t be scarred by it, and that’s because everyone directly involved remained cool under pressure, and did their job.

My 7-year-old daughter was unfazed by the events the other day, and I found it interesting the word “bomb threat” was never uttered to her or perhaps it didn’t register with her as a real thing. For her and her classmates, it was just a new version of the lockdown drills that schools unfortunately have to conduct and plan for in the crazy times that we live in: one that involved a trip to the fire station and an early pick up from dad.

We enjoyed a rare weekday lunch together, and went home to play with our massive Flemish Giant rabbit.  Never once did she mention bomb threats, terrorist cells, Internet trolls or Common Core.

She just kept talking about how much she loved her teacher, her school and how she was happy that everyone was okay.

And that’s a fact.

About The Author: Bryan Russo

Bryan Russo returned to The Dispatch in 2015 to serve as News Editor after working as a staff writer from 2007-2010 covering the Ocean City news beat. In between, Russo worked as the Coastal Reporter for NPR-member station WAMU 88.5FM in Washington DC and WRAU 88.3 FM on the Delmarva Peninsula. He was the host of a weekly multi-award winning public affairs show “Coastal Connection.” During his five years in public radio, Russo’s work won 19 Associated Press Awards and 2 Edward R. Murrow Awards and was heard on various national programs like NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, APM’s Marketplace and the BBC. Russo also worked for the Associated Press (Philadelphia Bureau) covering the NHL and the NBA and is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and composer.