Commentary
by Michael Robinson
Photo by Robinson
Like a recurring nightmare, Friday’s bomb threat against Robb Elementary School once again brought DPS vehicles and officers who closed the surrounding streets. Furthermore, DPS even asked neighbors living in the area to evacuate as their officers swept the campus looking for explosives.
Once again, the neighbors who live near the school were thrown back into a state of emergency albeit for a short time.
The phoned in bomb threat even prompted officials to recommend Uvalde County Courthouse officials and occupants to shelter in place.
Why would someone call in a bomb threat to a school that has been empty for over a year? Could it be, the perpetrators knew by calling in the threat, Robb School name would be invoked and brought up in the news media which would exacerbate the fears and anxiety which are difficult to abate?
I can’t imagine what it is like living within a couple of blocks of Robb Elementary School today. The constant visual reminder being ever present.
Since the tragedy of May 4th, 2023. The outside of Robb Elementary School has become a memorial site for many. It is the place many come to visit to grieve and remember the lives of the children lost and the two teachers.
Some have traveled from all over the United States and the world to stand on the ground just yards from an event so horrific it is difficult to wrap one’s minds around.
Like a book laid open with the same two pages open, the Robb School campus seem frozen in time.
Robb School can never be a school again.
As long as the buildings remain, DPS will likely have to post officers around the site for the foreseeable future.
It could be repurposed as a memorial site where people can go to honor and remember those who perished. It is a large piece of property that affords many possibilities.
Just as the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation has taken thoughtful, gradual steps in the process of building a new elementary school, the same thoughtfulness, care and sensitivities will be needed when moving forward with the Robb School Memorial.
Keeping those school buildings is likely not only going to delay the healing process but could also draw others to make similar threats against the structure.
Uvalde CISD school officials and the Uvalde Mayor and Uvalde City Council members are going to have to make some difficult decisions regarding how to move forward. I don’t envy them.
Neighbors may eventually decide to move as the constant reminder of the school is just too painful to bear. Continual threats keep people on edge. When will the next shoe going to drop?
Delaying making decisions is making a decision.
