A Dangerous New Normal

When bomb threats forced evacuations at several Philadelphia schools, including Masterman, the reaction should have been shock. A threat involving a bomb is one of the most serious situations a school can face. It should be the kind of event that fully alters the way people experience a moment. It forces students to confront the unsettling possibility that the unthinkable may not be as distant as they once assumed. Yet for many students, the reaction was surprisingly ordinary. Instead of fear, conversations often centered on delayed classes and how long everyone would stand outside. That response says less about students themselves than it does about the environment they have grown up in.