Did nuclear bomb/tornado/earthquake/terrorist dills "traumatize" you when you were young?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (217408)
Walnut Creek, California
July 22, 2017 12:45pm CST
When I was in grade school, I remember periodic drills of some sort, where we had to put our heads under our desks, or something like that. In California, it may have had to do with earthquakes. In Chicago, it may have been in case a nuclear bomb landed nearby.
There's a tendency among grown-ups to think that their children will be traumatized by such drills, but I remember thinking of them as just part of school, like saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Of course, there were fire drills too, but that was just a chance to get out of the classroom for awhile.
Did you have disaster drills when you were in school? Did they traumatize you in any way? I'd imagine they had tornado drills in Iowa, and other kinds of drills in other places. And speaking of the Pledge of Allegiance, if you're American, did you think that "one Nation, under God, indivisible..." was actually "one Nation, under God, invisible..."? I sure did.
13 people like this
15 responses
@FourWalls (67096)
• United States
22 Jul 17
They didn't traumatize me, part of school that's all. I thought it was "Indy visible," "Indy" being the common nickname for Indianapolis.....
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@marguicha (222052)
• Chile
22 Jul 17
We had disasters but not drills when I was little. Earthquakes (and very big ones) were disasters that came often. Grown ups said not to run, but I did.
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@marguicha (222052)
• Chile
22 Jul 17
@TheHorse I always run to the garden. I don´t want anything to fall on my head.
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@TheHorse (217408)
• Walnut Creek, California
22 Jul 17
@marguicha That actually makes good sense to me. What's the most powerful 'quake you've been in?
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@celticeagle (165411)
• Boise, Idaho
23 Jul 17
I remember the drills too. I never had much of a relationship with God. I just always have believed what will be will be. I believe in fate and in Karma. I am afraid of the big volcano and the on going earthquakes at the Yellowstone since I live so close. Not much I can do about it though.
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@celticeagle (165411)
• Boise, Idaho
24 Jul 17
@TheHorse ......I don't know. It could.
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@TheHorse (217408)
• Walnut Creek, California
24 Jul 17
@celticeagle I'd be worried.
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@valmnz (17097)
• New Zealand
22 Jul 17
@TheHorse 4.2 is quite commonplace here on a regular basis over the last few years. Things start getting good after 5. One of our worst in recent years was the Christchurch one of about 6.3 that killed about 185 people, about ten years ago. And the recent Kaikoura one last year of 7.8 has really devestated the region. There was a 4.2 one down in Hokitika two days ago that didn't even reach news coverage.
@valmnz (17097)
• New Zealand
22 Jul 17
@TheHorse kids stay inside for earthquakes. The drill is Drop, Cover, Hold - that is, hold on to your desk or whatever is covering you so it doesn't shake away. Kids take it in their stride to the extent that even my five year olds used to drop without being told even if they felt even a minor shake. No more cheap buildings here, all have to be earthquake proofed. Old businesses have to spend millions earthquake proofing their buildings now. We've had too many big ones in recent years.
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@paigea (36320)
• Canada
22 Jul 17
I lived in the states for a year and said the pledge of allegiance. Is there something about liberty in it? I was saying liver and I was a bit mystified about that.
We had air raid drills and fire drills. I was not traumatized; I did think about it with some anxiety at times. My dad had us practice fire safety at home too. He would stand under my bedroom window and explain how he would catch me, if I had to jump. I was terrified of heights, so that was the most traumatizing "drill" for me as a child.
Now we have tornado and intruder drills. And fire drills. We try not to make it traumatizing, but we have to do it.
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@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
22 Jul 17
We just had fire drills. Like you said, a reason to go outside.
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@TheHorse (217408)
• Walnut Creek, California
22 Jul 17
@teamfreak16 Oh, that sounds dramatic. We did it in class.
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@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
22 Jul 17
@TheHorse - Every morning. We went outside and said it as they raised the flag.
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@much2say (55190)
• Los Angeles, California
24 Jul 17
Yep - we had those fire and earthquake drills. Traumatized - no - we were actually happy that it was a day out of the norm and we could get out of class for a bit 
. My daughter went through a school drill a few years ago (forgot the exact name of the drill) of what to do if a shooter comes into the school - that to me is scarier. They told the kids to hide . . . then they couldn't find my daughter - she hid herself well in a closet. The teacher thought the drill felt like being part of the Hunger Games 
.
. My daughter went through a school drill a few years ago (forgot the exact name of the drill) of what to do if a shooter comes into the school - that to me is scarier. They told the kids to hide . . . then they couldn't find my daughter - she hid herself well in a closet. The teacher thought the drill felt like being part of the Hunger Games .
@LovingMyBabies (85289)
• Valdosta, Georgia
22 Jul 17
Those drills to me were the same, I thought they were kind of exciting and fun. Lol. The fire drills meant less school work that day-yippee!
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@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
22 Jul 17
Yes we used get under the desks for nuclear disaster I suppose.
Didn't phase me.
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@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
22 Jul 17
@TheHorse 
With nuns for teachers, it was the least of worries.
With nuns for teachers, it was the least of worries.1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217408)
• Walnut Creek, California
22 Jul 17
@TiarasOceanView Oh dear! I never experienced nuns. But I did have a piano teacher who made me quit taking piano lessons.
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@MALUSE (69373)
• Germany
22 Jul 17
If I had grown up in the GDR (German Democratic Republic) I would have had such drills to be prepared for an attack by the imperialist class enemy. But we left when I was 11 years old. In West Germany, there was nothing of the kind.
I learnt the national anthem of the GDR but never the one of West Germany (which is now the anthem of the united Germany). I'm not a one for patriotic stuff and don't feel the urge to learn it.
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@TheHorse (217408)
• Walnut Creek, California
23 Jul 17
@QuantumJoy Actually, now that I think about it, I do. I respect the National Anthem, and sing along at baseball games.
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
23 Jul 17
Lol! You are too funny. Invisible!
I found it worse having drills in school when I taught. If an intruder was in the building, we had a code to follow. We hid along a wall that the intruder couldn't see. Same if the intruder was outside looking into the classroom. Times have certainly changed.
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