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Run, hide, fight: Alabama releases graphic PSA about mass shootings

And the U.S. military matches with a bath salts PSA

The Alabama Department of Homeland Security has released a graphic public service announcement about what to do in the event of a mass public shooting, such as the tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Conn. in December.

While there has been plenty of talk about finally increasing gun control in the wake of the Newtown shooting, the Alabama government has taken matters into its own hands and has boiled down advice about what to do in the case of a public shooting into three options: 1. run. 2. hide 3. fight.

The video was originally produced by the Huston Police Department before the Sandy Hook school shooting. It was updated after the shooting and re-released with a foreword from Spencer Collier, director of the Alabama Department of Homeland Security, who gives advice on, in his words, “active shooter events.” It starts to get really graphic around the 1:35 mark, after a G.I.-Joe clone walks into an office and starts shooting.

Caution, watching this video may mean you will never want to enter your office building again.

While the video deals with a serious issue, its over-the-top approach hasn’t gone over entirely well. At The Daily Beast, Kevin Fallon describes the video as a “jarring mix of the graphic and the corny” and Gawker comments on its “culture of fear-approved title.”

On the topic of over-the-top government public service announcements, here’s one about the dangers of bath salts, which was created by the U.S. Navy. Caution: bath salts will turn your girlfriend into a zombie and your roommate into a red-eyed monster, all while techno music plays in the background. Or, perhaps the military’s public service announcement was created, in part, because it is difficult to detect bath salts through routine drug testing.

BATH SALTS: It’s not a fad…It’s a NIGHTMARE. (Capitalization courtesy of U.S. Navy)

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