Frisco ISD and the Phantom Menace: Why 'Not Credible' Still Hurts

It’s becoming a grim ritual in North Texas. Monday morning, coffee is brewing, backpacks are zipped, and then the notification hits: Frisco ISD is in "secure mode."

The cause? A series of threatening emails targeting multiple campuses. The immediate reaction? Locked doors, limited movement, and a collective spike in cortisol for thousands of parents. By the afternoon, the Frisco Police Department had issued the all-clear, labeling the threats as "non-credible."

But let’s pause for a second. (Because nobody else seems to have the time.)

When an email from a ghost account can force a district of 60,000+ students into a defensive crouch, do we really get to call it "non-credible"? The bomb may not be real, but the psychological shrapnel definitely is.

The New Monday Morning Quarterback

This wasn't an isolated incident. Just last week, Dallas ISD’s North Dallas High School was evacuated due to a bomb threat. Then came a viral video—flagged by the FBI—featuring a masked individual and a Nazi flag, menacing schools across the region. Now, Frisco joins the list.

We are witnessing the industrialization of the school threat. It’s no longer just the angry kid in the back of the class; it’s a copy-paste campaign often originating from servers that aren't even on this continent.

"The video is believed to have originated outside of the U.S. with the sole purpose of inciting fear." – Fort Worth Police Department (regarding the recent viral threat)

So, we are playing a game of whack-a-mole against digital phantoms. The police do their job—they investigate, they clear, they reassure. But the perpetrators are achieving their goal without ever stepping foot in Texas. They aren't trying to blow up a building; they are trying to blow up our sense of normalcy. And frankly? It’s working.

The "Secure Mode" Paradox

For the uninitiated, "Secure Mode" is administrative speak for "Keep doing algebra, but lock the doors because someone might want to kill us." It’s a surreal half-measure that tries to balance safety with the mandate that The Show Must Go On.

The skepticism here isn't directed at the Frisco PD or the school administrators. They are following protocol. The skepticism is directed at the situation. How many times can we cry "secure mode" before the words lose their meaning? Or worse, before we become so desensitized that we miss the one time it isn't a hoax?

The Cost of the Hoax

We need to talk about the economics of fear. Every time this happens, police resources are diverted. SROs (School Resource Officers) are pulled into perimeter checks. Parents lose work hours doom-scrolling Twitter for updates.

But the real cost is invisible. It’s the third-grader asking why the doors are locked again. It’s the teacher who has to smile and teach history while mentally mapping the quickest exit. We are raising a generation that views "threat assessment" as a standard part of the school day, right alongside lunch and recess.

The official line is that there is "no danger to the public." I beg to differ. The danger is that we are accepting this low-level psychological warfare as just another part of the Monday routine. The bombs are fake, but the terror is being successfully manufactured, one email at a time.