This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Brown chapter.
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On behalf of all the writers at the Brown University chapter of Her Campus, I would first like to offer our sympathy to those involved in the Boston Marathon tragedy last week, to those whose families have been affected and to the residents of Boston for their courage in the face of unusual and terrible violence. Last week, two bombs went off near the finish line of the 117th annual Boston Marathon, killing three spectators. The two brothers suspected in the killings are Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; Tamerlan was killed in a police chase and Dzhokhar will soon be tried in court for using a weapon of mass destruction. A campus officer at M.I.T. was also shot from his patrol car as the two brothers attempted to escape police. The two brothers are originally from Chechnya, located in Russia’s southwestern corner. This tragedy is another opportunity to focus on the mental state of those involved in recent shootings, a chance for us to reform our mental health care in this country. I hope we take this opportunity to truly attempt to understand their reasons for inflicting violence due to mental distress. Missing in much of our reports of these violent conflicts in the past year has been proposals to alter and improve mental health care in this country. Although stigmas relating to mental health have greatly decreased in recent years, it still may be difficult for some to be open about their private lives. Although I will mention more about the gun debate below, perhaps this is not the only element of these events we should be considering and working so hard to change.
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I should also mention that Wednesday last week, only days after the marathon massacre, the Senate blocked several measures to increase gun control laws. Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in expanding background checks for those purchasing guns and eliminating the sale of weapons of mass destruction, lawmakers have rejected bipartisan proposals to do so. As we attempt to move forward in the face of so much recent violence, it is hard to ignore how close to home these have hit. As safe as we feel in our quiet suburban areas and on campus, it is hard not to consider the possibility that these incidents could have happened anywhere at any time. Again, to all those affected, we express our sympathy and thank you for your extraordinary bravery.
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