To the 21 beautiful souls lost the morning of May 24th,
We, as a nation, have failed you.
To the 19 innocent children who were taken from this world far too young,
You didn’t deserve this. You suffered for the whims and wishes of politicians who care more to callously claim another term in office rather than uphold the oath they swore to protect you. You deserved so much more.
To the children of Ross Elementary School,
There is no fathomable excuse to make up for the pain and trauma you now carry with you. No amount of words will ever be able to express how sorry I am for what you have endured. But condolences are not enough.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has offered “healing and hope” for the Uvalde community as they mourn the young lives that were so carelessly taken. Many other prominent GOP politicians followed his lead, offering their thoughts and prayers for all the families involved in the tragedy. When will they learn? No amount of thoughts and prayers will stop a gun from killing. No amount of healing and hope will bring justice to the 21 lives lost in Uvalde, Texas.
As usual, nothing will be done. Once again, we enter the never-ending cycle that is the gun violence debate. Politicians will release tweets offering comfort, thoughts, and prayers to the victims. The media will continue to run the story over the coming weeks as mourning parents plead to the government to enact change, begging their representatives to not let their child become just another statistic. A week will go by. Congress will argue, people will take to the streets and protests will erupt. A month will pass. Nothing changes. Life goes on. Until the next shooting occurs. And the cycle continues.
10 years ago, we saw 26 innocent lives depart this world at Sandy Hook Elementary School when a gunman stormed the school. 10 years ago, we said never again. 10 years ago, we called for change. 10 years later and here we are, living the same nightmare. What will it take? How many more children? How many more teachers? Must we get down on our hands and knees and beg? We don’t need to. Parents who have lost their children have been begging for change since the deadly attack at Columbine in 1999. All for it to fall upon the deaf ears of those who have the power to act but won’t for the sake of retaining their seat. A seat given to them by the people to fight for the people. A waste of a seat as they would continue to use it for nothing.
I have heard countless people echo the sentiment “there are no words” for a tragedy such as this.
I can think of many: Needless. Frustrating. Predictable. Preventable.
The government’s inaction to pass simple laws such as enhancing background checks or banning assault-level weapons to prevent further tragedies such as the one witnessed at Ross Elementary is horrific. Their blatant disregard for the safety of the children of this country is blinding. We shouldn’t have to go to school each day wondering if it will be our last. We shouldn’t have to walk from class to class wondering if this will be the last time we’ll sit in this classroom. We shouldn’t have to train ourselves to hide under our desks and prepare to defend ourselves from an imminent attack on our livelihoods. And yes, I use the word imminent as it has become clear we are now to expect to be shot. Since the horrors of Sandy Hook, there have been 3,865 mass shootings in the United States alone. The tragedy at Uvalde is just the 212th mass shooting in 2022. And it’s only June.
To the parents of those who were lost,
I cannot begin to imagine the pain you feel. My heart breaks with you. No parent should have to suffer the loss of a child. Know that we mourn with you. And know that we will never stop fighting.