17 people were killed on Valentine's day in a massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Facebook and twitter has been flooded with information regarding what happened that day.
I'm assuming you have seen it and if you haven't, go to your news provider for more information.
I hold back tears watching the videos, getting a glimpse of what students went through.
In one video you can see police carry a girl out while another is laying on the floor dead.
Students run out, past the dead bodies of fellow classmates and faculty.
Every single student will never be able to forget what happened. They will forever have haunting memories.
17 people lost their precious lives to an act of violence that perhaps could have been prevented.
How many more mass shooting does there have to be before something changes?
Now I write this post because there is something that needs to be addressed.
I am disgusted by the fact that people were pushing their political agendas on the matter in Florida not even an hour after it happened.
17 people died, and what people are focusing on is the politics of gun control.
I don't give a shit about whether or not you want to give up you AR-15. I don't give a shit in you think its a gun problem or a person problem.
17 people are dead. It's no longer time to argue your side of the coin. What we are doing, IS NOT WORKING.
Things can't stay the way they are.
We need to take action.
But first, we need to mourn the loss of every single person who lost their life.
We need to reflect and listen.
I am sick of seeing people turn a blind eye and tuning out everything others have to say.
Don't Dismiss Young Minds
Teens across the US are protesting. Teens are calling for action because guess what, they don't want this to happen again. They do not want to fall victim too.
During the 4 years of high school, I saw security dramatically change.
By senior year, all doors in the school were closed and locked. By senior year, we had started doing active shooter drills.
Teachers would casually discuss with students what they would do if an active shooter would come. I had one teacher who had access to a closet in the upper level boiler room through her classroom and she asked for a key so that she would be able to hide students there.
What I am sick of seeing hearing, is grown adults dismissing the concerns and voices of students.
They dismiss them as if they are too young to have a real opinion or know anything about the world.
And that pisses me off. That lights a fire in me. Because guess what, the most RELEVANT and IMPORTANT opinions and concerns are those of students.
Stop dismissing millennials! Stop dismissing youth! They matter. What they feel matters.
So no, I don't really care about how much you need your AR-15 and how it isn't a gun problem.
It is a gun problem and it is a person problem. IT IS BOTH.
Mentally unstable people shouldn't own guns. Maybe, an AR-15 doesn't have any real practical use to us?
We have a right to bare arms to avoid an over-controlling government. To avoid a monarchy or dictatorship. Having the right to bare arms is apart of insuring our freedom. It is an insurance.
YOU DO NOT NEED an AR-15 to hunt or even to protect yourself.
I know that if someone broke into my house, the first gun I would go for is a pistol. Maybe for you, it's your shotgun.
I believe we should have the right to bare arms. I believe we all should have the right to protect ourselves.
I'm not sure many would disagree with wanting the right to own a gun for protection.
But things need to change. Maybe it starts with what type of weapon we can own.
Maybe it starts with a more in-depth background check and assessment of whether or not someone is mentally stable enough.
Maybe we should have to take a class. Maybe it should be a process similar to getting your driver's license.
We need to propose new ideas and take action, instead of arguing back and forth.
I'm not saying I have the right answers or that I am right and you are wrong. I just want conversation and action.
And please, take more notice of what others post on social media. Take more notice of the quiet ones. Sometimes, all the signs are there, but no one acknowledges them. You could help save lives, just by being more aware.
Below I have shared a PSA from the parents of Sandy Hook. It's powerful. Take a look.
Students are scared that the next school shooting could be at their school.
Hell, I am scared.
I go to a public university with over 40,000 students. At big universities, it's easy to miss things. It's easy to become recluse and to seclude yourself from day-to-day life. Professors and students won;t notice if you aren't there one day. What if a student at my university is planning a shooting?
Students aren't allowed to have weapons on campus, but will that stop someone from having a gun?
Gun violence isn't just about mass shootings. There are so many young kids who have access to guns or have a gun and probably shouldn't.
I have been in a room full of people when someone started shooting. You don't know where it's coming from, who's shooting, or where it is directed. Flight responses kick in and you run. I can still feel the panic. I held on to two door frames and pressed myself against the wall to avoid being trampled. When I finally got out and ran across the street, the young man was running and shooting in the air. I'll never forget that night.
Parents, adults, please listen. Your children are scared. And they have right to be.
Please attempt to relate to those surviving mass shooting.
Your Opinion
Your opinion is not always right.
If we refuse to acknowledge that an answer is wrong, how do we ever learn?
How do we ever grow?
Times change. What worked then, isn't working now.
"How it's always been" isn't always the right way.
So hear others. Hear them out. Listen.
Digest their feelings, their words.
Don't be so easy to invalidate student's feelings.
Often I see people choosing to ignore the message students have and continue to push their agenda, without really listening and hearing the other side. Seems like child's play to me. It's sad that students even feel the need to protest for their safety. But here we are.
You might one day feel different if you lose a loved-one, a child, to a shooting.
You might feel what other parents have felt. You might respond in way that the students and parents have responded in Parkland.
Start listening,
Truthtalks
@truthtalks
https://steemit.com/@truthtalks
February 22th, 2018