a group of empty desks in a classroom

Mass Shootings: A Staple of American Society

An American student shares his frustrations about the frequent mass shootings

Current eventsSafety and crimeSocial Issues
By VoiceBox ·

Noah

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Mass Shootings: A Staple of American Society

Please note: this article includes sensitive topics that some people might find difficult.

I've been silent for too long.

Columbine, April 20th, 1999 - 15 Dead

Sandy Hook, December 14th, 2012 - 26 Dead 2 Wounded

Orlando, June 12th, 2016 - 50 Dead, 53 Wounded

Las Vegas, October 1st, 2017 - 59 Dead 850+ Wounded

Parkland, February 14th, 2018 - 17 Dead 17 Wounded

Buffalo, May 14th, 2022 - 10 Dead

Uvalde, May 24th, 2022 - 21 Dead

When will it end? Shootings have become a staple here in American society. How will the public feel safe enough to go out to their schools, workplaces, and stores without worrying about a potential threat? 

Being a student, I worry about this potential outcome every day. As the time passes and I get older, I hear of more and more frequent killings of innocent people at the hands of ill men with firearms, and I just say to myself, when will it stop? 

A gunman with the wish to end lives.  

These men plan their missions out to every detail, aiming to kill a certain race, a certain sex or religion to send their message written in the blood of innocence. These people have killed men and women, even children, and it only gets worse. One of the most recent mass shootings that has happened took place in Buffalo, a grocery store was shot up at the hands of a white supremacist looking to kill as many African American people as possible, and what’s more sickening is that

He live-streamed it…

The live video saw the shooter walk out of his car, firing his assault rifle with a camera on the barrel, a racial slur at the crosshair as viewers on the live stream watched him mercilessly end the lives of black men and women. He went through aisle after aisle, killing any he saw that were black or even close to it, passing by those who were white, saying, “I’m sorry”. It’s sickening to know that I’m not just at risk by being a student, but also being an African American citizen only makes me more afraid about living out my life in this society as hate this severe continues to live on in this country. Our people have gone through so much as is, and yet men like these hunt us down as if we’re animals. 

We bleed the same as you…

All people bleed the same as you…

And to what end? It feels like the government chooses to brush off the senseless murders of minorities like putting a bandage on stab wounds as more people mourn those lost at the hands of killers. I’ve gone on with my life hoping for an end or some kind of resolve to these senseless attacks, but yet the world continues to prove me wrong, that the world holds more corruption than you can ever imagine. Hate is but an endless cycle spinning, and the only thing we have show for it is more of it. We break the cycle time and time again, only for it to come back around. It’s sad knowing that such feelings like hate in the world can never be completely eliminated because there’s always a some of it left no matter how much you combat it.

We mourn the dead and praise them as their souls walk beyond to a life of everlasting.

And we will continue our fight against hate. I hope one day we can win it.

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