Gun Violence: What do we do?

You can't get on social media, browse the news, or turn on the TV without seeing gun violence in front of you.  Our world is surrounded by mass shootings, school shootings, and domestic violence.  None of this is new.  Guns aren't new.  Mass shootings unfortunately, are not new.  What's new is the way in which we sensationalize these things within the news and the increased rate in which these incidents are occurring.  

And everyone wants to know - how do we stop this?  How do we make our world a safer place for our children and ourselves?

I don't know the answer.  I have an internal argument with myself quite often when it comes to gun control and what the right answer is.  What I do know is that we have to do something.  Continuing to issue thoughts and prayers, that's not enough.  Continuing to listen to each side bicker is not providing a solution.  

When I don't know how to solve a problem - I turn to education.  I do research, I study facts and I talk to people knowledgeable on the subject in order to gain a better understanding of the  problem.  

In regards to gun violence - I think we need to start with education.  

Recently a friend posted an article from NPR that I found inspired.

Read the article.  A bunch of smart guys who study school violence got together and tried to figure out how we move forward in preventing the next Parkland shooting.  For context, this was only two weeks of intense research and discussion, but it's the best start I've seen for us to start with moving forward.  Since its publication, over 200 Universities, professors, and experts have come out in support of the basic idea: "Don't harden schools. Make them softer, by improving social and emotional health."

The program created a concise eight step National Call to Action:

"A public health approach to protecting children as well as adults from gun violence involves three levels of prevention: (1) universal approaches promoting safety and well-being for everyone; (2) practices for reducing risk and promoting protective factors for persons experiencing difficulties; and (3) interventions for individuals where violence is present or appears imminent"

I'm a huge fan of any call to action that starts with education and health.  Do I think we need some reform when it comes to guns?  Absolutely.  But simply affecting those laws is not going to solve the problem.  We need to also combat violence with education as well as mental and social health policy reform.  

Truly - I wish there was one answer and we could end this horrific time in America, but there's not.  Anyone claiming there's one root problem (whether that be guns or mental health), is very wrong.  I'll even say ignorant.  Actually - one of the major issues in America right now is that we are all so set in our ways - in taking sides - in being right or wrong - that we can't solve any problems.  

I ask that you take the time to get informed, to be open minded, and to understand that we have this one world so we better figure out how to work together for compromise because without that, violence and poverty and racism - all the ugliest parts of our world, will continue to flourish.  

A New Kind of Fear

I tend to think I'm invincible.  I generally don't get scared of any real threat.  Sure, I'm ridiculously afraid of spiders and mascots but in terms of real safety concerns I generally assume I'll be fine. 

It seems every day we hear about campus shootings.  We watch the news and see the faces of the people experiencing the tragedy and we cannot fathom how that would feel. 

On June 1st at 9:49am I learned exactly how it feels.  A campus alert went out notifying us that an active shooter was on campus and we needed to lock down our building.  Students and staff were asked to stay off campus and seek shelter if they were already on site.  At that time we didn't receive much information.  Many of us honestly thought it was a drill or some kind of misunderstanding. 

As news reports and social media started to flood our phones, we learned this was very real.  There were reports that two people were dead, that there were upwards of 5 shooters, that they had enough supplies to do serious damage, and the stories continued to grow.  As we sat in our office reading information and watching the news - we knew no more than you did - but we were living what you were watching.

I'm inherently a problem solver.  I want to formulate plans and create solutions.  Very early on I became aware that my department had no plan.  It went so far as my supervisor expected me to continue sitting at my desk working - and was irritated when I was visibly upset by this request.  We were called into the boss' office (inside a room covered with windows mind you) where we were told not to post on social media and to lean on each other during this time.  Again - there was no plan should the shooter(s) come to our building next.

As I sat in a chair, watching the new, receiving texts and social media updates asking if I was safe - the real fear began to sink in.  We had no information, no plan of action, and no concept of what the next steps could be.  In my head - I made a plan.  If you know me - you know at any given time I'm aware of my surroundings and I've got a strategic plan for almost any situation.  I grew up in an extremely safe suburban setting and for some reason I'm still the one you want on your side in an emergency. 

Thankfully - we were never in any harm after that initial alert came across.  There was in fact only one shooter and one person killed.  It was a targeted attack and ended very quickly.  The hours after the attack were spent searching and securing the area.  This was Los Angeles after all.  Within minutes the campus police, Los Angeles police, sheriffs, FBI, and other federal entities were all on campus.  That was the only thing that gave me some sense of safety, knowing how responsive and prepared these officers were.  Truly - Los Angeles sees it all - these officers were organized, efficient, and I'm incredibly thankful for everything they did that day.

Even though I was really not in any danger at any point - I didn't know that.  It was hours of fearing the unknown, of having no plan, and frankly of having leadership not show much serious care for the situation.  For the first time in a really long time - I felt real fear.  The kind of fear that makes you freeze because you truly never thought that you'd be in such an unusual situation.  And every time I see a school shooting on the news - my stomach falls, I get goosebumps.  Because I have semblance of how those people feel. 

I don't know how to solve the worlds problems - but I do know when people start shooting up our schools - we have to take that seriously.  We need to think less of who is doing it and look at why.  Why do they feel its the only option?  How do they get to this point?  What are the signs?  It's happening far too often.  And it needs to be addressed.  It's not just about guns.  It's not about a certain ethnic group.  It's about a centralized problem - mental health.  A mentally healthy person does not do this.  We need to start with understanding mental health before we can begin to effect change. 

I never want to feel that kind of fear again.  And I never want to see another news story about it happening to other people.  It's a new kind of fear - the fear that its happening where we work, where we learn - while we are going about our everyday lives.  It's a new kind of fear that doesn't discriminate based on race, class, or social structure.  It truly can happen to you.