When I was 6 years
old, I lived with my mom and step-dad in Garland, Tx on Curtis Street. My step-dad kept a gun tucked away in the
house somewhere. I assume it was for
protection because he was not a hunter or a rugged cowboy. Rather, he was a repair man for Sylvania
Electronics. One night on Curtis Street,
I watched my mom chase my stepdad down our street, waving that loaded gun and
threatening to kill him. He was running
away and she was running after him. I
stood outside barefoot and watched until they disappeared down the street. Scared, I ran to the next door neighbors
house. I'd never met our neighbors but I
felt their house would be safer than mine. My mom's behavior was always
unpredictable and always frightening. I
just didn't want to be left alone with my mom when she made her way back to our
house.
While my step-dad
kept that gun in our home for safety and security. That night, the gun fell into the wrong
hands. A person diagnosed with mental illness.
I've shared about my mom's mental illness previously. The reason I write about
this today is because of the details from the latest school shooting across the
airwaves currently. Unfortunately, it
will soon outrun it's airtime as the nation moves on to the next disaster or
crisis.
This map of the
United States represents total school shootings since 2013. The white dot represents the most current
tragedy in Parkland, Florida. The high
school where 14 kids went to school on Wednesday, Feb 14th and consequently
lost their lives. Full Stop. Those kids were supposed to go home after their
school clubs & activities. Those
kids were supposed to eat dinner with their families. Those kids had homework
to finish. Those kids had chores to help out with. Those kids were supposed to get ready for the
next day at school. Those kids had LIVES
that they were LIVING. And those lives
came to an abrupt and unjust end. For
the Kids, the parents, the brothers & sisters, the Aunts, Uncles &
Cousins, for the best friends..nothing will ever be the same again. For the survivors that were injured, the same
outcome holds true. Nothing will ever be
the same again. They experienced
automatic weapon cross-fire. Please
understand the gravity of what I just wrote, please. KIDS EXPERIENCED automatic weapon cross-fire
at SCHOOL.
How are these children going
to handle that experience? What about
ALL of the children represented in the near 300 school shootings from the last
5 years represented by the map above?
How many total children will have had a school shooting experience under
their belt? And how will they handle
it? What I can say for certain is many
of these kids will experience anxiety, triggered by post traumatic stress or
depression or paralyzing fear or a multitude of other issues. How do I know that for certain? Because no-one was shot that night on Curtis
Street but I still remember it in vivid detail even though it happened 40 years
ago. Make no mistake, children suffer
the consequences - but thank God, children are also extremely resilient.
Case in point. This April 20th will mark the 19 year
anniversary of Columbine and high
school students across the nation will be participating in a National
School Walkout to bring attention gun control, gun legislation, gun reform;
whichever term suits you. The National
School Walkout is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in every time zone and last for
17 minutes -- one for each victim who lost their lives during the school
shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Also, please listen
to this message from Cameron Kasky, a survivor from Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School in Parkland, announcing the March for Our Lives on March 24th.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfWew4THY2f/?hl=en&taken-by=marchforourlives
It should come as no
surprise that the women of this nation will
be marching on March 14th, exactly one month after Parkland, FL to
support and keep the momentum for these children and kids.
So make a note of
these 3 important dates.
All of the marches
share one mission: to put pressure on Congress to pass gun reform and make
schools safer. I'm so proud of these
kids already and want to do anything I can to support them, to let them know I
see and hear them, that I stand with them.
I just finished
reading (for the second time) Nish Weiseth's book 'Speak'. In it she wrote "The God of Christianity
is a God who loves justice. And if we say we follow this God, if we say we
believe in Him, then we also become agents of justice." So here is to
becoming an agent of justice. I suppose those who work towards this pursuit, become an Agency of Justice in a way. That suits me fine because personally I'm tired of feeling powerless and helpless while tragedy after tragedy takes place in this world. Doing something is definitely better than doing nothing. If you feel the same, here are some resources to help get started:
Moms Demand Action
for Gun Sense in America
March for our Lives:
Every Town for Gun
Safety & United States Map Source:
Signed,
Julia