When Will It End?
I was born on January 26, 1983. What follows is a list of school shootings in the United States in my lifetime that have resulted in the deaths of at least five students and/or teachers.
January 17, 1989. Cleveland Elementary School, Stockton, California. 6 dead. 32 injured.
November 1, 1991. University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. 6 dead. 1 injured.
March 24, 1998. Westside Middle School, Craighead County, Arkansas. 5 dead. 10 injured.
April 20, 1999. Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado. 15 dead. 21 injured. (This was the first such major event in my lifetime with double-digit fatalities. It would not be the last.)
March 21, 2005. Red Lake Senior High School, Red Lake, Minnesota. 10 dead. 7 injured.
October 2, 2006. West Nickel Mines School, Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. 6 dead. 5 injured.
April 16, 2007. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia. 33 dead. 23 injured.
February 14, 2008. Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. 6 dead. 21 injured.
April 2, 2012. Oikos University, Oakland, California. 7 dead. 3 injured.
December 14, 2012. Sandy Hook Elementary School. 28 dead. 2 injured. (The first such major event in my lifetime to take place at an elementary school. It would not be the last.)
October 24, 2014. Marysville Pilchuck High School, Marysville, Washington. 5 dead. 1 injured.
October 1, 2015. Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, Oregon. 10 dead. 9 injured.
February 14, 2018. Marjory Stoneman High School, Parkland, Florida. 17 dead. 17 injured.
May 18, 2018. Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe, Texas. 10 dead. 13 injured.
May 24, 2022. Robb Elementary School, Uvalde, Texas. 22 dead. 18 injured.
March 27, 2023. Covenant School, Nashville, Tennessee. 6 dead. 1 injured.
34 years. 16 schools. 190 dead. 194 injured.
This does not include the dozens of school shootings with less than 5 fatalities or the dozens of school shootings with 0 fatalities but multiple injuries.
My heart aches. But I am also filled with anger.
Anger at every politician who stands in front of a microphone and says that their thoughts and prayers are with the victims and then votes against any legal measures that might, just might, save one life.
Anger at every pro-life activist who proclaims that the only thing more important than the sanctity of life is the sanctity of the Second Amendment.
Anger at every judge who has said that the antecedent phrase "well-regulated militia" found in the Second Amendment has nothing to do with the direct object of the right to keep and bear arms.
Anger at every parent, teacher, administrator, or neighbour who has ignored the red flags of a deeply disturbed individual who believed that the murder of students, the murder of children, is the solution to their problems.
Anger at the National Rifle Association for not backing legislation that would require every gun owner in the nation to take gun safety training classes and complete comprehensive background checks, and for not backing legislation that would close loopholes, eliminate duplicative and/or contradictory regulations, and making it harder for those intending to do harm to carry out their murderous plans.
Anger at every person who is going to post on social media today or tomorrow with a hashtag and a declaration that, while what happened in Nashville was a tragedy, now is not the time to point the finger of blame or talk about legislative action. (It has been 34 years. If not now, when?)
34 years. 16 schools. 190 dead. 194 injured.
This does not include the dozens of school shootings with less than 5 fatalities or the dozens of school shootings with 0 fatalities but multiple injuries.
My heart aches. But I am also filled with anger.
Anger at every politician who stands in front of a microphone and says that their thoughts and prayers are with the victims and then votes against any legal measures that might, just might, save one life.
Anger at every pro-life activist who proclaims that the only thing more important than the sanctity of life is the sanctity of the Second Amendment.
Anger at every judge who has said that the antecedent phrase "well-regulated militia" found in the Second Amendment has nothing to do with the direct object of the right to keep and bear arms.
Anger at every parent, teacher, administrator, or neighbour who has ignored the red flags of a deeply disturbed individual who believed that the murder of students, the murder of children, is the solution to their problems.
Anger at the National Rifle Association for not backing legislation that would require every gun owner in the nation to take gun safety training classes and complete comprehensive background checks, and for not backing legislation that would close loopholes, eliminate duplicative and/or contradictory regulations, and making it harder for those intending to do harm to carry out their murderous plans.
Anger at every person who is going to post on social media today or tomorrow with a hashtag and a declaration that, while what happened in Nashville was a tragedy, now is not the time to point the finger of blame or talk about legislative action. (It has been 34 years. If not now, when?)
Anger that I had to update this post less than a year after first writing it to update with another mass shooting at a school in our nation.
But perhaps most of all, today I am angry at myself for not doing anything other than expressing my anger and wondering why it is that the men and women I am electing to do something are unable to stop the men and women elected by others who are content to weep in front of a microphone and then do nothing because, after all, what can we do?
And I am angry at myself for not knowing what else to do.
All I know is that tomorrow morning I am going to stand in front of a class of high school students who may ask about this, but may not because it is going to be at 6 am and, after all, this is just another tragic headline in a long line of headlines. Then I am going to go to an elementary building with 245 students and walk past them as I go to a series of meetings all day and I am going to know that at least some of them are going to look at me and wonder, "What will Mr. V do if a gunman comes into our school?" And my colleagues and I will be looking at each other and wondering what each of us will do.
I know my answer. I've known my answer since I first set foot in Wiley Elementary School in Urbana, Illinois, in 2011 as a newly hired fourth grade teacher.
I shouldn't have to know this answer. I shouldn't even have to ask this question. But until those who can finally do something, I am going to continue to go to work each day knowing that one day my story may be summed up on social media as a hashtag while those who have the power to do something choose instead to do nothing.
But perhaps most of all, today I am angry at myself for not doing anything other than expressing my anger and wondering why it is that the men and women I am electing to do something are unable to stop the men and women elected by others who are content to weep in front of a microphone and then do nothing because, after all, what can we do?
And I am angry at myself for not knowing what else to do.
All I know is that tomorrow morning I am going to stand in front of a class of high school students who may ask about this, but may not because it is going to be at 6 am and, after all, this is just another tragic headline in a long line of headlines. Then I am going to go to an elementary building with 245 students and walk past them as I go to a series of meetings all day and I am going to know that at least some of them are going to look at me and wonder, "What will Mr. V do if a gunman comes into our school?" And my colleagues and I will be looking at each other and wondering what each of us will do.
I know my answer. I've known my answer since I first set foot in Wiley Elementary School in Urbana, Illinois, in 2011 as a newly hired fourth grade teacher.
I shouldn't have to know this answer. I shouldn't even have to ask this question. But until those who can finally do something, I am going to continue to go to work each day knowing that one day my story may be summed up on social media as a hashtag while those who have the power to do something choose instead to do nothing.
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