This outcry of sympathy makes us all feel like we are healing together. As we do things like change our profile picture, or make a post with the hashtag installed within it. We move and act with solidarity with those who are affected.
When it comes to mass shootings, all that just feels empty.
When it comes to police involved killings, It feels hopeless.
Why do you ask such a correlation?
I say this to say: we do not care about the children in this country.
Sandy Hook was on my mind the other day, and as the reports rolled in about what happened yesterday in Las Vegas. All I could think was: We will be in this same predictament next year.
Children died in the school they went to at the hands of a young man who was not well that indiscriminately took his illogical frustration, rage, violent, and visceral thoughts out on the youth of this country.
We did nothing about the access to guns and weaponry. We sent more prayers and thoughts.
When Pulse Nightclub happened, to myself again I thought: "If we won't do anything about guns after children are killed we won't do anything about this either."
No effective action was taken by our legislatures. It continued, the thought that crept up. We watched news anchors die on live TV, more mass shooters take lives in the name of whatever their decree was.
I continue to be normalized by all of this, because the moment had passed. The time to act was then, and our representatives, our legislatures did nothing.
Children died senselessly at the feet of our country and we said: "We must protect our freedom."
Does a country that won't protect it's most vulnerable, most innocent, and most important part of society deserve freedom?
Tamir Rice was shot by police in a park for playing with a Toy Gun. Our country saw this video in which he was killed within two seconds and said to itself: "It wasn't marked properly."
We lost the life of a child that day (It wasn't the last.). We did nothing to protect children from the force of police brutality. No protections put in place by our leaders, as body counts continue to increase from state violence.
Our government with the most power to change the outcomes, to decrease the real dangers so that there isn't another Las Vegas, Orlando, or pick a mass shooting at this juncture, sends thoughts and prayers.
Acknowledgements at this point are routine, no matter how genuine it may seem, another bullet point on the cue card of how to not act on gun violence.
Our government who can protect the youngest amongst us so that there isn't another Tamir Rice sits back on sympathy to secure re-election and neutrality to keep lobby dollars in their pockets.
I can point to many instances where we don't think about children, how they interact with this world, and how we will preserve it for them. To even say we have enough laws in place already is a slap in the face to the ever growing list of families losing their children to these tragic events. All the donations, all the efforts by our society are for nothing when the very people we elect act as if they are powerless to do anything.
Despite our countries inefficiency and inability, children still acheive great things. Malala Yousafzai, Jack Andraka, Little Miss Flint, and many others like them. They see a world in danger, that is injured, and want to heal it. These are the types of children that care what their world looks like more than we do and will do anything to shape it in their image of equality, happiness, and love for others.
As elders, as adults, as leaders, and as the caretakers of this world until it is their turn to lead the generation after them. Why don't we protect them? Why don't we act when we lose them like we did in Sandy Hook, when we lose a Tamir Rice or TyShawn Lee, when something takes them away from us that children had no control over?
I told you, the children are not our future. They are shaping their own.
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