Op-Ed

Gun Violence and Mass Shootings –

By Rosario Galceran

 

We have the power to stop gun violence.  We must take action.  If we don’t, the shootings will continue.  Wouldn’t this be wonderful if this were true?  Why can’t this be true?  This can’t be true because in a perfect world, there would be no crime, no bullies, no mental illnesses, and no reason to have a gun for protection.  But this isn’t a perfect world.  So what can we do?  We need to have laws that take care and protect our children.  We also need to get involved as a community with our children. 

I miss the days when neighbors knew each other and their families.  People watched out for each other, talked to each other, and supported each other.  People intervened when they saw something happening.  But people don’t do this anymore.  Parents don’t know how to deal with their kids and yet we expect parents to be there for their kids as much as possible.  But these days we know this is not possible.  There is a funny television commercial I like from Capri Sun that starts out, “If Paula Ebert had her way, she would help her child, with everything.”  The commercial then shows how mom is with her pre-teen son every moment of the day and when she thinks she is helping him, she is only embarrassing him.   No child wants to be embarrassed in front of their friends by an overprotective mom.  But if parents are not available to their children, children will turn to others for support.  Sometimes there is no one there for this support. 

When parents are not around, the extended family such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins can help out.  Children that attend school have teachers, principals, counselors, and various school staff members that they can and should rely on for help and even protection.  Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote about this in her book entitled, “It takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach us.”  There is a chapter in her book in which she states, “Citizens have to be active participants in crime prevention.”  (Clinton, 1996).  It really does take more than one person to make a difference in a child’s life. 

These days, it seems that people do not want to get involved or are afraid to get involved.  When we see or hear about another shooting in another town, everybody starts asking, “Why did this happen?”  There have been no conclusive answers.  Some reports say that the shooter was bullied at school.  If that were true, did someone notice and not take action?  If they had, would the shooter not have taking it out on innocent people?  Then there is the mental issues blamed on some shooters actions.  If there was a mental problem, why didn’t anyone notice?  If it was reported, why didn’t anyone take action?  This is why it is important for everyone one of us to get involved. 

References

Clinton, H. R. (1996). It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us.  New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster

Unknown director, Unknown producer (2012) Capri Sun SuperV Mom Helps Sun Ad United States:  Ebiquity.com  Retrieved from:  http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqICzqI1RuUUA8uL7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBvbGgza2Q0BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDVjExNg--?p=capri+sun+commercial+mom+guardian&vid=16a3e86d271c03d61a369342af448cc6&l=00%3A35&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DV.4825139081511039%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DaDgjJxJp6DQ&tit=Capri+Sun+Super+V+Mom+Helps+Son+Ad+%28US+-+May+2012%29&c=0&sigr=11ap42kdd&age=0&fr=att-portal&tt=b

Image retrieved from: https://www.google.com/search?aq=&rlz=1T4RNRD_enUS501&q=shooting+victims+photos&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=5I6VUb7MK4qS9QS4goDAAw&biw=1770&bih=923&sei=6o6VUaH9EpLV0gGHloHoDg#um=1&rlz=1T4RNRD_enUS501&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=stop+gun+violence&oq=stop+gun+violence&gs_l=img.3...32674.35074.10.35215.17.17.0.0.0.0.374.1577.14j2j0j1.17.0...0.0...1c.1.12.img._YdxbYWpfhA&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46471029,d.dmQ&fp=7c1bbea677cfb890&biw=1770&bih=923&imgrc=WI-bj5vowzSa3M%3A%3BAi2VkWyN8-8J3M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fa1.ec-images.myspacecdn.com%252Fimages02%252F127%252Fde9a2fe2734145a887386b86b1dafeeb%252Fl.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.myspace.com%252Fbrucegeorge%252Fphotos%252F67982252%3B400%3B375