Another shooting
What else is there to say? (A lot and I want to hear you say it.)
I am sick about today’s news out of Nashville, Tennessee. A mass shooting at Covenant School, a pre-school - 6th grade Presbyterian school. So far, three children dead. Three adults dead. And the shooter dead.
Those three babies had breakfast this morning, drank their cereal milk from the bowl, grabbed their backpack and went to school. And now they’re gone.
At least one reader of this newsletter attended Covenant School. They reached out and said they’re in college now, but went there as a child. And it’s still their family’s home church. They want to go home. They wrote that they’re “reading over your failure state games essay and just trying to ground myself.” I’m just….undone. I want to hug them. I’ve asked how we can help, as a community.
I know that this newsletter has a lot of readers in Nashville and the surrounding area. I also know that news like this hits everyone, no matter where they are. But especially the parents reading here who have kids in American schools.
I want you to know that we’re here. I am here. Please use today’s community thread to:
Express fear, sorrow, rage, hope, or any other feeling
Share your grief in the form of stories, hopes, conversations with one another
Let us know what action you are taking to help end gun violence
Share resources:
Do you work for a gun safety advocacy group? What do you need?
Do you donate to an org that is really doing good work in the space? Share the link.
What reading recommendations do you have for people who want to learn more about gun violence in America?
What sites, books, podcasts do you recommend to people trying to help family members and friend understand how gun safety laws can help?
Who is good on gun safety laws in your state? Who is not? Who do we need to help you vote out?
Please do not
Attack one another
Use unsafe or graphic language
Share what is shared here. This is just our little weeping corner.
My son taught third grade for two years in a village in Alaska. The second time I visited him there, we were in the gym after lunch when the principal came into the room and quietly told my son to take his students to their classroom for a lockdown. This is not a drill, he said. The students obediently put away the basketballs and followed my son. They helped him lock the classroom door and pull the shades, just as they had been taught, and we all huddled in a corner of the room. My son did an amazing job of keeping his students calm and quiet. None of us knew what was happening. About an hour later we were told the lockdown was over, and we later learned that an ex-high school student had been spotted near the school entrance with a weapon. What broke my heart was how much in stride the kids all seemed to take it. I also remember looking around and realizing we’d truly have no defense if someone came into that room with a gun.
My son now teaches in a local school. His fiancée teaches first grade at another nearby school. My daughter teaches high school in New Orleans. Every time there is a shooting in a place that should be a safe haven, my stomach knots up. I don’t understand how the pro-gun lobby can have so much power that it prevents us from common-sense regulations and restrictions that a majority of Americans support.
I feel wrathful. And fear, and grief, and terror for my 6 month old child. But mostly, I feel all-consuming wrath.
I work at an agency that serves survivors of domestic and sexual violence and I am waiting for the day when we have a perpetrator come through our doors with a gun because they're angry that we're helping their victim. It has happened before and we've managed to lock them out, but I worry that we won't be fast enough next time or the "bulletproof" glass won't hold or they'll just wait for us in the parking lot. Last year, the child of a client accidentally pushed the panic button while in a conference room, and we all got "run, hide, fight" warnings on the Alert message systems around the office. I was 9 months pregnant and in the employee bathroom when the alarm went off. I wasn't physically able to hide or run, and I didn't have my phone so I could say what I thought was goodbye to my spouse or family. We all thought it was real - and it turned out that the Alert message system wasn't hooked up to 911, so law enforcement never responded. It turned out to be an accident and no one was hurt, but I am convinced that next time it will be real.
Also - the vast, vast majority of mass shooters have an extensive and documented history of violence against women. It's one of the leading indicators of a potential mass shooter. And in my state, our community organization gender-based violence intervention and prevention budgets are facing projected cuts of 25-38% due to reductions at the federal level. I'm spending my next month trying to invent money out of thin air to cover the bare minimum of services, and in the meantime, children are still being slaughtered.