I didn’t cry for Sandy Hook.
I didn’t cry for Miami.
I didn’t cry for Parkland.
But tonight, I cried.
I cried for Thousand Oaks, California. But mainly I cried because I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I watched strong men cry for their coworkers, their sons, and themselves.
Thousand Oaks marked the 307th mass shooting in the US this year. November 7th was the 311th day of the year.
We’ve become numb to this because it seems like it’s happening every week. When the ‘breaking news’ flash comes up we don’t even bat an eye anymore. We’ve become complacent, not because we don’t care, but because it hurts too much to care openly.
We push it down, change the channel, and try to block it out. But it’s not going away. Frequent mass shootings are our new reality, and we need to use our voices to wake ourselves back up. Channel your anger and frustration. Volunteer with a local organization. Look to your local representative and senator about what they, and you, can do. Don’t continue to be numb. Talk to your kids on their level, remind them that yes bad things can happen but the world is not all dark and scary, there is still good out there.
Teach them to use their voice. They need to know their power. They need to be better than us. We all need to be heard.
