What Did We Think Would Happen?

As I drove my kids to school yesterday morning they had an argument about who was going to use the microwave first to pop their after-school popcorn. On any other day I would have been annoyed, but yesterday I felt grateful that my children were able to argue about nothingness because they hadn’t been murdered in their classroom the day before.

As I have tried to process what happened I am going to be completely honest about my first response to the news of the horrific event that occurred in Uvalde on Tuesday afternoon. It was “of course, there was another mass shooting.”

This is not a political post, although some people are going to think that it is because in today’s world we have replaced any kind of human decency with a “side.” Instead, of doing the right thing we look to our leaders to see what they would do and then defend their messages and beliefs even though it’s very rare that those promises ever trickle their way down to the actual people they matter to. I place the blame on no one side and no one party but also on everyone. Every single one of us, myself included.

After I seared the town Uvalde into my mind like I have so many other towns that I’d never heard of before they became the scene of terror, I became enraged at the surprise we felt in the face of the decisions that we make. Here’s a small list:

What did we think would happen when we tear children from their parents arm at the border and put them in cages?

What did we think would happen when, in this country, some dogs have more adequate shelter, food, and care than children?

What did we think would happen when we treat mentally ill and addicted mothers like the scum of the earth and evict them from their homes so they can go live on the streets and have babies that no one cares about?

What did we think would happen when we continuously hurt people with our silence, our words, our actions, and our behaviors?

What did we think would happen when we value money, capitalism, *white supremacy* over human people and bodies?

What did we think would happen when we pay social media influencers more than teachers?

What did we think would happen when our living wage is lower than the cost of living?

What did we think would happen when we let children be homeless while we argue about “life?”

What did we think would happen when we don’t give people who desperately need changes in the law time to vote?

What did we think would happen when we allow leaders who are managed by money to make our decisions?

What did we think would happen when judge others in front of our children?

What did we think would happen when adults bully each other on the internet?

What did we think would happen when we walk by hurting people and ignore them?

What did we think would happen when we let 18 year old children buy assault rifles?

I could go on and on and on but I think my point is clear that we are confused. We are sorely mistaken. We have allowed issues and politics get in the way of basic common sense! When we have more laws in place to prevent the purchase of nasal decongestant than guns-we have lost our minds. When we have more interest in unborn babies than we do starving and homeless children-we have gone insane. When we think that the leaders who are taking massive amounts of money from giant corporations can make decisions in the best interest of the people-we have gone crazy.

These incidents, these mass shootings, these horrific events are a mirror of that. They remind us just how lost we are, how far away from love we have gotten. The bloody bodies of children laying on their classroom floor is the cost of these decisions.

I have no power but then again I have it all. No matter the “side” there is always action that be taken. If you think it’s mental health then demand more mental health services. If you think it’s guns then sever your money from any corporation that supports the NRA (even if it’s inconvenient). If you think it’s drugs then stop perpetuating the idea that alcohol is awesome and start promoting sobriety. If you think it’s politicians then march, call, stand outside their offices until they listen to you. Turn off your favorite news station, pick up a book written by someone with different beliefs than you, listen-for God’s sake-to someone who doesn’t agree with you, and do fucking anything to prevent this shit from happening. Hopelessness is not an option.