One of the most horrific trends in American history is continuing to occur at alarming rates. On the 14th of November 2019, another shooting took place in an American school, this time at Saugus High School in California.

I have become numb, and I am sure many other people feel the same way. The death of children at any time is heart-breaking, but when it occurs at a place of education, it could have been prevented, and the child is at its most vulnerable, that feeling of brokenness moves towards anger.

For my perspective on the gun crisis in America as an outsider, please click this link where I talk about the issue more broadly: https://thelevinelowdown.com/2019/08/12/america-and-guns/

This recent attack highlights the power of guns to cause irreparable damage. The attacker was able to shoot 5 classmates and himself within 16 seconds. Also, the attacker was only 16.

There is no defence to this crime other than making the carrying of guns as illegal.

No security guard can stop this attack.

No armed teacher can stop this attack.

No introduction of the death penalty can stop this attack.

The only thing which will stop innocent lives being killed and young people holding weapons are if they are declared illegal.

According to a Washington Post analysis, this shooting marks the 5th in American schools this year. It also states that over 230,000 schoolchildren have been exposed to gun violence in American schools since 1999. These shootings affect everyone. Every victim, bystander, family and community.

Moreover, as of writing, no motive for the attack has been found. Once again demonstrating that no investigative bodies would have been able to stop this shooting occurring.

One of the students who was present at the scene exclaimed these frightening words:

“My worst nightmare actually came true…This is it. I’m going to die.”

Those are the words of a 16-year-old girl who should be peacefully gaining an education but will now be scarred for life and fearful for what her future holds.

Guns or people. For me, the answer is obvious. Maybe I will never understand why for others the decision is so difficult to make.

16 thoughts on “American School Shootings”

  1. Unfortunately, America has a long-standing gun culture and there are powerful and well-funded interests that want to keep it that way. It’s built into our constitution in the Second Amendment, which gives citizens the right to bear arms, although I think, when it was written, the Founding Fathers used the term “a well-regulated militia,” to describe that right, not “every Tom, Dick, and Harry.” Good post.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Yes, correct me if I’m mistkaen but I believe the second amendment was created when there was no national military in America so that civilians could fight for themselves if an issue occured? And they could fight against the government if things weren’t going well? Unfortuantely I dont think guns will be any use against the technological weapons of modern governments.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      3. Many, particularly those on the right, choose to interpret it to mean that every American has the right to own firearms, including semiautomatic killing machines, with no limitations or restrictions. They think that will keep them safe.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. You express well my own feelings on yet another mass shooting. Our right to bear arms should not supersede our right to life. With the normalization of violence within our communities, I fear that we may be witnessing the disintegration of American society.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. I personally know two people who are alive today because they used a gun in self-defense. One was a home invasion involving three intruders who had weapons like baseball bats. All were hopped up on meth. The homeowner brandished a shotgun and forced the invaders to drop to the floor until the police showed up.

    The other was a woman with an insane ex husband (ex because he beat her so severely that he altered the shape of her face permanently). One night he broke into her house, and she had a handgun. Story ended happily for her.

    How would those have played out with no guns? Not very well. There are legitimate defensive uses for firearms, though the media does not ever cover them. They prefer the stories in which guns are used for evil.

    Even if you could clap your hands and make every gun disappear instantly, that would still create nightmares of its own. But making guns illegal would not make guns disappear. Criminals would have guns still. It just makes sheep of the innocent.

    I live in an area that has maybe 20-25 thousand people within a half hour of my house. We have almost 100 percent gun ownership rate, and most of them have more than one. A murder is a rare and shocking event – our rate is zero most years. And when one does occur, it’s usually not with a gun. Guns are not the problem.

    But guns can certainly exacerbate other problems, so I’m all for honest conversation about what guns should be available to the public. If they banned everything but revolvers, shotguns, and bolt action rifles, I probably wouldn’t care. But to ban all guns is to ban self defense, and that is evil so long as violence can and does occur.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my post. I disagree with you on a few areas.

      You talk about guns being used for self-defence and I understand that is a legitimate reason. I also understand that in the cases you have mentioned the guns were readily available and used for their purpose of self defence. However, are you always going to have a gun attached to your person? I dont think that is a reasonable statement to make, however, you would probably know more than me. A home invasion (which is unlikely) could take place at any time. How will you have the time to go to your safe to get your gun? If your gun is out just lying in the house I don’t think that is suitable decision either because the rate of young children accidently using guns as toys is increasing in number. I understand that they can be used for self-defence but I don’t know if it’s always reasonable.

      You also say that getting rid of guns would make sheep of the innocent. I live in a natino which descriminalised the carrying of guns over 20 years ago. There has not been a masscre since. This is no coincidence. Individuals have not become helpless, it has created a safer society which limits the capacity for indivdiuals to carry guns. Yes, the system can always been improved but it has been highly successful. The issue with guns being so readily availalbe is that it gives you no time to properly think about your actions before carrying a gun. The impulse decisions and emotions that oyu make can translate directly into gun violence. This is not possible in places which have gun control.

      What are your thoughts?

      Like

      Reply

  4. Excellent post, Simeon! It speaks volumes that people from other countries such as your own care more about this issue than our own legislators do. Far too many of our lawmakers are indebted to the NRA and until that stops, until we take the dirty money out of political campaigns, nothing is likely to change.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It is so unfortuante how that is the case. I guess that is what happens when power and money come together, it becomes almost impossible to break. Are there any potential candidates for the upcoming election who consider gun control as one of their policies?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Actually, I believe that all the major candidates on the democratic side have come out for the two most crucial elements of gun regulation: expanded background checks, including waiting periods, and an assault weapon ban. Who, after all, needs to have an AR-15 for home defense??? Why, if you tried to shoot a burglar with one, you’d likely blow your neighbor’s walls out! But … having a president who supports gun regulation is only half the battle … a majority in both chambers of Congress is also needed, else it will just end in stalemate.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I see. What do you think the chances of Trump remaining President are? In Australia it all seems quite uncertain about whether he will be able to win the election and remain President.

        Like

  5. It’s impossible, at this point, to say. Much can happen in the next 12 months, including that he is almost certain to be impeached, although it is less of a certainty that the Senate will convict him and remove him from office, so likely he will be on the ballot next November. His approval rating is rarely above 40%, and has never hit 50% in his entire 3 years in office. So, 60% of the country will likely vote against him … if they vote at all. But … he lost the 2016 election by nearly 3 million votes, and was still put into office due to gerrymandering and the electoral college. In a fair, honest election where district maps are fairly drawn, there is no way he can win. But … I’m not looking at a fair and honest election. A number of things … Russia and others are already using propaganda on social media to sway voters with falsehoods. Many states are closing polling stations in poor and minority areas, forcing those people to travel in order to vote. Many states are attempting to disenfranchise young voters by taking away polling places on college campuses. Many states are trying to implement unfair voter ID requirements that unfairly affect the poor and minorities, who largely vote democrat. In a nutshell, there are shenanigans going on that may well give Trump a win in 2020. I hope not, for I believe, and he has hinted as much, that he will do whatever it takes to scrap the 2024 election, to remain in office past his second term, if he is given a second term. Sigh.

    Like

    Reply
  6. Pingback: Why I Love Bernie Sanders – Levine Lowdown

Leave a comment