It’s every parent’s worst nightmare – sending your child off to school and not having them come back. For 19 families today that nightmare became a reality when an 18-year-old kid opened fire inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX killing 19 children and 3 teachers. The shooter, identified as 18-year-old Salvadore Ramos, killed his grandmother before crashing his vehicle outside of the school and entering the school. This mass shooting is just the latest in a series of killings in this country and the deadliest shooting since the Sandy Hook massacre nearly 10 years ago.
Today’s shooting comes just 10 days after a white nationalist opened fire in a grocery store in Buffalo, NY killing 10 black people.
America… I’m way past being tired. I’m tired about hearing how exceptional this country is. America is not exceptional. It can’t be exceptional when we are numb to mass shootings in this country. It can’t be exceptional when greed and unchecked capitalism destroys the middle class and protects the elite. It can’t be exceptional when a medical condition can bankrupt you. It can’t be exceptional when systemic racism goes unchecked. How can you call this country exceptional when a woman’s body and what she can do with it is at the mercy of 9 people? You know what America is exceptional at – greed, wars and killing people.
We live in a country where in the last decade the U.S. has had more school shootings than the next 27 countries… COMBINED. In fact, the U.S. has 6.5 times more shootings than the next 27 countries combined:
Because of America’s apathy toward solving this problem with mass shootings, 22 more families are grieving tonight. Because of America doing nothing, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and countless other people are not here with us. How many more shootings have to happen before someone has the will to do something? How many more people have to die at the hands of a gun before people will wake up? Golden St. Warriors coach Steve Kerr wonders the same thing:
Sen. Chris Murphy made an impassioned plea to do something about gun violence and mass shootings:
America has a problem. America has a sickness. It is addicted to violence, hate and negativity. What’s going to happen now? People will offer “thoughts & prayers”. People will still say how great this country is. People will go into their respective camps and blame the other side on why these shootings happen. What won’t happen is what normally happens in this country – the problem won’t be solved. It won’t be solved because at its core America doesn’t care. At its core America, supposedly the richest, most powerful country on Earth, has no soul.
I’m tired. I’m heartbroken… and I’m convinced more than ever that this government won’t do a damn thing to make this country better. As I’ve said earlier – America doesn’t love us.
If you want to do something, go to House.gov and Senate.gov and demand your elected representatives give a damn.
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