SOPHIE ANTONIUK

today is february 14, 2018. today marks the day of the parkland, florida high school mass shooting, the 30th mass shooting of 2018. some may think of this to be the first mass shooting due to the lack of reporting on the first 29, however there have already been approximately 30 deadly shootings in the first month and a half of 2018. over 16 people died, and over 10 were injured. when i first heard this news, my immediate reaction was "oh my gosh, another one?" another shooting, more people dead, another town broken to pieces, and a country that doesn't seem to care. gun violence is becoming all too normal, almost as if it is slowly becoming part of our daily lives. when we hear about these tragic events, we of course are sad and wish something would change, but a week or two later we continue to focus on our own lives. and it makes perfect sense, we as people and students and workers and so busy, so stressed, so completely focused with our own personal lives that we don't take the time to see that our world is falling apart. people are killing each other, families are hurting one another, and our world is dividing. in the last year alone, over 13,000 people died from gun violence and over 12,000 of those were due to homicide.

the dictionary defines homicide as this: "the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another; murder.'' the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another. 

all of these deaths, all of these terribly tragic events are because of us. it may not because of you specifically, because the majority of the population are not the individuals who are deliberately killing one another, however the 99% of us "good guys" don't take action, don't say anything, and typically end up moving on a few days after something like this happens. therefore nothing changes. it just continues to happen. the parkland shooting, the orlando shooting, the las vegas shooting, the list goes on and on. now i know for a fact the majority of people say "that will never happen to me" or "he/she would never do something like that". until they do. until it does happen to you, and your family, and your children, and your friends and your town. your country. it is happening to your country. 

 

when the next mass shooting of 2018 occurs, we'll all feel sad, send prayers, and move on. this pattern of temporary emotion but no action is becoming a formula that humanity will use for its own self destruction. we need to end it. stop the pattern of forgetting, say something, do something, do anything. even if it's as simple as signing an online petition, or even writing a social media post on your thoughts, do something. we cannot let this keep happening to us, the violence, the hate, the war, the bullying, the crimes, it all needs to stop. but the only way our world has the slightest chance of getting better is to come together, not divide. if someone has different political opinions, religious beliefs, or opinions on how they should live, who cares? is it honestly worth someone's life just because you disagree with them? different is not bad, it is simply just different. race, sexuality, religion, politics, etc. do not matter. the violence has to end, so put the gun down.