Ramblings of an Inquisitive Mind

Another day. Another shooting. Another mother and father bury their child.

I have no answers—but we must find some. We cannot continue to allow the pain and devastation that we see every day in our country. Thoughts and prayers for this city . . . then another city . . . followed by even more. Thoughts and prayers???? What about ACTION? What about ANSWERS? What in the world are we allowing to happen? It is terror that we continue to allow to happen: in churches, in schools, at concerts, in clubs, in theaters. We watch. We talk. We sit idly by. Until the next one happens—and still, no answers.

I come from a small Georgia town, from a family that loves to hunt and fish. We have always had guns in our home, just for hunting. My dad was not a big hunter like his brothers, but he had a shotgun and a .22. We always knew where they were, and how dangerous they were, and we were forbidden to touch them unless he was with us.

So I understand the reasons some people have guns, and I understand the argument for the right to bear arms. I am not here to debate gun control. I will not get drawn in to an argument in which neither side will listen to the other. We must talk, to figure out a way to stop mentally ill people from purchasing and owning guns. How? I don’t know—but we must.

Again, it seems this was a young man filled with rage and hatred, like the shooter in Charleston. I wrote about that shooting and that hatred, which seemed to have no other basis than the fact that someone was different. As a young adult, I remember going to a gay club in Atlanta. The club often received bomb threats, and then one night, it happened. The club was bombed, and though no one was killed, several people were injured and many more were left with long-term effects from the trauma. These were just regular people going out to have a good time—to dance, party, and enjoy being with friends. More than 20 years later, it seems little has changed. Hatred for fellow humans who walk the same earth is slowly destroying our world.

Imagine the images that remain embedded in the minds of people who live through such terror and its aftermath. I have a close friend who was shot at her job. She was working as a store manager; at closing time a guy walked in, pulled out a sawed-off shotgun, asked for all the money, then pulled the trigger. She survived, but she says she has never been the same since the shooting. She says that every day when she walks to her car in the morning, she fears someone is out there waiting to shoot her. Imagine the life that awaits all the survivors of these massacres.

Whenever things like this happen, I start asking myself questions. I ask friends and coworkers the same questions, even though I am pretty sure what their responses will be. After the Las Vegas shooting I wondered, if a pro-gun supporter lost a spouse, child, parent, or friend in this shooting, would they change their mind about gun control? What if their gun was stolen and used in a mass shooting—would that change their mind? Everyone I asked said no. I think it is easy to answer that question when that’s all it is: a question. I imagine that if we asked the people who have experienced these scenarios, we might receive more thoughtful answers.

As I have said over and over, I do not have the answers. I know that thoughts and prayers seem meaningless without action and change. I hope Parkland, Florida will be the end of all this senseless terror—but I fear that it will not.

Love one another. Watch out for one another. Be kind. Listen to each other. And let’s find a solution.