I'm a teacher and the mother of a fourth grader. I'm so tired. I've spent months numbing myself to everything that's been happening in the world around me because it is all just to much and last night I couldn't keep the world out anymore. This hit WAY too close to home.
Growing up without a father could permanently alter the structure of the brain, and produce more children who are more aggressive and angry. Children brought up only by a single mother have a higher risk of developing deviant behavior, including drug abuse, new research suggest. Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, McGill Univ. and Francis Bamlico, Center for Addiction and Mental Health, publishing in the journal, “CEREBRAL CORTEX.
Right on. I hate guns and am proud to say I’ve never held one and will most probably go to my grave saying the same thing. But I think the problem that is every bit as lethal (and maybe more) is the hate talk that gives legitimacy to these shooters. How slick the politicians are when they advocate violence to people who are looking for any excuse for why they feel like failures, incite the crazed with incendiary phrases and then say they are “heart sick” about the result. It’s cynical and disgusting.
Oy - it just hurts so much. I had to write today for the Crones Who Care Project. What I had for Day 4 wasn't going to do it...no one wants to pledge kindness and compassion in all they do. So I laid awake most of the night trying how to figure in practicing agapé in the light of the murders of children. It's here, and I'm making phone calls today. https://medium.com/two-crones-initiative/no-more-thoughts-and-prayers-1e1a60633f3e
Whilst I don’t live in the US, it baffles me as to how historically politicised the issue of gun control is. In an ideal world there should be bipartisan consensus on the issue of gun regulation. I find it horrendously unsettling when issues like these are still being fervently debated along political divides. This isn’t democracy at work but a putrid form of moral degradation.
Having served in the army for 4 years I’ve seen with my own eyes the ruthless devastation these weapons can inflict.
As a parent to young kids, my heart breaks for all who’ve lost their loved ones in this inexplicable tragedy (and the ones that preceded it).
Thank you for this, Ramona. While I hate the feeling of powerlessness borne of the repeated, failed attempts to effect change, we must persist. The issue is so entrenched in the politics of power that the average citizen is left with little faith in traditional democratic processes. So, for now, I'm turning toward alternative avenues like community connection and radical compassion.
I'm sorry and a moment of silence isn't good enough. At least as Tisha says we aren't being silent. Maybe if enough of us refuse to be silent - the message has a better chance of being heard.
I posted this comment on a “dad newsletter” I subscribed to just minutes ago, but because it’s what I’m feeling right now, I’m also sharing it here because I do wish to reach out and be part of the conversation.
I’m laying here next to my almost 2-year-old son as he’s sweetly napping and I’m having trouble processing the range of emotions I’m feeling. I don’t want to raise my son in this country, but we can’t afford to move from our neighborhood which has seen a recent uptick in gun violence, much less afford to move to another country. But this country is broken beyond repair, and I can’t see any signs of things ever getting better here. So, as hard as it may be, I’m making plans to get us out of here so that he can actually grow up without living in a constant state of fear and anxiety...and so I can too.
I wrote/didn’t write something similar today. Impotent is the perfect word. When my 10yo asked if she was risking her life every time she goes to school I had nothing to say. It has to change. But it won’t. But it has to.
As the father of a third-grader, such stories are especially disturbing for me. Sadly, as writers and human beings, we have to strike a balance between never giving up and accepting that most people's views are so fossilized that nothing will ever change their mind, or even enter it. Confirmation bias, indeed. I have read that some states are seriously considering arming the students and staff at all schools. And, if that still isn't enough... arm the students! Back in Missouri, we had a saying, "If you keep going the direction you are headed, you're gonna get there." Sad.
I'm a teacher and the mother of a fourth grader. I'm so tired. I've spent months numbing myself to everything that's been happening in the world around me because it is all just to much and last night I couldn't keep the world out anymore. This hit WAY too close to home.
Growing up without a father could permanently alter the structure of the brain, and produce more children who are more aggressive and angry. Children brought up only by a single mother have a higher risk of developing deviant behavior, including drug abuse, new research suggest. Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, McGill Univ. and Francis Bamlico, Center for Addiction and Mental Health, publishing in the journal, “CEREBRAL CORTEX.
Right on. I hate guns and am proud to say I’ve never held one and will most probably go to my grave saying the same thing. But I think the problem that is every bit as lethal (and maybe more) is the hate talk that gives legitimacy to these shooters. How slick the politicians are when they advocate violence to people who are looking for any excuse for why they feel like failures, incite the crazed with incendiary phrases and then say they are “heart sick” about the result. It’s cynical and disgusting.
Oy - it just hurts so much. I had to write today for the Crones Who Care Project. What I had for Day 4 wasn't going to do it...no one wants to pledge kindness and compassion in all they do. So I laid awake most of the night trying how to figure in practicing agapé in the light of the murders of children. It's here, and I'm making phone calls today. https://medium.com/two-crones-initiative/no-more-thoughts-and-prayers-1e1a60633f3e
Thanks for writing this piece.
Whilst I don’t live in the US, it baffles me as to how historically politicised the issue of gun control is. In an ideal world there should be bipartisan consensus on the issue of gun regulation. I find it horrendously unsettling when issues like these are still being fervently debated along political divides. This isn’t democracy at work but a putrid form of moral degradation.
Having served in the army for 4 years I’ve seen with my own eyes the ruthless devastation these weapons can inflict.
As a parent to young kids, my heart breaks for all who’ve lost their loved ones in this inexplicable tragedy (and the ones that preceded it).
Thank you for this, Ramona. While I hate the feeling of powerlessness borne of the repeated, failed attempts to effect change, we must persist. The issue is so entrenched in the politics of power that the average citizen is left with little faith in traditional democratic processes. So, for now, I'm turning toward alternative avenues like community connection and radical compassion.
I wrote about that here: https://elizabethbeggins.substack.com/p/short-wave?s=w
(Be sure to check out the linked article and the TED talk mentioned therein, both compelling.)
Also, Heather Cox Richardson's piece today is worth the read: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-24-2022?s=r
I'm sorry and a moment of silence isn't good enough. At least as Tisha says we aren't being silent. Maybe if enough of us refuse to be silent - the message has a better chance of being heard.
I posted this comment on a “dad newsletter” I subscribed to just minutes ago, but because it’s what I’m feeling right now, I’m also sharing it here because I do wish to reach out and be part of the conversation.
I’m laying here next to my almost 2-year-old son as he’s sweetly napping and I’m having trouble processing the range of emotions I’m feeling. I don’t want to raise my son in this country, but we can’t afford to move from our neighborhood which has seen a recent uptick in gun violence, much less afford to move to another country. But this country is broken beyond repair, and I can’t see any signs of things ever getting better here. So, as hard as it may be, I’m making plans to get us out of here so that he can actually grow up without living in a constant state of fear and anxiety...and so I can too.
I wrote/didn’t write something similar today. Impotent is the perfect word. When my 10yo asked if she was risking her life every time she goes to school I had nothing to say. It has to change. But it won’t. But it has to.
As the father of a third-grader, such stories are especially disturbing for me. Sadly, as writers and human beings, we have to strike a balance between never giving up and accepting that most people's views are so fossilized that nothing will ever change their mind, or even enter it. Confirmation bias, indeed. I have read that some states are seriously considering arming the students and staff at all schools. And, if that still isn't enough... arm the students! Back in Missouri, we had a saying, "If you keep going the direction you are headed, you're gonna get there." Sad.