Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave for the past few weeks – an increasingly attractive alternative for anyone concerned about this topic – you’re acutely aware that mass shootings in the United States seem to be occurring at roughly the same rate as bullets fired from an assault rifle.
One would expect these senseless murders (is there any other kind?) to leave a populace severely shaken. Yet, judging from the rote delivery of and our numbed response to such news, senseless also describes our collective response to gun violence.
Media reports of these real-life nightmares are as formulaic as prime-time criminal dramas. Day one begins with the basic facts: where and when the shooting took place, how many people were killed or wounded, who the gunman was, and what type(s) of firearms were used.
Day two fills in more of the details: The names and ages of the deceased, references to the shooter’s emotional instability, and an attempt to explain “why” it happened (a fruitless pursuit, given that rational thinking on the part of the perpetrator is never part of the equation).
Save for those directly impacted by the violence, the disturbing images soon begin to fade, and we return to business as usual. Until it happens again.
Utilized as a temporary defense mechanism to cope with grief or trauma, denial can be a healthy option. When deployed as the default setting for an entire nation, it is nothing short of pathological.
The record shows that our blueprint for peacefully coexisting with guns is full of holes. The primary reason for this – though you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone on either side of the gun debate willing to admit it – is that it is utterly impossible to predict anyone’s future mental health.
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, how wonderful your family is, if you’ve passed a background check or gun safety course, possess a medical history devoid of red flags, or legally own your firearms. Profound psychological and emotional distress can befall anyone, at any time.
Most of us desperately want to believe that sheer probability will exempt us and our families from becoming victims to the next rampage. Some embrace the notion that if current gun laws were enforced, or tougher ones put in place, all would be well. Others imagine scenarios where they outdraw the “bad guy” and save the day – this, despite the fact that carrying a firearm on your belt is not the equivalent of surrounding yourself with a force field (as evidenced by the tragic June 8, 2014 triple homicide in Las Vegas of two police officers and the armed civilian who confronted one of the shooters).
We all wish to protect ourselves and our loved ones from this madness. And while comprehensive mental health care for all would bring us closer to that goal, we’re fooling ourselves if we think that’s enough.
As a society, we also need to ditch the guns.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy