I'm really used to people not being interested in the things that I choose to prioritize in my life. I grew up in a place where "vegan" was a word that a lot of people didn't know the definition of --- not that I blame them, I know there's a first for everything -- and no one really wanted to hear about it. That's fine. I'm used to it.
I'm used to people telling me that the things I care about, are not worth the amount of energy that they require. I'm very used to people not caring.
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I guess the point I'm trying to make is that this is so much more important, so much more pressing... You simply have to care, guys. You just have to.
Not too long ago, some people might remember that I wrote and shared an article about a seven-layer cake. I baked this beautiful, vibrant, sickly sweet rainbow cake. Each layer was a different color of the rainbow. I baked this cake and wrote this article in response to the Orlando Massacre.
I was really inspired by a video uploaded to YouTube by Hannah Hart. Hannah is a woman that I really admire and respect. She is also gay. When I saw people posting videos, hers was the only one that I wanted to watch because I knew she would say what needed to be said.
I wasn't sure how this article would be received. I wasn't sure if people would read it, or care about what I had to say, but I know I had to get these words out. I had to get this information out into the world. Luckily the information was well-received. Moved to, once again, get information out to the world, I am trying to do the same thing a second time. Minus the cake. Subtly aggressive. Sorry. Maybe after we fix the mess we've gotten ourselves into, we'll celebrate with another rainbow cake. It will taste better because of it.
I had forgotten to make this my priority. I had let school, friends, dating, moving, all of that come before this. And in reality, nothing else matters as much as this does. I can sit here and say that I have a lot going on, that it's more than I can handle right now, that I have other things going on...
You know who else had other things going on? The families of the victims. The friends of those victims. The victims.
How can I, in all good conscience, say that I don't have time for this?
This post, unlike the last one, is not just about the Orlando Massacre. This is really about the importance of standing up and coming up to bat. This is about realizing that there are serious issues in this country and that sitting around and praying to yourself for ten seconds will not solve anything. This is about saying to yourself, "This is not okay," and sign up for the fight for greater good.
"And while prayers and thoughts are wonderful and important and good, it's not as important as taking action and aligning yourself with your thoughts and prayers. So if you really want to help, then you have to help."
- Hannah Hart
How many times will we let this happen? How many more innocent children have to be slaughtered? How many more adults and young adults and teenagers have to be murdered because of those they choose to love? How many more innocent lives have to be taken too soon as an act of racism?
Look. You might be saying to yourself, "Gun control would never work! I'm not giving up my guns!" and for you I say... That could've been you. That could easily have been you. That could've been your partner, your daughter, your nephew, your parent, your neighbor, your best friend: how many of those people in your life have to die before you realize that this is no time to be throwing out a potential solution just because it makes you a little grumpy?
If you truly are against gun control, and you can make an actual informed decision (AKA you actually know what is being proposed. Hint: Obama is not going to come to your door and make you give up your handgun.) then I have another question for you: do you have a better solution? Seriously. So far, I haven't heard anything better. And we can wait around while more people are being murdered, or we can give this an honest try.
This is not just about gun control, though I'm very clearly passionate about that. Below are all of the same links I had on my seven-layer cake - I really copied and pasted Hannah's little checklist. I want you to go out and register to vote or do it online. If you're a college student, you can register in your new location or you can request an absentee ballot. If you don't give a rats ass about any of this, we cannot be friends. And that's all well and good: you wouldn't like me anyway.
This cannot happen again. It's time for the new grownups to handle this.
1) Ban the AR-15 from Civilian Ownership. https://wh.gov/isupT
2) Contact Your Elected Representatives About Gun Control
https://medium.com/@nicolesilverberg/...
3) Did Your Senator Vote for Background Checks?
http://everytown.org/senate-votes/?so...
4) Tweet Your Congressperson: http://everytown.org/tweet-at-congres...
5) ...and more! http://www.30guncontrolactionsyoucant...
and for more motivational reading... "After Sandy Hook We Said Never Again. And Then We Let 998 Mass Shootings Happen":
http://www.vox.com/a/mass-shootings-s...
