We see it almost every day in the headlines in the newspaper or online. We hear and see it during the evening news broadcast. It's everywhere. We can't seem to escape the violence.
All of the violence that goes on daily in our cities, close to home and across the country, is disturbing to think about. Unarmed young people are getting shot, the police's use of excessive force, two teenage boys stabbing their parents and siblings to death are all recent headlines. And trust me, the crime headlines are a crowded field right now.
Like most things in the news these days, the crime and violence doesn't come without some issues. One of the most controversial and talked about stories in the news is the mystery around the Sandra Bland case (in which no one seems to really know what happened). The growing demand for further investigation and the need for answers is being pushed into the spotlight. Recent allegations include the accusation that the police took Bland's mugshot postmortem. The thought is chilling, and if true, adds to the carelessness and cruelty seen already in her case from the dashboard cam of her arrest and is another example of the violent state our culture is in.
A lot of the time when we are faced with stories of violence that make national news, the stories are about mass violence. There was the tragic shooting at the church in Charleston that killed nine worshipers (who welcomed the gunman with open arms to their safe place) and at the military recruitment centers in Chattanooga that killed four Marines and a Navy sailor. And just this past week a gunman opened fire on a movie theater during a screening of "Trainwreck" and killed two young women and injured nine others. But among the occasional mass shootings, we are faced with small acts of violence every day.
According to The Washington Post, there have been 204 mass shootings so far in 2015. When the article was posed, it was the 204th day of the year. Averaging one mass shooting a day is terrifying. For reference, the group that tracked these shootings is a bit different than other groups that also track shootings because it has a wider definition of what a mass shooting is. I definitely recommend looking over The Washington Post's article.
It's scary to see how prevalent violence is. It's more than I even was aware of. But we need to remember that things like this happen every day. There are violent acts of all magnitudes that keep happening, from small to large
But when will it all end? I'm sick of turning on the news or opening up Twitter and seeing that another shooting, another stabbing or another bombing has occurred. There is so much senseless violence that doesn't need to be happening. I don't want for this to keep getting worse as time goes on.
We shouldn't feel afraid to go to school. We shouldn't feel afraid to go to the movies. We shouldn't feel afraid to go to places of worship. Our service men and women shouldn't be afraid of representing our country on our own soil and should be able to protect themselves.
America should be better than this. I don't remember growing up with such horror, and I hope we doesn't continue on the path we're on. It's obviously not going to be resolved quickly or easily. We do need to pay attention, though. We need to take a better look at gun laws and I know that is a controversial topic. Americans love controversy and their right to bear arms, but something needs to be done to make us safer. I think it's something our presidential hopefuls will need to address within the next year.
It's important to stay positive, even when we are facing such negative times. Let's have hope for a better, safer future.
