Violence has always been something that our society has had to face. However, it seems like there have been more and more reports of violent acts in the last few months. In times like these, one of the biggest questions we ask ourselves is “Why?” Why do people do such horrible things to each other? Why do they seem to have no remorse for their actions?

The list of why’s could seriously go on forever, each of them harder to answer than the last question. The problem is there is no magic answer. No blatantly obvious signs that if expressed will automatically reveal that someone is going to commit violent acts in the future. When these terrible things happen, you typically hear the family and friends of the criminal say things like, “We never expected him/her to turn out this way. The signs were never there.” These families and friends are left with their own set of difficult questions of why he/she could have committed this act, and how they could’ve missed the signs that this was going to happen. In a way, they’re mourning as well for the person they thought they knew so well.

After the "why" questions have been asked, the next questions become, “what do we do now as a society,” and“how can we make a change?” Unfortunately, some people believe retaliation is the answer. They feel like the only way for things to get better is to fight fire with fire. While I do believe it’s important to let your voice be heard in these situations and to take action; violence is never the answer. It proves nothing, and only creates more problems in the end.We have to prove that we can rise above all this violence and hatred. We can’t allow things to escalate further. Instead of fighting violence, why not organize events to help the family or families of the victim(s). These people have lost someone they loved and cared about. If there’s anything they need, it's compassion.

They need to know that there are people out there who are supporting them through this difficult time. If you happen to be close with the family, I’m sure even a simple phone call to let them know you are thinking about them would probably mean so much. It doesn’t cost any money at all to send your thoughts and prayers to people. In situations like these, let’s try to get more positive stories in the news. Let’s try to unite together as a society, and try our hardest to conquer hate. This may sound cliché, but things will be a whole lot easier if we do this together. If we only focus on what divides us, hate will win.