#ENOUGH
Open letters about gun violence. Submit through Vocal today.
One Thousand, Five Hundred, and Seventy-Four Days Ago
It is June 3rd, 2019. This means it has been precisely 1,574 days since the day that gun violence struck a cord in my heart, personally.
alyssa lerchPublished 5 years ago in The SwampA Little Too Close to Home
As I was walking into the building of the high school I teach at, I got a text from my mother. "Your brother is okay. His school is on lockdown due to a shooting at STEM." I nearly couldn't believe what I was reading. The anxiety of how close it was to everything I knew, the grief for STEM. I worked at a swim school not even three blocks away, a two minute walk, on the same street for nearly two years. Students from STEM would come by to swim at our school, both after school, and during for PE. The STEM parking lot is where my dad taught me how to drive, and where my dad and I taught my brother to drive. My old high school, where my brother currently attends, was on a lock out due to the situation, because we didn't know what was going to happen next. My old high school, in fact, was a seven minute drive. And a five minute drive from the home my brother and I grew up in.
Reason First: Can Individualism Fight Mass Murderers Like the One in Christchurch, New Zealand?
Words like “radical” and “extremist” should only be reserved for actual individuals who champion far out ideas like the elimination of science, economics, education, and ideas from government. Like capitalists. The suspects involved in the Christchurch, New Zealand massacre should be labeled as cowards and puny practitioners in the initiation of physical force.
Skyler SaundersPublished 5 years ago in The SwampAre Firearms More Deadly Than Automobiles?
I just read Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang post to his Twitter account his case for gun control: “There is no practical reason for citizens to have assault weapons. We need to treat gun ownership as an awesome privilege and responsibility and regulate accordingly. Guns are more deadly than cars and we take tests to get drivers licenses.”
Brian DollardPublished 5 years ago in The SwampShowcasing School Shooters
Mass shootings have unfortunately become a tragic, but normalized part of our society. Although mass shootings only make up a small portion of the total gun crimes in this country, they only continue to rise in numbers with each attack becoming more brutal than the last. We are all completely aware of the pain that these tragedies can bring to our communities, and yet, they continue to happen. The stories pass through the news channels so quickly, replaced with the new horror story while the last fades away into a bad memory for our country. There are no opportunities for new reform from our legislators, despite the constant push from the citizens that want change. These attacks of terrorism have become something that we simply acknowledge, move on from, and wait for the next inevitable occurrence.
Kylee TresederPublished 5 years ago in The SwampMasturbating with Metal: Gun Culture and the Fantasy of the Armed Teacher
I want to be clear here: There are always exceptions to every stance. However, as a former special education teacher of at-risk children and adults (gang members, drug addicts and alcoholics, and the “severely emotionally disturbed”—not a personal judgement, but a population designation for those unaware), dynamics in such classrooms would severely jeopardize the safety of both students and educators if the latter are allowed to open carry while teaching.
Joel EisenbergPublished 5 years ago in The SwampSchool Shootings: A Widespread Epidemic
The article, "Teaching In An Age Of School Shootings" by Jeneen Interlandi, discusses the effects, controversies, and viewpoints of the teacher's experience in an age where schools are being threatened by shooters. Interlandi writes about the mental and physical effects of this on teachers. She also addresses the controversy in that teachers have become the first responders. Lastly, Interlandi highlights the new laws to have teachers carry firearms and the efforts to decrease gun violence and increase school safety. This article is so important because of the multiple occurrences of shootings in schools across America. The modern world of urban education is directly and immensely affected by the tragedies and threats in schools to the students, staff, and families.
Steph FergusonPublished 5 years ago in The SwampAn Open Letter to School Shooters
Dear you. Just you. No names, no recognition, no separation of yourself from the others. Just... dear you. Was it their happiness that offended you? Perhaps their innocence? Maybe they weren't so innocent. Maybe they bullied you on a daily basis. Maybe they got away with too much and you, too little.
Gun Un-control
How many murderous gun crimes will Americans tolerate until they realise that gun manufacturers are the cause of mass death in that county?
Mike WhaleyPublished 5 years ago in The SwampWe Need to Talk About What Happened in Squirrel Hill
I feel numb. I don't know how this happened, but I know why. We as a people have experienced violence and persecution for centuries that has never left. In fact, I don't think it ever will. People will use us as a scapegoat for societies failures. This is just our history as Jews, starting all the way back in Egypt as slaves.
Aimes IsraelPublished 5 years ago in The SwampOnly 11 States Have Laws that Require the Safe Storage of Firearms
Last May, when a 17-year-old student of Sante Fe High School in Texas shot and killed 10 people and wounded 13 others in 30-minute shooting spree, he was using legally purchased guns that he had taken from home. During an initial interview, the suspect’s father refused to say how his son had acquired the weapons, but later disclosed that he owned the guns and his son had taken them from his closet.
The Homeless Problem in the United States
Throughout the world, the homeless exist. They do not have steady jobs or homes. They are usually on illegal substances, like marijuana, and often alcohol as well. They have to exist outside all the time while those of us with homes exist indoors. Working people resent the homeless population and look at them with disdain. Even low-income people who have living arrangements, or pay low rent as part of their situation, can’t often give the homeless their “spare any change.” Many of us tell them no. Homeless bums have no other options other than being a bum when the shelters are full.
Iria Vasquez-PaezPublished 6 years ago in The Swamp