Columbine. That word pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?
It was April 1999 and I’ll never forget seeing the images of terrified high school students running for their lives. I, like everyone else, was horrified and sickened, but it got worse. School shootings in the U.S. became, I hate to say it — commonplace.
While for the most part I don’t talk politics or religion, this week my heart and voice is with every student in the U.S. marching and protesting for a safer tomorrow. I’m optimistic as I witness the planned walkout one month to the day after the Florida school shooting. It is an illustration of choosing a course of action in solidarity and it makes me proud.
The young people of today are the voters of tomorrow. Getting angry about the abhorrent gun laws, political rhetoric and the seemingly lackadaisical attitudes surrounding school shootings is not only necessary but required for change. It takes a lot courage and tenancity to take those first steps against the status quo and I applaud these young people for what they’re doing.
Like many, I’ve wept as the body count rises in the name of U.S. democratic freedoms. Even from a distance, where I don’t feel the same physical (gun violence) threats, I can still understand the grief faced by so many — too many. I seriously don’t know how they all cope and carry on after such harrowing circumstances.
In Canada, we don’t face the same fears about school shootings but we still feel our neighbours’ pain and the aftershocks of grief and anger. For every individual that dies, there are survivors — the other students, the family, the teachers, staff, and first responders — forever changed in a way that we can only imagine, but there’s also the public. Let’s not forget the average person watching the tragedy unfold on TV and how it affects them. It’s a mood of uncertainty and helplessness suffered by millions of people in both the U.S. and Canada. It’s a sad truth of the day.
Even if you don’t think your kid is aware of the news and current events, believe me they know. The kids talk about it to each other and in class. They watch YouTube. It’s not a secret and yet as far as I know, the schools here don’t do anything like security drills or heightened vigilance. Who knows how much all the school gun violence south of the border is adding to the anxiety and depression for teens everywhere? After a televised incident, I’d bet that all the teachers and administrators walk back into the school with a heavy heart. How could you not? It doesn’t matter where the incident occurs, it affects us all.
When I see the anger and determination on the faces of those young people marching, it gives me hope. Hope that there will be change. Hope that someone amongst those students is a strong and forever leader, a compelling voice, that will bring about positive transformation. I also hope that the protest continues until its voice is so strong that it can no longer be pushed aside or ignored.
We joke about having “first-world problems” and school shootings should not be one of them. Let’s pray that the students voices raised in protest will be heard and acted upon. #NationalWalkoutDay
Faye Arcand is a columnist for the Penticton Western News living in the South Okanagan. She can be reached at faye.arcand@icloud.com or www.fayeearcand.com