Before I go any further, you should probably know that as the son of a Vietnam era soldier, I’ve never been a fan of anything that involves marching and carrying signs. That being said, I will acknowledge that great good was done in the civil rights movement and a few other things and will concede that some marches have value. As I watched the news this morning at the gym, i saw students from a Philadelphia area school wearing T-shirts that said “ENOUGH.” on them for the nationwide demonstration being held today. I found this amusing since that is the title of my latest book. I’m not sure how I feel about this protest, but I do understand the heart behind it and wish these young folks well. No one should be afraid to go to school.
But I think that just might be my problem. Every time a school shooting occurs, the response is predictable. The media and a whole slew of politicians will once again go after the second amendment and the NRA. I guess I am always a little skeptical when politicians go after the second amendment since the second amendment was given largely to protect us from politicians. That being said, if they could promise me there’d never be another school shooting, I might still get on board. No one should be afraid to go to school.
But now that the protest is over, I need to tell all my young friends something. There are hundreds, no thousands, no tens of thousands of your peers, your classmates who are afraid to go to school every day, and if all the guns were melted into a statue of (fill in your favorite celebrity here) tomorrow, they would still be afraid. See they’re not afraid of guns, so much as they’re afraid of you. Okay maybe not you personally, but of the peer that is abusing them day after day after day. They’re terrified and they feel like no one cares. They need a friend and they need one badly. They need someone to care. They need you. The question was will you say “ENOUGH.” for them? Will you stand up for them? Will you break the cycle?
Did you ever notice that almost every single one of these shooters was bullied brutally before they did what they did? No I’m not saying they were right to do what they did, and I will never even attempt to justify their actions, but I will ask a question? Could have any of these situations been any different if someone showed them they cared? Of course, most bullied kids will not take this kind of action. Most don’t want to hurt anyone, they just want it to end, and while tragedies like Parkland are a national tragedy, about 14 teens in America every single day die by their own hands, because they just want the bullying to end. Someone needs to show them they care and if we do, it will turn the tide in ways the legislation you hope to see this day, cannot hope to come close to. If you want to make a real difference, it starts by being really different. If you really want to save lives, be a friend to the friendless. I take this a little personally because I was one of these people.
No one should be afraid to go to school. #sharehope
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