Where were you?

Most of us didn't know, first-hand, someone who died on September 11, 2001, but some of us knew someone who knew someone. Even those who had no tenuous connection felt the impact. After all, 2,996 people actually died in the events of that day and thousands more were injured, tens of thousands if you include the latent medical issues of first responders. The scope was simply beyond comprehension, and yet somehow we all had to deal with the massiveness of the pain and suffering, and wrap our heads around something so evil and horrific.   

All of us old enough to remember that day can tell the story of where we were and how it directly or indirectly impacted our own lives. Each year on the anniversary of 9/11 it seems we tell and retell our own personal accounts of that day to family and friends. These stories have helped us to try to make sense of something that does not and should not make any sense. These stories also help us to remember and to be strong against those who would wish us harm.

After the shooting at the Fort Lauderdale airport, I compiled and posted on Facebook a list of mass shootings since Columbine and asked "where were you?" It was meant to be a literal questioning of whether people actually remembered where they were when these horrible events unfolded. Everyone voiced anger and frustration that yet another mass shooting had happened. No one actually answered my question, "where were you?" I think I know why.

Where were you when 12 people were killed and 58 injured in a movie theatre? You don't recall do you? But have you been to see a movie since? Of course you have. Life goes on. At least, if you're lucky - not in the wrong place at the wrong time - it does.

You send your kids off to school every morning, even though 13 died and 21 were wounded at Columbine High School in 1999; even though 32 died and 24 were injured at Virginia Tech in 2007; even though in 2012, in Newtown Connecticut, 27 were killed and one injured in an elementary school, of all places. Students today have enough pressures without worrying every single day whether they will live or die. And as parents we should be able to send them to school with a reasonable expectation that they will be safe.

Six died and 13 were injured in a Safeway parking lot in 2011? Where were you when it happened. I don't recall where I was, but  I was at my local Safeway this morning. Unfortunately, I am there practically every day, sometimes twice a day. By the way, I recently did have a frightening incident in a Safeway parking lot with a woman who was clearly mentally unstable. If she had had a gun in her car at the time, I might have not been fortunate enough to be writing this now. That event rocked me to my core. I am still having difficulties recovering and I wasn't even physically injured.

Where were you when 5 died and 8 were injured in an airport yesterday? What if it had happened in a different airport a week ago when you were traveling back from holiday visits. How is it that you have to remove your shoes and can't carry a bottle of water into an airport, but someone can check a bag with an automatic weapon and ammunition and have easy access to it in an airport terminal?

We shake our heads and talk about how horrible these shootings are each time one happens.  We demand that something must be done. We blame gun lobbyists.  We blame Congress. We blame mental health policies. Statistics are cited and disputed and recited for a different spin - and let's be honest, numbers can often be manipulated to prove any point that you are making or counter someone else's point. Yet we are all incensed that this can keep happening in America, whatever the cause.

Then we go about our lives and forget. And it happens again, these random shootings in schools, churches, shopping centers, restaurants, theaters, workplaces, airports - ordinary places that we and our children go to every day. We forget and it keeps happening.

Who is remembering the aftermath of those killed or injured in mass shootings in America? Certainly the families and friends of those directly impacted remember vividly the day that their loved one was taken by a gunman or survivors when their lives were forever changed. The rest of us might vaguely recall the shock and anger of hearing of yet another mass shooting, but likely you won't ever have to remember, until it happens to you. 

To those who remember exactly where they were when one of these horrifying events on this ever growing list occurred, I am sorry that we can't do better. I am sorry that we can't seem to solve a problem that has been with us for far too long. I am sorry that you do not have the luxury of not knowing where you or your loved ones were. And to those who don't recall where you were, I hope you never have to but please don't forget that it can all change on any ordinary day, in any ordinary place, in the blink of an eye. It's time we remember and take action.

http://everytown.org/

https://momsdemandaction.org/ 

I hope to see some of you at the MDA Alexandria meeting on Thursday, February 16, 7pm at TJ Stones. Contact me if you need a ride.

Take action - find an event near you:
http://act.everytown.org/event/moms-demand-action-event/search/?source=etno_ETActPage&utm_source=et_n_&utm_medium=_o&utm_campaign=ETActPage