So there’s a lot of horrible stuff going on lately. But like most people who occasionally catch a glimpse of cable news while loading up the next episode of their true crime podcast at the gym, I don’t think there’s been a mass shooting in America for like… a while?
I mean, I suppose if I looked into it at all I might find there has been a mass shooting almost every single day since 2019 began, but not like mass mass shootings. I mean, it’s one thing if lots of people die. But it’s a whole other thing if lots of people die and then it ends up on the news long enough for me to notice it in that brief moment between when I turn on the TV and before I start streaming season four of The Office.
Think about it. when was the last time your social media was so full of posts about the latest shooting that it could take upwards of eight minutes of scrolling to find that Instant Pot recipe Karen said she shared? This last month alone I’ve made five amazing Instant Pot recipes and thought almost zero times about losing loved ones to a shooter. (You have to try Instant Pot ribs. SO GOOD! Check Karen’s insta!)
When was the last time you drove by a McDonald’s, saw the flag at half-mast and thought, “Huh. Is today Memorial Day? No, I think that’s in the summer. Or maybe it is today? Maybe someone important died. That one astronaut guy is getting pretty old. Gosh, I hope it’s not another… should I get a McMuffin?”
When was the last time you were in a nightclub or movie theater or mosque/church/synagogue or kindergarten/elementary school/high school/college classroom and had to think, “These people around me… they seem okay. All the same, where are at least two exits and what furniture in this room is the most bulletproof? Is there a pool nearby? Because I think Mythbusters proved bullets won’t hit you if you’re at least two feet under water. Or was it deeper if they’ve got an assault rifle? Man, I miss that show.”
When was the last time we waited uneasily for the shooter to be identified to find out if we were going to have a national discussion about a troubled, isolated individual (if white) or about the latest coordinated act of terrorism (if not white).
When, when, oh when was the last time ignoring gun violence was this comfortable? I’ll admit, I’m somewhat prone to distraction. But lately I feel like I don’t even have to distract myself to ignore gun violence. Yes, it feels nice right now, but you know how it is when you’re so tired at the end of the day that you crash down on your bed and snuggle up under your weighted blanket and falling asleep feels so good, but then you remember you haven’t taken out your contacts yet? I know it’s so tempting drift off to dreamland, but America: I think now might really kind of be the right time to take out our contacts, maybe?
I’m not asking us to brush our teeth. I’m just asking, when was the last time you heard someone in a position to do something about gun violence remind us, “Now is not the time to talk about gun violence?” It’s been a while, right? So quick, before it again becomes one of those times when it is not the time to talk about gun violence, let’s take out our contact lenses and talk about gun violence.