This is one of those moments when you can’t think too deeply, lest you lose yourself in hopelessness. Yesterday, when I heard that there was a shooting in a Texas elementary school that eventually cost 23 people their lives, including the shooter and his grandmother, I immediately wondered if someone had copied the Buffalo shooter, this time targeting Hispanics instead of Blacks.
Then, when I learned that the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was also Hispanic, I wondered why he did it. Then I thanked God that my family was safe.
In a country where we have more guns than people, where politicians are bought by the NRA, where gun nuts refuse to acknowledge mass shootings, sometimes it’s enough to know that your family is safe in the madness. It’s madness that an 18-year-old—a boy whose brain has not fully formed, can go buy assault rifles when he’s not old enough to drink; can decide to kill children when he’s not old enough to fully participate in adulthood.
Salvador Ramos was a high school student who worked at Wendy’s and used his money to buy guns and ammunition. A classmate told CNN that Ramos had been teased in school about his family’s financial situation. When Ramos texted the classmate a picture of his weapons, the classmate asked why Ramos had them, and Ramos texted him back—don’t worry about it.
Well, obviously we have to worry about it, because people are dying at the hands of kids with guns. And not just in Texas. Right here in Philly. So yes, we have to worry about it, and move about it. Because we need more than fiery speeches in the wake of mass shootings. We need actions that keep our families safe.
Photo: Gov. Wolf at Rally to End Gun Violence Urges Electeds: ‘Do Your Job. Protect Our Kids’ By. Gov. Tom Wolf
