It was the 312th day of the year, and the 304th mass shooting in America. Only eleven days after the largest mass shooting this year. How many more people have to die before this changes. When will people be able to feel comfortable going out to public spaces without the worry of being shot to death? We need gun control now.
The Borderline shooting in Thousand Oaks is just another in a too-long-list of massacres at the hands of white terrorists with guns. It pains me so much to write this considering it being so close to home and knowing people who frequent that bar. It could’ve been someone I know. It’s even more disheartening that it’s been less than two weeks since our last post went up about another shooting.
People can’t go to schools, movie theaters, churches, yoga studios, music festivals, bars, and just about anywhere without fear of someone committing these atrocious acts. This should’ve ended the moment someone decided to walk into an elementary school and murder 20 children. It really makes you wonder, when will this actually end if children weren’t enough for the government to take action?
There is no more time for thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and prayers aren’t stopping these events from happening. We need legitimate reform from the government. Lack of gun control has affected all communities. How many more parents have to bury their children? How many friends and family members have to suddenly say their final goodbyes?
What makes this situation even more fucked up, is that some of the people who were present during this shooting, were also victims of the massacre in Las Vegas in 2017. So now there are people who can say they’ve been victims of two mass shootings in America. Two. People shouldn’t even experience one, let alone multiple.
I didn’t want to mention the murderer, because his memory doesn’t deserve the time of day. But I will say this. We must call these people what they are. Terrorists. Not “lone wolves” or “mentally unstable” or any other sugar coating nickname you can think of. They don’t get a free pass just because they’re grown white men, while we criminalize young black boys. They are domestic terrorists.
To have a shooting almost once a day for a whole year is terrifying. It is terrifying that the people are screaming at the top of their lungs and our words are falling into the deaf ears of the United States government. What more can we say and do for this government to finally listen?
We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to these things. We must continue to get loud and be angry and cry and feel all these things because the second these events are normalized, it’ll truly be the end of humanity.
So stay angry and channel this anger and these emotions into action. Share the news with everyone you know and never stop shouting at the government. Let’s lose our voices from our screaming but let’s not lose the passion we have to make change. These lives should not be lost in vain. Demand gun control now.
In Memory of the 12 Victims
Ron Helus
Sean Adler
Cody Coffman
Alaina Housley
Daniel Manrique
Justin Meek
Kristina Morisette
Telemachus Orfanos
Noel Sparks
Mark Meza
Jake Dunham
Blake Dingman
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