I SIT here writing this just 24 hours after two 14-year-old students and two teachers were shot and killed in yet another mass shooting in the US.
It happened in Winder, Georgia just over an hour's drive from where I live in metro Atlanta. The definition of a "mass shooting" by the FBI is where four or more people are killed in a single incident. There have already been 385 of these in the US so far this year. Thankfully such incidents are incredibly rare if they happen in the UK.
The area where this happened is in grief as is the State of Georgia and the rest of the country and there are repeated requests from everyone to keep those involved and affected by this in your thoughts and prayers.
A GoFundMe set up yesterday has already raised over $100,000 for the victims' families. While this is all well and good, none of it stops something like this from happening again and again. This country seems incapable of solving a problem that is so prevalent in this society. No amount of prayers or donated money will bring those four people back or heal the damage caused to the other nine injured victims or the trauma to their friends and families. Sympathy and financial and practical help will dwindle slowly until it goes completely and the tragic incident just becomes a distant memory and part of the statistics related to gun violence in this country.
Next week, the two politicians hoping to become the next President of the United States will debate with each other on TV and it will be interesting to hear their thoughts on this incident and what should be done to stop it from happening again. You can guarantee that their ways of dealing with it will be complete opposites. One will want more gun control and the other will want more guns in and around each school. No matter what, a gun will never be in my home nor that of my daughter and grandsons. That's the British way in us, regardless of where we are.
Going back to my school days at Ermysted's, Skipton, which of course is many years ago now, the only "weapons" that were ever brought to school were a pea-shooter, an elastic band catapult, or a ruler and rolled up paper, and if caught with them or using them it was a short walk to the Headmasters study and a severe reprimand. It never hit the headlines of the Craven Herald or appeared on TV. No funds were raised to replace the confiscated items.
This comparison may seem trivial but to me, it reminds me of being safe at school and it was a place to learn and play lots of sports. Never did I nor my parents have to think about my safety while there, particularly being shot. I just wish the children here going to school today could experience what I experienced in my school days and know that when they left home in the morning they were certain to be going home at night. I talk with my grandsons occasionally about this but they just seem to take it in their stride because it is now just a sad part of life here these days. I just hope that I'm never put in the place of being a grieving grandparent.
Graham M Jagger Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel