Late on Saturday night, I was doing my usual routine of reading a few chapters of my book before I go to bed. I prefer to do this than look at my phone, as I don’t want to become addicted to the thing.
Once I had finished the few chapters I wanted to get through, I put my book down, looked towards and grabbed it.
So much for sticking to good habits!
I don’t know what compelled me to grab it, perhaps it was an innate desire to check the damn thing. When I took a look at my phone, what I saw did not surprise in the manner that it should.
The notification on my phone told me that there had been a mass shooting in El Paso in America. The only thing I could think of at that moment was, “not another one!”
The news was hardly surprising which says a lot about how commonplace these kinds of shootings have become. We have become desensitised to headlines along these lines.
What made matters worse was that when I woke up, news of another shooting appeared on my phone. I just shook my head in disbelief at the all too familiar headlines.
The number of shootings in America has become too long and too bloody to believe. I remember being a child reading about the Columbine massacre and scarcely believing what happened.
As I was growing up in England, the idea of something similar taking place was non-existent. Thinking that such an event had taken place in America was unbelievable in its own right.
Fast forward to today and the news barely registers. It’s just what happens in America these days. When the situation has got this bad, with frequent losses of life no longer eliciting the pangs of shock they should, it’s clear something is broken.
America has an obsession with guns, that much is clear. But, it is time the obsession was brought to an end for the good of the country.
More Guns, More Problems
America has a gun problem, there is no getting away from this. The numbers are stark. This year alone, 246 people have been killed in America as a result of mass shootings.
