Mass shooting at Texas school outrages readers
Tuesday’s mass shooting at a Texas school struck a nerve with letter writers:
Uniquely American
Only in America do we have so much gun violence.
Only in America can a crazy person go into a gun store and easily buy violent weapons of mass destruction that are designed for warfare.
Only in America do we have 19 darling little children dead on Tuesday, along with two teachers; their parents and families will never see them alive again. Only in America do we worship guns. Only in America are lawmakers afraid of annoying the likes of the National Rifle Association.
Only in America do people do NOTHING to stop the violence; “thoughts and prayers”: How lame is that!
This is only going to stop when parents, other thinking folks and perhaps corporations band together to DEMAND that this worship of guns stop and ban weapons DESIGNED for mass destruction and stop the insanity that is ONLY IN AMERICA!
Sarah Taber, San Francisco
Keep it as a game
Each year I play a game with my 6year-olds called “who can be the quietest in our closet.” Our class is lucky because we have a closet attached to our room. The 26 little bodies sit quietly in the dark for nine minutes after they’ve watched their first-grade teacher make barricades using our classroom furniture.
I have them watch me flip and move tables, push cubbies in front of the doors, tie straps to prevent doors from opening and do whatever else I can to keep them protected. I do this in hopes that if we ever had to do this for real, they would stay calm and not panic.
When we are in the closet we sit, and I tell them we’re playing a version of hide and seek. When they ask why are we practicing this drill, I tell them it’s because we don’t want whatever bad is happening outside to get into our safe classroom.
As we sit in the dark in silence, I am comforted that most are too young to understand the real reason for this drill, and I pray for their safety, knowing the real ugliness of inhumanity. Allison Rice, San Jose
Support young people
As a high school math teacher and father of two school-aged children, my heart sank when I heard about yet another school shooting.
Then, I listened to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s impassioned press conference. I agree with Kerr that the Senate is holding the American people hostage by refusing to vote on background checks. However, I would like to see our government go further: Help our youth find purpose and meaning.
I don’t believe any of the teenagers I teach would ever do something like what happened in Uvalde, Texas, because they have so much going for them: admission into a great college, family members who are present and supportive, and educators who genuinely care about them. Sadly, it seems the Uvalde shooting suspect did not have any of those things.
Kerr is right that enough is enough, not just with lackluster gun restrictions, but also how we care about our youth.
Gus Elmashni, Redwood City
‘What are we doing?’
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy’s impassioned plea Tuesday on the Senate floor underscores the imminent need of the hour.
“I am here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues,” he said. “Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely ... What are we doing? Why are we here? What are we doing?”
I think all Americans should introspect and ask this question to themselves and their congressional representatives.
Atul Karnik, Woodside, N.Y.