raise your voice
There has been a lot of talk and some debate as to whether or not bloggers should be blogging today. Some have chosen to observe a day of silence in honor of the school shooting in Connecticut. I respect their decision to do so, but I really don’t see what good being quiet will do and am choosing to go a different route. I believe in getting louder when something like this happens. I believe in continuing to do the things that make me happy. I think there is something to be said for not allowing a terrorist freak’s actions to alter my schedule or routine. Some are choosing to be quiet out of respect, and I am choosing not to be quiet.
Can you tell I’m mad?
Of course this whole unimaginable tragedy makes me sad and more than a little angry. I didn’t want to send my daughter to school today, but I knew that if I didn’t do it today, I’d never let her go back. I won’t be silent, and I won’t allow fear to make decisions for me. So she’s with her classmates and not at home with me today. The fact that I even had these thoughts make me mad. What kind of world do we live in where a parent would be afraid to send her daughter to school?
There were immediate precautions taken when terrorists leveled the Twin Towers on 9/11…Billions of dollars spent in an attempt to make our airports and airplanes more safe. What’s happened as a result of the multiple school shootings that have happened at the hands of American terrorists that live in our immediate neighborhoods? Not a damn thing. I’m pretty sure that if all a terrorist has to do is shoot the lock on a door, that we’re not doing enough to protect our children.
I received an email from Gracie’s school the day of the shooting in CT saying not to overreact or react in an emotional manner “Be careful to avoid dramatizing the drama – try to calm yourself and others instead of fanning the excitement.” Huh. Well, I guess I could pretend that I’m not excited, but I’m pretty sure my daughter would know I was faking it. Then I wouldn’t only be stuffing my feelings I’d be lying. I’m “excited” all right.
I’ve gone back and forth in my mind as to whether or not I should hit the “publish” button on this post. This is mostly a happy place to visit, and I don’t want to alienate my readers. A real live person with feelings writes this blog though. I think it would be dishonest to not publish the upset posts along with the happy ones.
Love,
Melissa
A squeaky wheel always gets the oil that is needed! Thank you for posting
thank YOU for commenting Candace 🙂 xoxo
You know what makes me most upset about this, apart from the OBVIOUS loss of life involved? The fact that I am now hyper-aware and distracted anytime I see an unfamiliar face walk past my classroom. I loved just getting into a teaching and learning groove with my kids and now I feel like I have my eyes on the door more than I do on their little faces. Makes me sick that a measure of my innocence is stolen every time something like this happens. Not to mention the fear that was on my students’ sweet faces this morning…so very wrong!
Thanks for being brave enough to publish your post. Absolutely nothing will change with regard to security in schools unless parents are the ones to push for it!
Miss ya, sis….
Thanks so much for responding, Robin. It’s great to hear a teacher’s perspective. I can imagine it must have taken quite a bit of courage to step into the classroom today.
Love you and miss you too.
Here’s what I don’t understand. What makes people with mental illness do BAD things? Why couldn’t mentally ill people go pick all the flowers from someone’s yard, or obsessively shower people with kindness? What makes a mentally ill person automatically do evil? I just don’t get it.
What makes people use mental illness as a lame excuse to do evil things? these are all good questions Barbara.I wish I knew the answers. Thanks for visiting.