Politicizing Tragedy in Parkland

On Valentine’s Day this year, the unthinkable happened. At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a gunman opened fire, killing 17 and injuring 14 more. At this time, it is ranked ninth on a list of the deadliest mass shootings in American history.

There is one stark difference between the Parkland school shooting and preceding incidents — many of the students who personally witnessed and survived the shooting are calling for gun reform. A freshman at the school published an opinion article in The New York Times, entitled “Don’t Let My Classmates’ Deaths Be in Vain.” A group of students travelled to Tallahassee, Florida’s state capital, to advocate for a ban on assault rifles and many more have since spoken up about the need for stricter gun control.

These are students and teachers who experienced the firsthand, traumatizing fear of seeing a shooter approach them and kill their classmates and teachers.

The words “another school shooting” should never have to come out of anyone’s mouth and are so devastating and senseless that they should never be a reality. However, many politicians and partisan members of the media, especially right-leaning ones, are criticizing the politicization of the shooting. Tomi Lahren, an American political commentator, says that Democrats should not be dragging the issue of gun control into the conversation, and that “this isn’t about a gun, it’s about another lunatic.”

While the prayers are certainly well-intentioned and comforting, they do nothing to address the real problem at hand: it is extremely easy for anyone to acquire weapons like assault rifles that no civilian should ever need. If the gunman had not been able to purchase his weapon, 17 students and teachers would still be alive right now. A common argument is that the mental instability of the gunman is to blame here; they would’ve killed people with other dangerous tools, regardless. However, that argument is significantly flawed, as knife and acid attacks cause nowhere near as many fatalities as shootings and are also much easier to control. By avoiding proper acknowledgement of the way the victims died and refusing to correct the problem, we are not doing their legacy justice. We need to work to ensure that no person will ever have to experience the horror they had to.

This time, it is survivors of the shooting that are calling for reform. How can politicians and partisan newscasters blame them for politicizing the shooting? These are students and teachers who experienced the firsthand, traumatizing fear of seeing a shooter approach them and kill their classmates and teachers. As members of the public who can only relate to their trauma through a TV screen, we have no right to tell them how to respond or to invalidate their decisions. If this is their response to the tragedy they witnessed, then we should support the actions they choose to undertake.

I remember being in elementary school during the Sandy Hook shooting. I especially remember the sheer disbelief coursing through my body as I scanned the headlines that morning. The magnitude of that emotion is something I never want to feel again. One day, I hope that no one will have to feel that again.