The past month has been a tragic one for our country. Between gun violence, a rapist who was given less jail time than someone caught with marijuana, and a gorilla shot down, the United States has spent too much time mourning. Or have we?
As a journalism student, I've combed through numerous articles trying to gather all of the facts about every case to avoid crafting an ill-informed opinion. I scrolled through countless social media posts on Facebook and Twitter to learn the views of my peers, family members, and complete strangers. Some posts left me shaking my head in disbelief at the lack of sympathy for the victims, while others left me mentally applauding. However, what caught my attention the most was the pattern that I noticed among all of most of the articles and social media posts: people were using these tragedies as an opportunity to push their agenda.
Don't get me wrong, there is no better opportunity to assess the flaws in our government than when tragedy happens. However, why is that our main focus? Why can't we simply take a moment to give our condolences to the victims and their families without throwing our political beliefs in the mix? Following the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Donald Trump tweeted the following:
The lack of compassion shocked me. Why did Trump believe that this was the time to say, "I told you so?" Why were people congratulating him in the first place? Not only does this show a lack of sympathy for the victims, but opens the door for an attack on those who practice Islam.
Don't get me wrong, the Democrats are to blame as well. Hillary Clinton decided to bring up her gun control agenda by tweeting the following:
Perhaps a better response would have been that something must be done, rather than listing off a particular part of her agenda. This was not the time to push gun control, but to say, "Hey this isn't right, what can we all do about it?"
I myself am sometimes guilty of saying "I told you so" when it comes to my political beliefs and tragedies, but I am seeing what it looks like coming from others and realizing that it is wrong. We are all wrong. We are wrong to believe that these issues will be solved by the two political parties telling each other that they are dumb for their beliefs. Mass shootings are not the issue of Republicans or Democrats, but of Americans. Rape is not the issue of women, but men too. The partisan issues must be put aside. The stereotypes toward particular religions and races must be put aside. Victim-blaming must stop. We cannot continue to bicker and prolong the arguments while these horrible tragedies keep occurring. We must all put aside our differences, come together for those who have lost their loved ones, and figure out a solution to stop innocent lives from being taken.
