We are all the same

under our skin, in our bones,

in our DNA,

So tell me why we destroy each other.

I can’t breathe.

Our ultimate goal in life is to be happy,

yet we rob people of that happiness

everyday,

we decide to act before thinking.

I can’t breathe.

We judge people based on looks,

stereotyping because

it’s easier,

generalizing because of

past.

I can’t breathe.

We have become a society of violence,

of hate,

we are a nation of killers set free,

of children murdered…still harvesting strange fruit.

I can’t breathe.

We live in a time where phrases;

“I don’t have a gun, stop shooting”

“why did you shoot me”

and

“I can’t breathe”

don’t end violence,

they end life.

Where the last words we know are…

Please don’t let me die.

For the past two days I have woken up to death in the form of a shooting. On June 10, 2016, singer Christina Grimmie was shot three times and killed after her concert in Orlando, Florida. The gunman then shot and killed himself. She was 22 years old. I then woke up on Sunday to the news that 50 people had been shot and killed, and 53 wounded at a gay club in Orlando, Florida. This is the worst mass shooting in the United States history. People are saying this is an act of terrorism, because the gunman swore his allegiance to ISIS.

It seems that stories of mass shootings are becoming more frequent, each worse than the last. We are becoming surrounded by murders and last words. But instead of motivating us to change, these last words are numbing us, so that we are no longer shocked to hear of death.

Enough is enough, I want to able to wake up and not hear of another mass shooting. I want to learn about people, not because of their last words before shot, but because of the good they accomplished in the world. I want an environment where kids are not afraid to go school, but rather excited for the education they get and that they'll know they are safe.

I want to live in a time where phrases, "I don't have a gun, stop shooting," "Why did you shoot me?" and "I can't breathe," end violence and save lives.