With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as my moral compass, I have tried to live as someone who is never an innocent bystander. That is, neither innocent nor a bystander. But also not judgmental of others. It is not that I am fearless. Or that I do not spend large amounts of time gaping, with my mouth open, in the depths of helplessness. But in those moments, I try to hear the voice of MLK serving as a trigger, and I usually snap out of my lethargy and look for some way to act.
Not to mention the murder of Tyre Nichols, the latest murder by police protecting the status quo in our racist, patriarchal, elitist society. On one page in the Boston Globe on a recent day, I found stories of shootings in Mattapan, Methuen, Manchester NH, and Worcester. As of this writing, there have been 36 mass killings in the US since January 1. All with guns.
I feel the national helplessness regarding gun control. Republican electeds shill for the gun lobby. They have blocked the will of the majority of Americans to curtail gun violence with the help of a few Democrats. We are so used to the cycle of shootings – “thoughts and prayers” and outrage followed by inaction that we are like the frog being boiled to death by slowing increased heat. The image of Uncle Sam clutching his string of pearls at his throat also comes to mind.
I want to find a mass media outlet through which to shout at the 75 percent of Americans who are frozen solid: “You are not helpless!!! Your helplessness is self-inflicted!”
A wise former colleague once gave me this sage advice: When the answer to the question “what is wrong?” is “everything,” go home a different way. What he meant by this formula is that when we feel overwhelmed, we get into a painful, repeating, descending cycle that freezes us into helplessness. By doing some small thing, like literally going home a different way, we break that cycle and prove to ourselves that we are not out of control.
Knowing that free advice is worth every penny that you pay for it, I suggest that we all “go home a different way” and look for some small action to focus on in the cause of stemming the bloodbath.
• Generally, educate ourselves to a sophisticated level on the issues and strategies for reducing gun violence;
•Talk to our friends, family, and kids;
• Start a book club or discussion group;
• Find a podcast that focuses on gun control and listen religiously for a while to educate yourself about the people, places, groups, and activities that are accomplishing progress.;
• Shop around for groups like the Lewis D. Brown Peace Institute (Mothers Day Walk for Peace), Stop Handgun Violence, Gabby Giffords PAC, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Sandy Hook Promise, Everytown For Gun Safety, The Brady Campaign, States United to Prevent Gun Violence, etc.;
• Get some personal skin in the game. Put your money where your conscience is. Contribute to candidates and organizations who are explicitly trying to fight gun violence;
• Before you let your child go to a play date or sleep over, ask if the other home has a gun in the house; if so, is it safely stored? Who has access to it?
At least when you hear the news of another mass gun killing, stop paraphrasing Claude Rains in “Casablanca” – “I’m shocked! Shocked to find that [gun violence] is going on here!” Don’t be an innocent bystander. Remember, Edmund Burke’s warning, “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good [people] to do nothing.”
Helplessness is a choice. Racism is our nation’s original sin. But gun madness comes right behind. Neither will end until enough of us stand up and be counted.
Add a New Year’s resolution: “I will not be passive toward gun violence. I will become personally and consistently involved in fighting it.”
