26 People: How Could This Happen?

We are strong.
No one can take that from us.
We will not allow it.<3

I woke up this morning bearing an enormous weight in my chest, and one that many share with me today. I am speaking to you not as a liberal democrat, not as a conservative republican, and not as a 22 year old caucasian female living in a culture which is often viewed as materialistic, superficial, and unfathomably greedy, but I speak to you as a human being. A human being who, in all sincerity, does not hold the capacity to understand the mind of someone capable of inflicting such devastating brutality on purely innocent people, 26 of whom were taken from us yesterday by an individual with such a mind.

These dauntlessly brave, courageous  26, however, represent a fraction of the those affected by this fatality. When 20 year old Adam Lanza took these lives, he also stole those of the children who were forced to experience and witness the deaths of their classmates, friends, and peers. He stole the lives of the parents who will never see their children at their first prom, college graduation, or wedding. He stole the lives of everyone who shared a special bond, love, or relationship with any of these 26 people. 

I keep asking myself, “How could this happen? How could it?” I am so incredibly blessed to have lived in the United States since I was 1 years old- in the same exact house, on the same exact road, in the same exact neighborhood. In so many ways, this “ordinariness,” this distinct sense of normalcy that I have grown up with, is what makes living in the U.S. so beautiful. For the most part, we do not live in fear of our routine daily lives. We do not fear stepping out of the house, heading to school, or going to work. Instead, we look forward to it. We’re excited to see our best friends, co-workers, or  crushes, then come home and spend time with our family laughing and talking about our day. In this wonderful country, our basic right to happiness is protected. Adam Lanzo challenged this right yesterday, mercilessly stealing it from 26 people, their families, and loved ones.

As a nation, we will not let him win. We will not allow him to atrociously manipulate the integrity on which the United States of America is founded. It makes me sick. Absolutely, nauseously, infuriatingly sick that someone had the audacity to rip these rights from innocent citizens, 20 of whom were between the ages of 5 and 10. They had their whole lives ahead of them. 

However flawed I may personally be, and though I’ve vaguely touched on the issues of violence and safety in this post, one issue I have zero tolerance for is injustice against children. Children do not have the power to fully protect themselves against abominably hideous people. Their vulnerability makes them an easy target. They don’t have the power to fight back. 20 of these children were taken yesterday, and many more were forced to witness these grossly heinous crimes. Think about these observers for a moment. Think about the level of trauma, anguish, and heartache these children will carry with them for the following days, months, and even years to come.

This tragedy has shown myself, the world, and the United States of America the necessity for greater restrictions on the accessibility of guns. Guns are tools created for self-defense, not malicious oppression or poisonous domination. No matter our political affiliation, we can all agree that 26 lives may have been saved yesterday if guns were guarded for their appropriate purpose. These 26 may have had the opportunity to enjoy  this divine Saturday, a beautiful Christmas, or an even better New Year. If guns were strictly secured against unspeakably evil demons in the guise of human beings or, in this case, in the guise of a seemingly “normal” 20 year old American male, these 26 heroes would have been able to enjoy their basic rights to which each of them are entitled. We need stricter constraints on the distribution, attainability, and handling of guns. More so now than ever.

How could this happen? ..How could it happen? How could this? ..Just..how?