Call to Action: Uvalde Shooting
Nothing feels right today. I can’t stop thinking of my son, who is enjoying his last day of 4th-grade at our neighborhood school. This morning my wife saw a picture of Xavier Lopex. a 10-year-old who was killed in his 4th-grade classroom, and she burst into tears. In the photo, he had the same haircut as our son.
According to Austin American-Statesman, 19 students and two adults died in this shooting, marking the deadliest school shooting in the state's history and the deadliest shooting at a U.S. grade-school since the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
There is no sensible response to something that makes no sense.
But we still MUST respond.
We owe it to Xavier and his classmates and their devastated families. We owe it to the next school, church, synagog, temple, or grocery store that suffers the same fate. We owe it to every person in this country who woke up feeling less safe in the world.
We must respond. This is a call to action from me personally and from The Neighboring Movement. Here are the four steps I am going to take and that we ask you to participate in.
Grieve. Please don’t overlook the need to grieve. Be gentle with yourself and others. Don’t ignore or numb the pain and heartache. We have to feel these things deeply or we won’t know what we are recovering from.
Call. Call your representatives. There are currently gun regulation bills that have passed the US House but have been hung up in the Senate because there is not enough support. Call every day this week and keep calling. We must demand they act. Find your Senator’s information here.
If you aren’t sure what to say when you call feel free to edit this script,
“I am one of your constituents and I am calling in response to the tragic shooting in Texas. I would like to ask you to advocate for and vote to pass sensible gun regulations in our country. Thank you for your time.”You can find more ways to support gun control at www.bradyunited.org
Neighbor. Don’t wait for elected officials. The stakes are way too high to wait for governmental institutions to come up with a solution. Let’s face it, elected officials won’t do much to help us if it threatens their hold on power. But that should not stop us from acting. Our call to be a good neighbor does not require new legislation. When you connect with a neighbor, mentor a kid, host a block party, or introduce strangers on your block you are weaving the social fabric that helps prevent the kind of tragedy we witnessed this week. Start today by getting to know your neighbor. If you aren’t sure how to start, contact us and we will give you some resources.
Hug. Hug your people. I am really grateful that my son is a hugger. He wakes me up nearly every morning by coming into my room as soon as he wakes up and giving me a hug. I don’t think I could have sent him to school this morning without those hugs. Reach out to the people you love today and remind them that you are grateful they are here.
Grieve. Call. Neighbor. Hug. These are the calls to action we challenge you to today. If we all do this it only moves the needle in a small way, but none of us are responsible for the whole thing. You do your part, I will do mine, and let’s create a better world. In closing, I am going to leave you with the words of an old Pete Seeger song. Today I am going to play this song and imagine you as you Grieve, Call, Neighbor, and Hug.
Step by step, the longest march
Can be won, can be won
Many stones can form an arch
Singly none, singly none
And by union what we will
Can be accomplished still
Drops of water turn a mill
Singly none, singly none
