I watched the American flag flicker soberly at half mast as streetlights backlit a remembrance of tragedies. There was no public announcement, but this visual clue stood stalwart outside Lakeville North High School to remind us of not-so-distant events.
Celebrating the moment when the ball drops, the clock hand ticks, and the page of a new calendar flips is supposed to be a time of joy and unity. Instead, it’s most often marked with violence.
Just this past New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, more than 200 shootings have already killed 78 people and wounded nearly 200.
These horrifying incidents were a mix of malicious intent and accidental firing, but they all ended up in tragedy.
Despite warnings from officers like the Georgia Police Department, several deaths and injuries were celebrations-gone wrong. In Nebraska, Florida, and Pennsylvania, innocent bystanders got caught in the fervor of celebratory gunfire. A 39-year old man and 56-year old grandma were both killed in their own homes, as well as a 10-year old girl.
The attack that received the most media coverage, however, took place in the festive French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana.
14 people were killed and 35 more injured when Shamsud-Din Jabbar rammed his ford pickup into the crowd, he also failed to detonate his placed explosives. Later, the FBI deemed the incident as a terrorist attack, with the suspect identifying as a member of ISIS. A similar, but unconnected, planned explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck happened in Las Vegas.
The combustion, a suicide mission, thankfully did not mortally wound anyone besides the suspect.
Especially considering such gunfire is less than new, we must all consider how to prevent such violence. Among these scattered shootings, there are common threads worth learning from. Take the two recent incidents, for example. Both offenders were military personnel, and harbored deep resentment or unrest. Considering all other factors, Army veteran and antiwar organizer Mike Prysner reports that
“military service is now the number one predictor of becoming what is called a mass casualty offender, surpassing even mental health issues.”
Although the intentions behind both explosions were not connected, the influences that made them happen may have been. Many members of the military, serving in combat and otherwise, face immense stressors during their service and integrating back into society. PTSD rates can be up to 15 times higher in veterans than civilians. It’s clear that these people need better support in recognizing their struggles and addressing their needs.
And yet, it’s not just veterans who are in a difficult time. Across the country, symptoms of anxiety and suicides continue to rise in adolescents and in adults. It seems that in a society of increasing polarization, everyone is becoming more stressed and divided. In order to improve everyone’s health and try to prevent similar incidents in the future, we should try to acknowledge these struggles and find common ground. We can’t individually transform a whole society, but we can do our best for the people around us. Check in on your family and friends, make an effort to maintain those relationships, and remember that others are likely facing similar struggles. In these rapidly evolving times, let’s support each other through changes rather than break apart.
