Gun Violence in America

In the month of April there have been four incidents of gun violence in the United States of America that have received national attention within one week of each other. All of the incidents of gun violence were caused by trivial mistakes that occur frequently in everyday life. These incidents were initiated by the victims accidentally ringing the wrong doorbell, getting into the wrong car or driving into the wrong driveway. What all of these events have in common is the value of property over human life. All of these interactions could have been resolved with a simple conversation, however, somehow in this country the mantra, “shoot first and ask questions later” has been adopted and reacted over and over again. 

The first victim was Ralph Yarl, a 16-year old Black child who was shot in the head for accidentally ringing the wrong doorbell on April 13, 2023. The most heartbreaking aspect of this situation was Yarl was simply picking up his younger siblings, being a good big brother, and after being shot, had to go to several more houses until a family had the decency to call the police and get him the medical attention he needed. Being that this occurred in Missouri and the shooter is a 84-year old white male, “civil rights leaders and Yarl’s family attorney, Lee Merritt, have urged the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting and for prosecutors to charge Lester with a hate crime, with Merritt noting that Yarl ‘was armed only with his Black skin.’” (Associated Press). 

On Apr 15, 2023 two days after the Yarl incident, Kaylin Gillis, a 20 year old young woman was shot and killed because she accidentally pulled into the wrong driveway in upstate New York. Three days later, on Apr 18, 2023,five days after the Yarl incident, two high school cheerleaders were shot for accidentally trying to get into the wrong car. This incident took place in a grocery store parking lot, the cheer team’s designated carpool location. After realizing they approached the wrong vehicle the girls went to the correct vehicle. The shooter then exited his vehicle, followed the girls, and gunned them down in their own vehicle. Kelan Washington was grazed by the bullets and did not have any serious injuries. Sadly, Payton Washington had more severe injuries and is now in critical condition. 

All of these incidents are results of a larger psychological shortcoming of the United States of America. Gun violence is the result of neoliberal ideology that has been reinforced by a hyper individualized culture–in other words valuing property more than people. The solution to gun violence is community, “To think of this issue more holistically, more efforts must be made—in schools, churches, families, the media, etc.— to promote a sense of community and interconnectedness.” (Esposito and Finley 2014). The breakdown of community is what allows these senseless acts of violence to take place. Neoliberalism thrives on fear, capitalism, materialism, and hypermasculinity. 

So how do we end gun violence? Gun control is a great place to start. But as a collective, the community that is the United States of America needs a psychological shift. The unfortunate truth is that, “outside the most powerful/privileged individuals, human life under neoliberalism becomes largely disposable” (Esposito and Finley 2014) and  Black, LGBTQ, women, and children, the most vulnerable communities,  are the most affected by gun violence.  If you, or someone you know has been a victim of gun violence we urge you to contact Safe Horizons, and/or Sandy Hooky Promise. 

Sources: 

​​https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-updates-c13170d6759f2963b01a68fc8a6332f7

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65344407

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65325867

Esposito, & Finley, L. L. (2014). Beyond Gun Control: Examining Neoliberalism, Pro-gun Politics and Gun Violence in the United States. Theory in Action, 7(2), 74–74. https://doi.org/10.3798/tia.1937-0237.14011