of US teens fear a shooting could happen at their school and parents share those concerns. The regularity of these shootings creates a desensitizing backdrop of violence for our generation, eroding any shred of safety or security. The American Psychological Associationthat mass shootings beget cycles of distress with a cascade of collective trauma. These persistent anxieties are unyielding.
For young people like me, the dormant dread of gun violence is constantly triggered. Just a few years ago, threats reported to my own high schoolin additional police presence. How could I be expected to just continue about my day, seeing police officers lining the exits and hallways? To put my head down and study or take an exam? Last fall, that same unshakable feeling resurfaced when I covered a rally against gender-affirming care in Tennessee.
Since the shooting in Nashville, legislators in Tennessee have made it explicitly clear that they intend to take no action. “We’re not gonna fix it,” Rep. Tim Burchett