What Survivors of Gun Violence Want You to Know About Being An Ally

[Cimorene]

This article is from February but especially with the most recent mass shootings & the new school year having recently started I think it's still timely.

What Survivors of Gun Violence Want You to Know About Being An Ally
They've survived horrors, and want your help in these ways.

In 2018, mass shootings dominated the headlines, exposing many Americans to the harsh reality of gun violence and inspiring a new wave of allies dedicated to the cause. Teen Vogue spoke with seven gun-reform activists who have firsthand experience with gun violence about what being an ally means to them and how those not directly impacted by it can support victims, survivors, and their loved ones. Here’s what you need to know about them:

They then list the details of the survivors who contributed. I won't paste the whole article but these are the bullet points:
1. Include survivors in your activism. Give them a meaningful platform — don’t just tokenize them.
2. Gun violence takes many forms. Keep your activism intersectional.
3. It can be difficult to relive an experience of gun violence or trauma.
4. Because of that, it’s important to be sensitive about what you say or how you act around those who have experienced gun violence.
5. If you’re unsure how to support survivors, just ask.
6. The most important thing of all is to remember the victims.


Has anybody here personally been impacted by a mass shooting? My family is American but we moved to Canada after my sister was traumatized by a school shooting in Washington. She has Asperger's and took comfort in analyzing the mass shooting statistics of Canada vs US. They occur significantly less frequently here, per capita. It was a coping method for her but it gave me & my brother comfort too. We've had peace living here. I know @Stanfordella a friend from IRL has also been personally impacted having lost friends in the Borderline mass shooting last yr & being on sight during a school shooting. But Idk about other Gen Zs here. I'm wondering about your experiences. Though I know there's not a lot of us here at all, lol. If you're here please share.

 

[Cimorene]

@Zoii @Stanfordella

I'd love your thoughts if you have the time to share them!!!!

 

[Zoii]

It's hard for me to comment. It's very unusual to own a gun in Australia. Semi-automatic and automatic weapons are totally banned. I don't know a single person who owns a gun. We don't have mass-shooting events. The idea of a shooting in a school is incredulous to us but of course, is a regular event in the USA. So Australians don't get the American desire to own and use weapons and their staunch position that they should have the right to own and use military-grade weapons unfettered. We just don't get it, particularly as mass murder is so frequent there.

So how to support victims? I'd say the best way is to actually look like your going to do something about the root cause of gun violence. But when nothing is done, when gun sales actually go up, then I suspect that victims feel angry and despondent. I'm sure they think that nothing will change and that it will happen again - and history tells us that they are correct.

What I find odd, is that there seems to be an association between Christian fundamentalism and a staunch position on gun ownership. The comments I have seen on CF on this topic, are one of the reasons I felt that I could not identify as being Christian.

 

[Cimorene]

I really hope there's not any school shootings in 2020. 2019 and 2018 had so many in America. It's like ppl don't even stand still in shock & grief over it anymore bc it's so common there. I'm so relieved to have escaped the US & the gun fetish culture but I still worry about my friends and so many others who live there. It's been yrs now since the shooting at my sister's school & kids still have PTSD bc of it.

 

[Zoii]

I really hope there's not any school shootings in 2020. 2019 and 2018 had so many in America. It's like ppl don't even stand still in shock & grief over it anymore bc it's so common there. I'm so relieved to have escaped the US & the gun fetish culture but I still worry about my friends and so many others who live there. It's been yrs now since the shooting at my sister's school & kids still have PTSD bc of it.

I contributed to a thread that stated that God commands us to own guns and that we are failing in our role to protect family if we are not carrying a firearm and as a result, are sinning against God. His view was well supported.

This is such a perverted and twisted view of how a religious belief can be used to justify something so socially theatening.

 

[Cimorene]

I contributed to a thread that stated that God commands us to own guns and that we are failing in our role to protect family if we are not carrying a firearm and as a result, are sinning against God. His view was well supported.

This is such a perverted and twisted view of how a religious belief can be used to justify something so socially theatening.

Not being extra, that literally makes me feel sick.

People want to deny science bc it's not detailed in the Bible but want to add to the Bible what isn't there when they think it suits their agenda. Smh.

 

[St. Helens]

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