The topic of gun violence and schools is far from new. That fact alone is both depressing and trifling, but what is even more abhorrent is the lack of any real action. Yes we have drills, yes we have protocols, and yes, we have alarms, but we should not have to.

Realistically, lockdown drills do absolutely nothing when the vast majority of school shooters consist of disgruntled students. What is a lockdown drill supposed to do when the call is coming from inside the house? What is a lockdown drill meant to achieve when an armed student could open fire in the middle of English class?

The contradictory faux sympathy for children’s lost lives and the simultaneous refusal to put a leash on gun usage is downright deplorable, no matter how you try to shape it. Getting a gun is disgustingly easy in this country (and even easier in some states) and is what actively costs people’s lives and loved ones. Safety becomes less of a right and more of a privilege when a child goes to school, and that should be sobering to a human with basic empathy and/or comprehension. 

Government officials and those who advocate so strongly for gun usage (“self defense,” they say) being objectively useless when faced with the alarming topic of child mortality is not surprising, even if it is disappointing. They give their condolences and feign a hollow rendition of outrage, only to do absolutely nothing for the elementary schooler who now jolts at loud noises, and for the middle schooler with physical and mental scarring that will never truly leave them. 

How many more headlines do you people need? Because this neglect no longer borders on apathetic, and instead reveals a concerning level of inhumanity. How many more cowardly excuses of human beings need to risk other’s lives because of their own bitterness?

This isn’t even an issue unique to victimizing children, it affects anyone and everyone, specifically those in the public eye. One such example of this would easily be Charlie Kirk, who had been shot in the neck in the midst of speaking at the University of Utah. Even those who aggressively advocate for the excessive free usage of guns are affected by their own stances, and that alone should prove the point that no one is safe.

For how long does the government have to treat children’s lives like a hot new form of currency to pay an arbitrary penance until they do something about gun violence not only in schools, but in general? Ever since I first entered the school system, the concept of a lockdown drill has had to be painstakingly broken down to me. 

Why must teachers explain to classrooms of toddlers and adolescents that someone–whether it be a sadistic lunatic (rare, by the way) or a student that’s just a little too bitter–could come into their classroom at any point and wreak absolute havoc on all of their lives? This should not even be a conversation. Either restrict gun access or admit that you are fundamentally useless to your society. 

“In the wake of Sandy Hook, and Uvalde, Parkland, and El Paso, and Lewiston, and Aurora, and Buffalo, and Boulder, and Binghamton, and Highland park, and Monterey park, and San Bernardino, and San Jose, and San Francisco, and the Pulse Nightclub, and the Colorado Springs Nightclub, and the Little Rock Nightclub, and the Borderline Bar in Thousand Oaks, and the Ned Peppers bar in Dayton, and the Waffle House in Nashville, and Virginia Tech, and UVA, and MSU, and UCSB, and FSU, and NIU, and SMC, and the Sutherland Springs Park church, and the Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, and the Living Church of God, and the Tree of Life Synagogue, and the Allen Mall, and the Westroads Mall, and Fort Hood, and Lockheed Martin, and what are we … doing? What are we doing?” -Jon Stewart