My Email to a Friend (Isla Vista Shooting)

David...

I was saddened to hear of the shooting in Isla Vista. I sort of consider it an actual "school shooting" in that Isla Vista is a true college town that butts up against UCSB. It is such a vibrant and energetic community. As the Executive Director of the Associated Students, I spent a considerable amount of time attending community meetings, networking the University with the concerns of Isla Vista.

David, I'm not sure what the answer is to gun violence in our country. I suppose if there was an easy solution, we wouldn't be debating it ad nauseam. Having said that, I completely agree that we can at least take some steps in the mental health field and security checks that could help.

As an incurable optimist, I tend to look towards the future in a positive light. I remind myself of what Martin Luther King Jr. said once: (paraphrasing here)..."the arch of history is slow and difficult, but it always bends towards justice." This gives me a sense of hope that the best the "knuckle-draggers" can do is slow down progress, but they will never stop us from eventually moving forward. It is just a matter of time.

My optimism took a huge hit not just from the Isla Vista incident, but from the Sandy Hook shootings. If you recall, a poll was taken right after the incident and a full 90+% of Americans agreed that we needed stricter gun laws. To get that many Americans agreeing on anything is something of a miracle. It just never happens. Yet, even with that kind of support/demand from "the people," nothing could be done. Not a single thing. If this isn't a paradigm example of how our country is broken, I don't know what is. This is the reason for my diminishing optimism.

The Gun Lobby obviously has more power than the will of the people. I'm not sure that the path back to sanity is even possible anymore. It isn't just isn't the Gun Lobby...other lobbying bodies (in concert with corporations) seem to be pulling the strings in our government. But that is for another time.

Thanks for the email David.

-P