Who We Are
Waking up Sunday morning to hear that not only had a teen been shot near Waterloo at an after-prom party early that morning…but that two were killed and 10 more injured in a downtown Cedar Rapids nightclub shooting…certainly puts a cloud over the day.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell stated in multiple outlets Sunday that Cedar Rapidians all need to be engaged in stopping gun violence, because “this is not who we are”.
I have no complaint about the message…the tone, the speed and frequency with which it was delivered were all fine.
It’s the sad realization that in fact, for some growing segments of our cities, this is who we are. And in order to combat it, we first must realize that there is an increasing number of people who see this as a proper way of life…and see the damage it causes as a normal part of life.
This is not a gun problem. This is not a racial problem. This is not a socio-economic problem. This is not a “teenager or young adult” problem.
This is a human problem.
The mayor challenged everyone to intervene early on, at the first sign someone might be going down the wrong path. That’s fine, provided the person has those kind of close contacts.
Ultimately, it is the choice of those humans who decide that any grievance needs to be resolved in this way. But we must recognize that it’s no longer a small group that feels that way, in order to properly respond to the community challenge.
