Article by Asya Ardawatia, TPT Staff Writer

“I really hope it’s real and so if I get shot, I can add it to my college apps. Oh oh, if I actually brought down the shooter, colleges would love me and that trauma would be so useful [for] writing essays.”

On September 12, 2022, my school received a shooting threat; although the threat was never followed through, the comments that my friends and peers made shocked me. The statement above was made by a friend during lunch. When this remark was originally made, we all laughed along and agreed with them because, at the time, we saw it as funny. After a while, when I thought back on it, I saw how unsettling it was that we were making jokes about something as serious and violent as a shooting. It is not our fault though; we are coping the best way we can. It is the fault of the people who are allowing these shootings to occur because they will not pass common sense gun laws that prevent these atrocities from occurring. We are so desensitized to gun violence that to us young folks to the point where these threats and tragedies happening across the nation are integrated in our day-to-day life.

I’ve heard time and time again in articles and speeches written by gun violence prevention advocates that teenagers are scared to go to school; however, I realized that we are not scared, we are just so used to the brutality of mass shootings that the effect has worn off. I conducted a survey at my school with 50 people. Out of the 30 people that were present on the day of the shooting threat, 70% of them responded saying that they were not scared at all. When I asked what their attitude was on the day of the shooting, 30% of respondents said they didn’t think much of it and made jokes about it with their friends. Out of the 20 people who were not present on the day of the threat, 60% of them responded stating that they weren’t worried about the threat and just used it as an excuse to skip school. It is highlighted how we have disassociated ourselves from these events that directly affect teenagers across America when I consider how my classmates, including myself, reacted to a threat indifferently and lightheartedly. Fear has become a privilege we no longer allow for ourselves.

Looking at my empirical evidence and data I collected from my survey, I was compelled to dig deeper into the reasons why teenagers are so desensitized to gun violence. North Texas Daily claims how living in an age where news can be shared in a variety of different outlets, stories of these tragedies seldom linger in the thoughts or Instagram feeds of those who hear about them. The public's concern has gradually declined as the number of Americans killed in mass shootings has risen. As of September 5, 2022, the Gun Violence archive, which defines a mass shooting as one with four or more people killed/injured, has recorded 464 such incidents. This means that there is more than one mass shooting per day. Over the years, the effect and the fear that came upon hearing of a mass shooting has diminished.

Another, more important factor contributing to this desensitization, is the notion that few shootings receive media coverage, shielding the pro-gun lobby from scrutiny. Pines and Roses discusses how media outlets cherry-pick which mass shootings to broadcast, thereby leading to a reinforcement of American gun culture while allowing the gun lobby and alt-right politicians to avoid public backlash for their lack of action and indirect responsibility in these attacks. Pines and Roses state, “It’s one thing to defend the ‘right’ to own a modified AR-15 when the national news only splashes a spotlight on a small handful of shootings per year. It would be quite another if the national news reminded Americans every night that another mass shooting had occurred.” Lawmakers in Congress who have the authority to enact gun reform laws will only do so under immense pressure, and given that there is little media coverage of the injustices that take place in our nation, politicians will continue to avoid taking any meaningful action against gun violence.

It is terrifying to live in a world when threats of a mass shooting are received with no more than a batter of an eye. The lack of media attention, combined with our government's subdued reaction, leaves the younger population feeling helpless in these situations and more accustomed to similar tragedies over time. Although it is disheartening to see the public so desensitized to gun violence, it will only worsen unless our elected representatives in Congress stop accepting "donations" from the gun lobby and implement practical legislation to protect the American people.

The views articulated in this piece are the writer’s own, and do not reflect the official stances of The Progressive Teen or HSDA at large.

Why Aren't We Afraid?