Americans -- Kids with Guns

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I had planned to blog about the first meeting of the L&LNM XQ Super School team today but something happened on my way home from the meeting last night, not to me but to a four-year-old girl sitting in a car on I-40.

Road rage is a serious problem in Abq. It has been for a long time. I used to yell at other idiot drivers back in college until people started shooting at each other from their cars. So I actually decided a while back that I was going to be a courteous driver, which allows me to let go of the road rage.

But the rage continues and for those who have guns in their cars, it's too easy to just grab the gun and shoot at another car. And then a little girl gets killed. I have been crying all night.

What the hell is wrong with Americans? We talk about guns like they are toys!!! No one ever seems to see the reality of the violence surrounding them.

When I heard about the little girl getting shot in her car, I said something about stricter gun laws and the response I got from the person I was talking to was, "Well, if the mother (in the car) had a gun, she could have shot back at the guy."

And that is what I always hear from people who have a problem with making people wait a little longer to get their guns.

I decided to make this incident an essay for two of my students, one who is the mother of a four-year-old. I always have my students talk/write about gun control because it's an issue people like to argue about but now it's incredibly real. What are they thinking about gun control now?

It's a drizzly morning, one that suits the occasion, I think. Take a moment today to think about that little girl and her family,
and while you're at it, take a moment to learn from what happened.

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