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Please, This Has To Stop.
Gun violence isn’t new, but it is growing increasingly common.
This past weekend, there were eight mass shootings in the United States.
EIGHT.
A mass shooting is defined as an incident where four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.
And, in the middle of March, in the year 2022, there were eight mass shootings over the course of 48 hours.
EIGHT.
Guns terrify me.
Have you ever seen someone shoot to kill?
I have.
If you’re close enough, the echo of a gun being fired rings in your ears, louder than you could ever expect. It blocks everything else out, including your shrieking screams. In the boom-blast aftermath, temporarily deaf, the world slows down, and time as you know it is suspended. You can’t hear your heart beating, but you can feel it — jackhammering so hard it makes you immediately nauseous.
Panic rises inside of you, bitter and burning against your throat.
Animal survival kicks in — you either freeze or flee. Some people think they will fight, but in the middle of red-tinted chaos, with rivers of adrenaline rushing through your veins at a thousand gallons a minute, most people can’t, don’t, and won’t.