A pamphlet sent to the author by her daughter’s school. (Photo courtesy of Joanna McFarland Owusu)
If you’re a woman, parent, or any kind of human being in America, there’s a lot to get angry about these days. This is because being in a constant state of anger is detrimental to our health.
Today my anger is crushed and all-consuming and I feel like lava is running through my veins. I brought home a pamphlet.
With a puzzled look, she hands it to me and opens it to reveal a page with slots for fingerprints, one box per finger. She said she thought she should fill this out.
Searching for the right answer made my heart tremble. I told her I’d look later and she hurried off. And when I opened the pamphlet, I saw two of her simple sketches of genderless naked children labeled “FRONT” and “BACK.”
I choked when I realized what I was going to do. I had to label the person with a child’s birthmark, mole, scar, or other distinguishing feature. [Note: Officials say the program, which predates the Uvalde shooting, is primarily used to find missing children but the kits “can be used in the aftermath of a tragedy,” an official acknowledged to CNN.]
As a parent of three children, one in elementary school, one in middle school, and one in high school, I roll my eyes this grade when students are required to carry transparent rucksacks in large urban school districts. Did. I live in Texas and the terror of the Uvalde School shooting came to mind. I wonder if anyone really believes that a clear backpack increases safety. I let out a sigh of relief that my youngest didn’t understand why the explicit backpack decree was made.
There are countless ways parents can embrace this moment with their young children. I think we are accepting willful ignorance for her 7 year old. She didn’t understand this pamphlet or its meaning any more than she understood the transparent rucksack. I can’t find the words to explain why the adults around her don’t do simple things to keep her safe at school. I’m ashamed of the leaders. I can’t ask for a reasonable explanation for the current situation, even at the second grade level.
A pamphlet sent to the author by her daughter’s school. (Photo courtesy of Joanna McFarland Owusu)
My husband and I cannot protect our teens from news headlines. The best we can gather in blaming them on this topic is that adults in our country have failed them. Our country has only made modest policy changes around the margins, even though it has been discussed. . Teenagers whose brains are not fully developed and cannot afford alcohol yet cannot obtain a gun license in other countries. and gun deaths in other countries account for only a fraction of the gun deaths in the United States.
We all seem to be emotionally detached from this topic. Remind them that statistically they are unlikely to experience a shooting incident at school. We tell ourselves this so we can sleep at night.
So, anyone who has children, knows children, or believes that children have a right to exist to keep humanity alive, i.e., future payers to Social Security, nothing more. However, this is my earnest plea.
If you live in Texas, like I do, or any other state where far-right Republicans mock child safety, vote for a candidate with a rational stance on gun rights. Please. No one is going to pick up your hunting rifle. Vote for (among other things) to regain some sanity on the topic of gun control.
Refusing to believe or accept transparent rucksacks, active gun drills, and law enforcement programs to identify deformed and mutilated bodies in children are the best we can do. It’s from
My anger knows no bounds and I take it to the ballot box.
Joanna McFarland Owusu is a Dallas-based writer and editor. Joanna was a federal analyst in her previous life and a longtime policy stance and news junkie. When she’s not reading or writing the news, Joanna spends most of her time around town as her Uber mom of her two teenage sons and a daughter in grade school.
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This article originally appeared on huff post and updated.