A sports team wins a championship game and the elated team and their fans celebrate with a party through the streets of the city. Tens of thousands of fans line up to cheer on their champions, but of course, no big celebration in America today is complete without a shooting.
Yesterday, as the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans joined in an exuberant celebration of the Chiefs winning their second consecutive Super Bowl, there were those among the crowd that allowed a personal dispute to end in gunfire, leaving 1 dead and 21 injured. Three people have been taken into custody and two are said to be juveniles.
Eleven children ages 6 - 15 were injured and sent to the hospital and are expected to be fine. But those young people shot will not be “fine” emotionally, along with the Americans who were there to celebrate but instead witnessed a mass shooting. And the millions of Americans who watched the championship parade or saw the videos of people frantically scrambling for their lives after hearing gunshots - how do we reconcile another mass shooting at a joyous event that may have been the result of a personal dispute?
There was immediate concern for Taylor Swift but she was thousands of miles away on her trip to Australia to resume her Eras Tour after watching her boyfriend Travis Kelce play in the Super Bowl. Kelce posted on social media that he was “heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today. My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. K.C., you mean the world to me.” Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes posted, “praying for Kansas City.”
In a statement, President Biden said the shooting “cuts deep in the American soul” and he pressured Congress to enact stricter gun safety legislation. President Biden went on to say, “The epidemic of gun violence is ripping apart families and communities.” I’m not sure what legislation would specifically prevent mass shootings like the one that occurred in Kansas City, but it seems that those in positions of leadership and power are failing to answer the one question that matters: Why are so many young Americans carrying guns to celebrations and using those guns to settle their own personal disputes? That’s the question our leaders and those who have the ability to address the gun issue in America with honesty need to answer - why won’t they address the issue?
The storyline of many mass shootings in America are the same. The celebration of a sports team winning a championship, a 12-year-old’s birthday party, or attending a high school sporting event. At some point an argument develops and one or two teenagers try to end the argument with a gun - the gun they brought with them to the celebratory event. And instead of the thug-minded gun-toting individuals getting hit, it’s innocent people who get shot because the two thug-minded shooters are such terrible shots that they often don’t hit each other, but hit people attending the event. If there was an argument between two or three people, why are they safe in custody, and one person is dead and twenty-one injured from their gunfire? They couldn’t shoot each other? They shot innocent people?
The other issue is the fact that too many young Americans are carrying guns. It seems like a respect issue. Have these teenagers been taught that they must have a gun in order to have respect? The fundamental problem is the conditioning of young people to carry guns. Since this is not a behavior innate to human behavior then it must be a learned condition. Why aren’t leaders addressing this issue?
When I heard about the shooting during the victory parade celebrating the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl I immediately thought about how common this is in America now. And I wondered if there is some virtual email that goes out to remind society that a shooting is the new signature event that must take place to define America. Is there some kind of malicious attempt to ruin the celebration of a slice of Americana with a shooting? Is gun violence a way to distract from successes Americans celebrate?
I’m beginning to wonder if there is not a subconscious current of jealousy or envy that is designed to replace goodness in America with the on-going debate about gun violence.
