The US is a different experience for people of different races. This is a very obvious statement, yet it took me years to fully learn it. I always wanted to believe that there was only one quintessential happy experience of living here, and that everyone would eventually have it. I stood for the pledge every day in elementary school with this hope tucked inside me, hoping that if I just remained loyal to my country, I would get protection in return. As I sang the national anthem, I fervently believed that everyone, if they just loved their country enough, would receive equal love back. The idea was comforting, that the US was somewhere everyone could have a safe haven and be treated equally, no matter who they were and where they came from.
I wonder if this same hope deceived others, and when exactly they stopped believing in it. There was not one moment, but many, where I would look at what was happening in this country and then myself, and the dream seemed like a delusion. One of these instances was on May 14, 2022, when I opened my laptop to see that there had been a shooting in Buffalo, New York. I can still remember the indescribable feeling of horror when learning that a white supremacist had used a gun to take the lives of ten African-Americans in a supermarket simply because of their skin color. Seeing people being shot because of their race was just one instance where my eyes were opened to the truth: the US was an entirely different country for people who weren’t white. It was not the safe place I had thought it was, but rather a place where there were people who would take a gun to harm people based on their race. How could my family or I ever be completely safe in a country where this was a possibility?
Asking difficult questions like these helped me begin to answer the questions we prompted for this quarter. For this quarter’s topic of gun control, we asked our readers: what do you want gun control to look like in the future? When considering this question myself, the first thing that came to mind was my past experiences with racism. I recalled how I, my family, and many of my friends had dealt with it, and wondered how many others had struggled with it also. When I thought about how I wanted gun control to look in the future, these experiences were all I could think about. The thought of guns being so easily accessible in a country like the US, where there is so much hate present, was terrifying for a myriad of reasons. Guns being readily available is dangerous in America, not just because they are weapons, but because they are available in a place like America. Their potential to cause harm is further exacerbated because of the racism deeply embedded in this country and how, therefore, it is also embedded in an unfortunate number of people. When we discuss future solutions to guns, there also needs to be a discussion on how this issue is not only connected, but intertwined, with racism. Because ultimately, when talking about why people want to use guns, we have to face the fact that racism could be a factor.
With this quarter’s prompt, it can be understandably difficult to draw from personal experience to write about it. If you are struggling with this, take a step back, and think about your perspective on gun control. Every single person has a unique viewpoint, even if you have not been directly affected by guns. For me, examining my experience of growing up in America as a person of color and witnessing racism helped me understand what I believe gun control should be in the future. Understanding your identity and past experiences can help you fully formulate your beliefs on this issue. This issue is something that most of us view through the lens of an outsider, so looking internally can help you get closer to the topic. Remember that no matter who you are and where you are from, your viewpoint matters. Though it might feel like your opinion is inconsequential, you have a perspective that no one else does, and that is invaluable.