Gun violence has been normalized in this generation. It’s been so accepted to the point where people jokingly make threats. This is what happened with me. Living in Parkland, Florida, people often joked around that they would “shoot up the school.” Until it wasn’t a joke anymore.
In my sixth grade year, I went into lockdown two times, terrified for my life, not knowing if I was going to drink coffee with my mom again, or dance on my dad’s feet to our song. Thank God nothing happened those days, but I was traumatized nonetheless. I didn’t feel safe going to school or ballet class or anywhere that wasn’t my home.
The fears subsided eventually, but they all came back when an error in the technology department sent off a code red at my new school. Even though it wasn’t real, students, teachers, and staff all thought it was. No matter the reality, I’ll always remember being separated from one of my best friends and running down the hallway as she yelled that she loved me.
It all comes down to the fact that I was traumatized from all of these events, and they wouldn’t have occurred if this behavior wasn’t “normalized.”