Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

The Recent Shooting

Another one.

I wish we could say it will be the last, though unfortunately, sadly, disturbingly, it won't be.

As I read articles written about the shooting, words popped up and haunted me:

… Brown eyes …

… she pulled the fire alarm …

… nine-years-old …

… 30 cents a bullet …

When people ask me if it is safe to visit Paris during the strikes and protests, I want to say,

"Far safer than schools in America."

If I were a child in the States, I would be terrified.

I remember, as a child, during the earthquake drills at school,

where we practiced ducking under our desks for cover. 

The little girl who pulled the fire alarm knew what to do in an emergency.

…

Children, I am sorry that you live with this unbelievable reality.

 

Comments

17 responses to “The Recent Shooting”

  1. Anna

    So incredibly well put!

    Reply
  2. Julie Schaefer

    If conservative legislators in the U.S will not vote for gun safety, I don’t understand why the American people will not take to the streets and march against gun violence, since 60% of Americans favor gun control. At a “March for our Lives” event last summer there were only about 100 of us, from a metro area of about 600,000. Think of this generation of traumatized school kids growing up–what do you think they will be like in 10-20 years? Damaged, I’d say. They deserve better, and they know they are not getting it. The 9-yr-old girl haunts me–she is braver than all of us adults. And she’s dead. Shame on us. Shame on America as we sit on our hands and are complicit in the death of innocents.

    Reply
  3. Cynthia Thompson

    So very sad. My heart breaks and my thoughts are full of fear. I have grandchildren in the school system. I pray a prayer of protection over them AND my adult children on their jobs each day. Blessings

    Reply
  4. Jennifer Phillipps

    From over the sea in NZ I am terrified to even think about the way guns are so freely available in the USA. IN NZ we had a ghastly mass killing a few years ago, it was a very rare occurrence and left the whole country in shock. Gun laws were tightened here and semi-automatic weapons banned…but I fear this will never happen in America until there is a change in mindset…so I too think of those poor souls and wish and hope it does not happen again…my thoughts are with them all. Jennie, NZ

    Reply
  5. Ella

    Dear Corey,
    Once again you shared the thoughts many of us have. How can a country put their children at risk on a daily bases?
    You, I and others, fortunate enough to live in a country with more baguettes than people, rather than more guns than people, know there is a better way. When will the U$ figure that out?
    On another note, while taking the train from Nice to Paris last week, we (Simone, my 1.4 kilo Chihuahua with the personality of a Great Dane!) passed Cassis and I thought, hmm I really want to meet Corey in person; let’s make that happen and soon.
    Praying for children everywhere.
    Ella

    Reply
  6. Jeanne

    No words can ever convey the heartbreak we all feel when we hear of yet another school shooting especially when young children are killed. It breaks my heart as it does many.
    My thoughts and prayers go to everyone I hope there is a change coming to end this all.

    Reply
  7. Bev S.

    My daughter-in-law was asked to substitute at that school on Monday but opted for another private school (which was supposedly on the shooter’s list). She had subbed for the 3rd grade class the Monday before with all 3 children who were killed on Monday in her class. They sang her Happy Birthday and made her wear a crown for the day. She says that they were all sweet children and that the director of the school and the janitor were wonderful people.
    We are thankful that she is safe but mourn for all killed by gun violence especially children.

    Reply
  8. judyo

    As I retired kindergarten teacher, every time this happens I remember practicing lockdowns with my sweet 5 year olds. Giving them lollipops as we hunkered in our classroom bathroom. Teaching was never the same after that. God bless the children.❤️

    Reply
  9. Alan

    Every time I walk out of my house, and sometimes while I sit in the house with the window shades open, I fear for my life. I love Chicago and it could be such a great city but for the guns. Greed wins over compassion and love of your fellow humans in the United States.

    Reply
  10. TracyH

    It sickens me 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔it feels USA is slowly loosing its light and soul. Ban assault weapons and their large capacity magazines again. Follow the money.

    Reply
  11. Chico Sue

    The reaction I feel every time a mass shooting occurs in the United States goes from shock, to sadness, to outrage, to shame. How can our country, which professes to be based on Christian teachings, continue to choose guns over lives? We are in a morass of negligence, ignorance and blindness. We seem incapable of seeing the simple and moral solution to this horror.

    Reply
  12. Gina Lanman

    So true Corey. I am embarrassed that our country is as it is! Pray for the change, pray for victims, and pray for the stubborn! We need to take action some say to pull children out of school and demand action! How is it that the mental ill with a diagnosis on record can get a firearm completely pains me!

    Reply
  13. Susan in Zurich

    Corey, you have put into words my thoughts, feelings, so well.
    It’s heartbreaking and infuriating.
    I remember my elementary school years, practicing earthquake drills and diving under our desks (growing up in Anchorage, Alaska).
    I can’t begin to imagine what teachers and students are going thru.
    Something *has* to change.

    Reply
  14. carol

    Another tragic day for us. Tragic! The NRA sits comfortably in the pockets of the politicians. Greed.

    Reply
  15. Marilyn Marcus

    Thank you. We are insane. To value a misinterpretation of the right to bear arms over the well-being of our own children. And to then not only allow the killing and maiming of them, but to terrorize the rest.
    And we who think we are so civilized and advanced.
    Grass roots action does work. Overwhelming numbers of phone calls, emails to republican officials. Voting. And marching. But it’s incremental I’m afraid.

    Reply
  16. Kate

    Living in a different country it is difficult to understand Americans need for guns in their homes. How on earth do they cope when travelling to another country that has no such attachment. It totally puts me off ever wanting to visit the USA. I’d be absolutely terrified.

    Reply
  17. marilyn

    It is heart-breaking!
    It infuriates me that this country refuses to do what they need to do to make it safe for our children.
    I am angry!

    Reply

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