I’m angry.

Not at you. Or him. Or them. But at us.

How did we let this happen? How did it come this far without us taking to the streets and breaking down the system? Why haven’t we looted every lawmaker and vandalized every bullshit speech? Set fire to false promises. Confronted our own carelessness. Transformed upset into uprising, and right into riot…

Shopping malls. Movie theaters. Kindergarten classrooms. Place of worship… Our sanctuaries are no longer safe.

The most peaceful and public parts of our society are being hijacked by homewreckers that we’ve been unknowingly feeding.

It’s bad.

But it’s not time for panic. It’s time for action.

It’s time to attack all the issues that funnel together to create the tornado of tension that destroys a small town in quiet Connecticut.

Gun reform needs to happen now. I’m not saying to ban all firearms or to prevent people’s right to protect themselves or their families. We should feel empowered to keep our loved ones safe. But you don’t need to do that with semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles. I know the bad guys will still find ways to get guns. But let’s make it harder on them, even if it means making it harder on us in the process. Let’s close the loopholes. Let’s stop wasting time on the details we disagree on and put all our energy into eliminating the one thing we all want to see disappear: mass shootings in our country. Other nations have done it. It’s our time.

Mental illness needs to be brought out of the darkness. We’ve buried this with embarrassment for too long. We’ve pointed fingers instead of joining hands. There are people who are sick in this country. They need our help before they hurt themselves or others. We need an intervention of understanding so we can relieve pain instead of reliving it.

And most of all, we need to stand up, stare at ourselves, and acknowledge we’re creating a culture of violence. We’re breeding bloodshed with kills, targets, and assassinations on everything from t-shirts to video games. We’re desensitizing our youth to destruction. We are making it easier than ever to pull the trigger, removing the remorse and reshaping the reality, one movie release at a time. All of us are responsible for this. All of us are on the hook for fixing it. If we like violence, let’s beat the shit out of the problems that plague us. Let’s fight the good fights instead.

And what about the other issues? What of the other questions that are too heavy to ask or too hard to swallow? What if these young white shooters were black? Or Muslim? Or women? Or if these shootings happened in Compton instead of Connecticut? How would that change things? Why would it? How f*cked up is that?

I’m angry, but anger doesn’t save lives. Action does. These are our neighbors. These are our kids. This is our responsibility. Enough has been enough. It’s time to evolve.

We have to stand up, speak out, and surge forward, even though we’re scared of what we’ll see. Even though we’re afraid of the aftermath. Even though it will get ugly. Even though our own fingerprints will be found around the crime scenes.

It’s not ok to wait anymore. Not when 20 beautiful babies are taken too soon.

It’s bad. But we can fix it. We will fix it. For Portland and Aurora and Oak Creek. And Newtown. And next town…  We have to fix it.

Children are dying. Communities are crying.

America, it’s time.

#besomebody.

Kash

Dedicated to the victims, families, communities, first responders, and heroes of the mass shootings that have shaken our society this year. Sending thoughts, prayers, and a promise for action.