The 1999 Mistake

I was a senior in high school in 1999.

We made a mistake.

We should have done then what the Parkland kids are doing now. We should have spoken up. We should have walked in protest. We should have told our elected officials "stop this for us!"

But, we didn't. We naively assumed our leaders would be just as horrified as we were. We assumed they would want to do everything they can to stop this from happening again. We assumed they cared about public safety. After all, that is a major part of their job.

But, we were wrong.

They didn't do anything.

The NRA was powerful but not that powerful at that time. A difference could have been made. It was before the 2010 Citizens United decision. They didn't own most of the Republican party at that time. We may have actually made a difference.

A difference. Imagine what America would be like today if we did then what these kids are doing now? There would still be some mass shootings. It's naïve to assume there would be none. But, there would be a lot less of them.

The first graders from Sandy Hook would be in the 7th grade now. ALL of them, not just some. College campuses would be safer and it would be a lot harder for those who have fallen over the edge to obtain these weapons in the first place.

How many victims would be alive today if we had done then what they are doing now?

How many fewer suicides would there be if we did then what they are doing now?

But, we made the mistake of trusting our leaders. Since then things have only gotten worse, not better. Even 25 dead first graders and their teacher wasn't a cold enough bucket of water for something reasonable to come out of it.

We should have done then what these kids are doing now. They are making more sense then a scary number of elected officials!!! They are being intelligent, brave, and powerful! They are also being peaceful. They are doing it all right. 

Why didn't we do this then? I remember Columbine. So many of us wandered the halls in disbelief for a long time after. Shocked by what happened. Asking "how could this happen?" We read everything we could about Eric and Dylan. The kids who wore trench coats because they liked the trench coats suddenly were watched with suspicious eyes by some. I knew a couple. They weren't on the brink of the unspeakable like Eric and Dylan had been. But, suddenly, stereotypes developed. 

I am still shocked by it. I'm horrified in what has unfolded in the 19 years since. Most of that could have been prevented. If we didn't make the mistake of trusting adult leaders to do the right thing. They didn't. They screwed up big time! Would they have listened to us? Would the NRA ever have gotten this powerful if we did then what they are doing now? 

In 1999, we teenagers made a mistake. 19 years ago, we could have done what the Parkland kids are doing. We could have changed history. It's what we should have done. I'm sorry to those who suffered since. We didn't do everything we could have done to prevent it from happening again. We didn't know it at the time, but it was one of the biggest mistakes of my generation.