I’m sure you’ve heard in some form that three children and three adults were fatally shot at a school in Nashville on Monday, March 27. It took over all news stations and social media platforms, and rightfully so. You’ve likely also seen the social media posts with the frightening statistic that there have been more mass shootings than days in 2023. According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of March 27, we have racked up 128 mass shootings in 86 days.
Of those 128, how many can you name? In all honesty, I can name no more than five. While blame can be placed on the individual for lack of attention, just as much can be placed on the media. There is a problem with bringing much attention to certain cases while ignoring countless others that are so similar.
In fact, in the past 72 hours, almost 100 individuals died by a gunshot, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
However, this particular case in Nashville may be gaining more attention from the right for the wrong reason: the murderer was transgender. While I have less than no respect for him, this fact shouldn’t be morphed into an excuse for transphobia. Being transgender has nothing to do with the fact that he entered that school and killed those individuals. The political right has run out of excuses and things to blame these tragic deaths on other than guns themselves.
However, I do believe school shootings deserve the amount of attention they are receiving. There is something extra cruel and frightening about someone killing children and their teachers. 49.5 million students attend public school, not including higher education and their respective staff. Because so many are in the same position as the victims before their deaths, it draws more attention to such tragedies than other mass shootings.
This shooting also received so much attention because of the reactions from prominent figures. President Joe Biden spoke to a crowd shortly after the incident and joked about visiting town for a certain flavor of ice cream. It was hard to watch. On the other hand, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla) gained popularity for questioning why his opponents were so concerned with regulating students’ book selection and course material rather than the fact that they could experience a school shooting on any given day. His now-famous quote, “dead kids can’t read,” will go down in history. This gave both the political right and left an opportunity to continue to comment on the shooting from their respective lenses. These reactions could potentially be fuelling more significant coverage of this shooting over other recent ones.
Regardless, this shooting only has only one thing in common with others: guns. Each case has occurred in a different setting at a different time with different victims and different perpetrators. Even when certain shootings are covered more than others, it raises awareness for solutions to gun violence.
Layne Rey is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Layne know by tweeting her @laynerey12.
