Opinion by Kate Woodsome: Americans need a courageous act of imagination for their mental health.
Here, almost a quarter century after the mass murder at Columbine High School, the public health epidemic caused by Americans’ addiction to guns is both extraordinary and utterly mundane.This will rev up the right and alienate moderates; state borders are porous; it would get tied up in the courts.
But what Colorado’s governor does is not the point. The power of this action is in Americans uniting to question why living with mass murder is sane while a ban on guns would be crazy. It also offers hope for collective healing in a traumatized nation.Trauma — caused by a mass shooting or losing someone to suicide or homicide — shatters people’s sense of control, which can be devastating to mental health.
But it’s hard for people to weather systemic violence in isolation. They need the support of others who can empathize and strategize. In a country wherepeople say a family member of theirs was killed by a gun, Here 4 the Kids offers a communal way to recognize the fragility of life and do something to protect it.
When survivors share their traumatic experiences with others, the responses they receive affect their recovery. Thema Bryant, president of the American Psychological Association, explained it to me this way: If a child reports that she has been abused and the adult responds, “This should never have happened. I’m going to protect you,” then the child will probably fare better than if the adult replies, “You’re being sensitive. I’m taking you back there tomorrow.
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