Turning Grief into Action

Hi Everyone,

Many of us are still in a state of shock, a hard place where words fail and another broken-hearted emoji just doesn't cut it. There's a gauzy impotence to grief of this kind and I have no illusions what I'm sharing here can adequately summarize the depths of what people are feeling. 

There are several vigils and prayer services in Madison tonight where folks can be together and share in the sadness and even the anger that this happened. 

I'll be blunt in saying I'm a bit put off by the performative nature of such events, as I'm more interested in what we do in the days and weeks to come.

As Mayor Satya stated in the aftermath of yesterday's tragedy, our response needs to be centered around the victims and their families, and about the kids and staff who survived the shooting. 

Yes, I'm aware that the harm extends outward, that school age children in our city who don't attend Abundant Life have been impacted, as have their families. 

The harm is deep and it is wide.

None of us wanted to see this come to Madison. But to a certain extent, it was only a matter of time. We have shared in the collective grief of terrible incidents like Sandy Hook and Uvalde, but these events keep happening. They make the national headlines for a few 24-hour news cycles and then we move on.

Now it has happened here. It's our turn to bear this burden.

But the question we should be asking ourselves is this: what do we do once the vigils have ended, when the public outpouring of thoughts and prayers have subsided, eclipsed perhaps by another tragedy in a different city?

Here is a list of organizations who are doing important work to prevent tragedies like these from happening:

• Sandy Hook Promise
• Everytown For Gun Safety
• Gifford Law Center to Prevent Gun Violenc
• Moms Demand Action

Some will take the approach of "hardening" our schools, equipping them with metal detectors. Some will call for our teachers to be armed and trained in the use of firearms. But as Chief Barnes said yesterday, do we really want that for our schools?

More reasonable debate will no doubt surface about returning School Resource Officers (SROs) to MMSD schools. I welcome that conversation.

In closing, let grief serve its purpose. Let's dig deep and sharpen our empathy towads those who are hurting. The pain is real and we're wise to face it head on, to support each other and to bear each other's burdens.

Still, there must be more. 

Once the thoughts and prayers have subsided, the time for action will have begun. Let's not let this terrible loss be in vain.

Take good care and stay safe,

Tag