Current Event News: Saddening Gun Violence:

”In 2019, there were nearly 8,500 terrorist attacks around the world, which killed more than 20,300 people, including 5,460 perpetrators and 14,840 victims”(START Background Report overview 1). Correlating this to the gun violence chaos that has broken out and has yet to come to an end or even a break from 2020-2023. “In 2021 the most recent year for which complete data is available, 48,830 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S.., according to the CDC. That figure includes gun murders and gun suicides, along with three less common types of gun-related deaths tracked by the CDC: those that were accidental, those that involved law enforcement and those whose circumstances could not be determined. In 2021, 54% of all gun-related deaths were suicide(26,328), while 43% were murders(20,958), the remaining gun deaths that year were accidental(549), involved law enforcement(458), according to the CDC”(Pew Research Center 1). As well as, more than 25,000 people killed in gun violence so far in 2023. “Shootings have continuously made headlines just seven months into the year… As of Aug. 1, at least 25,198 people have died from gun violence in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive- which is an average of roughly 118 deaths each day. Of those who died, 879 were teens and 170 were children. There’s been 14,000 deaths by gun suicide, an average of about 66 deaths by suicide per day in 2023”(Alfonsecca 1). The spike of violence the world has reached due to hate and the surplus of weapons affects us all. Not only the destruction of weapons but rising inequality, environmental degradation, corporate control, violation of labor rights and the list just goes on and on About everything happening and negatively affecting the world today. Nassau defines globalization as “integration of markets, politics, values and environmental concerns across the globe. As well as “the root causes and consequences of globalization being religion, economy, and technology and empire empower drive of globalization. Rooted in power and wealth, in process hegemony continues into the 21st century under the guise of globalization“ (Ballard, class slide notes). “Those who vilify globalization have been, if anything (which typically id associated with accepting triumphant capitalism, American style) is progress; developing countries must accept it, if they are to grow and to fight poverty effectively. But “to many in the developing world, globalization has not brought the promised economic benefits”(Stiglitz 5). On the other side of this point regarding globalization, also according to Stieglitz, “globalization has reduced the sense of isolation felt in much of the developing world and has given many people in the developing countries access to knowledge well beyond the reach of even the wealthiest in any country a century ago. The antiglobalization protests themselves are a result of this connectedness. Links between activists in different parts of the world, particularly those links forged through Internet communication, brought about the pressure that resulted in the international landmines treaty- despite the opposition of many powerful governments. Signed by 121 countries as of 1997, it reduces the likelihood that children and other innocent victims will be maimed by mines”(Stiglitz 4). 

    In my opinion, honesty, I don’t really have an  absolute concrete answer to any of this. Other than it’s sad that we’re killing each other and the planet we live on, of course. not only in this class but in my climate change class as well, we’re asked about how we feel and what we think we can do about all this and everything that’s happened and everything that is still happening. I have an answer on how I feel but I don’t have an answer on what I or we or my generation can do about it really more than what we’ve already done and have tried to do. I feel that I want to continue to have hope and to not give up and I want to believe that it’s not too late. But it’s hard to do that in such uncertain times. And it’s hard to have an answer to something when sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know… as far as helping, preventing, slowing down, or reversing anything. All we hear about now is violence, global warming, climate change, inequality, the government, the system and politics. What I feel and know is that money makes the world go round’ but is also the root of all evil. And that we’re constantly pulled in a million directions. What’s the truth or what’s not? or are we really “in this together” but though we live as survival of the fittest and every man and woman for themselves. Granted all these things are a part of our lives and what impacts us, and the make up of the world whether we like it or not. But with all this, the only real answers I have are based on how I feel and what I know and have learned from experience and how I just try to live and survive each day. Everyone thought the “live everyday like it’s your last” quote was lame and cliche but now look at us. Look at the planet and world we live in. It’s definitely not all sunshine and rainbows. So, that’s my motto. And I hope it’s not too late and I want us to continue or at least try to stand together as people and as humans coming from all different ways of life to really motivate and make true change for the better and move forward and not just be stuck or stagnant or at a loss with everything regarding the present and our future. Now I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid for my niece and nephews futures. my baby cousins’ futures. My future kids’ futures. MY future and everyone that I love futures. But we can only control what we can control. And we can only hope and try for the best and somewhat try to prepare for the worst and pray.  

                                                                              Written: 10/1/23

                                                                    Revised & Self Published: 9/25/24

                                                                              WORKS CITED:

• Kiara Alfonsecca, ABC News
• Globalization and Terrorism, Nassau Sociology class slide notes
• START Background Report Overview 1
• Pew Research Center 1
• Globalization and Its disconnects, Stiglitz 4&5