OPINION | A Reflection on Gun Violence and Some Questions for the Shooters

by Mark Epstein

Cornel West, speaking in the Rainier Valley last month, used the analogy of a musical ensemble for the expression of the beauty and the sorrow and blues of the human experience. Yet throughout the Valley, our city, and the country as a whole, the song has been punctuated in the last month by the discordant sound of gunfire. West decried the insufficiency of identity politics, declaring that pharaoh comes in all colors, and called for meaningful, substantive discussion and social and political change. His presidential candidacy is intended to spark that discussion.

The gunshots provide a strong exclamation point to the socioeconomic, political, and moral crisis which confronts our society at this time. Like the COVID pandemic, the omnipresence of gun violence is affecting all of us, whether we realize it or not. I myself was witness to one of the episodes, ducking for cover for 40 seconds while bullets soared overhead and on both sides.

The roots of this crisis have been both the pervasiveness of guns throughout the land, and the concurrent devaluing of the lives of our fellow humans. Calls for restrictions on gun sales or rights are rejected by claims to Second Amendment rights. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, in Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment (2018) traces the root of the amendment to a white supremacist attitude toward the regulation of enslaved Black people and the development of outposts to facilitate the seizing of Native lands. This has conveniently led to billions of dollars of profits for the makers of guns and ammunition, the origin of the weapons of choice. There are now more guns than people in the U.S., yet any attempt to restrict them is attacked for infringing on constitutional rights.

After Sunday night's shooting at a Juneteenth celebration outside of Chicago, Kris Brown, president of Brady, the country's oldest gun violence prevention organization, said in a statement about the shooting, "Unfortunately, because of the gun industry's influence on our lawmakers, there is no place in America that's safe from gun violence."

Do we have a right to feelings of safety? This is what the students were demanding in Parkland, Florida, five years ago and in Seattle last fall. It is what is currently haunting my dreams. I stand thankful that I can be here to enjoy another Father's Day, yet fearful for my son and grandson, fearful for all of our sons.

The devaluing of life of certain humans has been inherent in the American experience. In a recent blog post, Dr. Micheal Kane, a trauma psychotherapist and one of the small handful of Black male therapists in the Seattle area, cites James Baldwin writing in 1963, "You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you are a worthless human being." Kane argues that for white people today, racism is more covert and sometimes even unconscious; yet the psychological harm that it causes is even more damaging than the overt racism of years past. Kane calls for the recognition of generational trauma, passed down continuously over the last 400 years. The violence we see coming from our young Black youth is a result of what some call "the colonization of the mind" — they have been led to believe that their lives, and the lives of those who look like them, are expendable.

Some Questions for the Shooters

Why did you do this? Are you battling for turf you and/or your family have been displaced from? Is it the thrill of Mortal Kombat in real life? Were you trying to correct a perceived or real slight or act of disrespect? Was this a form of payback?

What do you love in life? Have you cared for younger brothers, sisters, or cousins? Do you FaceTime your friends? Are you kind to your girlfriends? Have you ever planted a tree or seen a birth? Have you ever loved a pet? What do you find beautiful? What brings you joy?

Why did you go out with your guns? Where were you taught that the lives of those who look like you have less value? Was your intelligence not recognized in school? Did teachers discipline you for something that other students were permitted to do? How have we failed you?

Have you ever gone to bed hungry? Was your family ever evicted? How have you coped with the world, having to watch the videotaped abuse or murder of Rodney King, Tamir Rice, Laquan McDonald, Eric Garner, George Floyd, and countless other Black males by uniformed officers?

Were you never taught about Paul Robeson, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm, Fred Hampton, Angela or Fania Davis, or the Dixon brothers? Were you never taught of the resistance of the enslaved on plantations, aboard slave ships, or in New York City?

What would it take for you to put the guns down and use your energy, organizing skills, and love for your friends to build our society and a life for yourself?

Which Way Out?

While my questions are primarily addressed to the young Black shooters, the changes required for the guns to be put down must be advocated for by all. Recipients of white privilege must be the advocates for recognition of the history of racism in this country, and for concrete action of repair. But before they can do that, they must understand the historical roots of the problems we see today. One effort to provide people with this knowledge began in Seattle.

The national movement for Black Lives Matter at School began in Seattle in the fall of 2016 at Muir Elementary after a morning greeting by 100 Black men was canceled due to the district receiving threats from white nationalists. In response, over 1,000 Seattle educators wore shirts, proclaiming "We stand together" and "#SayHerName" (in reference to the murders of Breonna Taylor and Sandra Bland as well as violence against Black women). This effort spread across the country and still receives a week of teaching in February in numerous cities across the U.S.

BLM at School was followed in 2019 by the publication of "The 1619 Project" in The New York Times. Most recently, these efforts are enhanced by teaching about and honoring the Juneteenth holiday; however, these have been overshadowed in the media and public attention by attacks on "critical race theory" and "wokeness"— over 44 states now have passed or proposed legislation banning the teaching of institutional or structural racism.

To return to West's musical metaphor, the silence on the SPD blotter, the lack of a sound in the media in response to this staccato of 30 shots added to my personal trauma: I had the luck to survive the shooting. My economic privilege and medical insurance will cover counseling costs, and, hopefully, my dream songs will once again reflect my inner visions of justice, curiosity, and the mathematical balance and wonders of our time in this universe. With this narrative, I hope to add to the chorus of voices saying, "Stop this gun madness."

Each of us has a role in the band; the sooner we each learn our part, the closer we will come to the harmony we all long for. Look to Indigenous people's understanding of this melody, in sync with the earth and all of its creation. We are in danger of descending into a cacophony which will cause us to put our hands over our ears, and just try to block out the sound.

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Mark Epstein is a 31-year South Seattle resident. He taught elementary and high school for 35 years, with the last 25 at Rainier Beach High School. He is a devoted father and grandfather, with daily walks and love from his pandemic puppy. He has been a career-long union activist, and since his retirement in 2019, he has been active in support of immigrant communities in our state. A lover of music and growing food, he is also an avid biker for transportation.

Featured Image: Photo via Serhii Yushkov/Shutterstock with editing by the Emerald.