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By JD TW: death, shootings, guns, cops, child abuse, etc School shootings have been happening in America since 1853, that’ll be 170 years in 2023. In 2022, there were over 20 school shootings, but the ones that really stick out are ones such as: Columbine, Parkland, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Oxford and now, most recently, Uvalde.
School shootings happen for a number of reasons, but these are the ones that most politicians (and people) seem to forget about:
School shootings are a tragedy that shouldn’t happen to these poor kids. The impact on society on gun violence and school shootings in general has had people a bit furious since no one has actually gotten state and federal laws surrounding it. It is a harsh reality that has happened for many years in America. After countless attempts to change the gun control laws, no one has done anything about it. No one has actually stood up to the politicians and said, “Hey! We need gun control!” Of course, there has been people saying that to them but politicians are dumb, like telemarketers. Interviewing a few survivors of a school shooting. I have talked with two school shooting survivors about their stories. Let’s meet the interviewees. These are just people who have been affected by something so tragic in their community. All of the interviewers are from the surrounding towns close to Oxford. So the first person I talked to was my best friend, Zach, he doesn’t attend Oxford but did tell me about a nightmare he had because of the shooting. Z: Can I vent, please? J: Yeah, of course. Z: I had a nightmare that me and my crush were hiding in the bathroom and we heard loud pounding on the door and she was screaming and crying and hugging me and she said “Zach, make it stop! I’m so scared!” So I stood by the door waiting for the shooter to bust open the door, and the shooter opened the door, I tried to attack him but he shot my arm. My crush was crying in fear and so, I tried fighting him again, but then he shot me again. My crush fainted and never woke up and I died. J: Oh man, I’m so sorry that this has happened to you. Our interview cut short there as I didn’t know what to say, I was shocked, I truly didn’t know what it was like to lose someone to an act of violence such as this and it pained me that people, who live so close to the school, have recurring nightmares and insomnia because of this. Our next interviewer is another one of my friends, Madison, who was born in a city close to Oxford. They attended Oxford when they were younger, but their parents moved to another school district after Sandy Hook, if I remember correctly. They’re here to explain what it was like. J: So, tell me about your life before you moved. What was the experience there? Why did your parents move? M: My parents moved because of the fact they freaked out over the Sandy Hook shooting and around that time, my parents both got new jobs teaching somewhere. I think I was about 7 when the shooting happened and my parents just decided to move to make sure I don’t get hurt or something along the lines. J: So moving saved your life? M: Yeah, I guess it did. J: What about the experience at Oxford? M: Oxford was alright, for a school. Close-knit school, very quiet, small village. You know everyone and everyone knows you, ironically, I didn’t know everyone and they didn’t know me. So I guess it was alright, I didn’t have many friends as I do now, so I’m glad my parents got jobs at the same time, cause my parents needed the money. But it’s such a shame what happened at Oxford, considering that I grew up around that time. J: You didn’t know everyone at that school, didn’t you say it was “Close-knit”? M: I did say it was close-knit. Because it was, but I was a quiet kid back then. I never got into any trouble, I played by myself and I wasn’t that noticeable. J: Did you know the shooter? Or the victims of the shooting? M: Nope, I don't really remember him. I don't really remember learning any of the kids' names when I was younger. I just called them nicknames like "Playdough eater" or "Rich girl", stuff like that. J: So you were a loner? M: I guess you can say that. J: Any final remarks? M: No, not really. Although I believe we should do something about this before another tragedy happens again. I don’t really have anything to say for Madison, or on their behalf, I feel a bit happy that their parents moved but then I’m not too sure, I feel like Madison thinks about their life before moving and says to themself, “Wow. I almost died in a school shooting.” I’m thankful that Madison wasn’t a victim and that her parents moved. But then at the same time, I have no clue what I feel. Now there are solutions to prevent school shootings and gun violence, for example, buying guns should not be easy to buy, it should be like buying a car. It shouldn’t take a week or an hour. And we should be able to have fingerprint scanners on our safes, so nothing happens. School shootings are a very tragic thing that happens a lot in America. It’s a very harsh reality that most people don’t seem to care about. You might’ve not known anyone in a shooting, but maybe the neighbor down the street knows someone from the shooting. Someone knows someone. These people are someone’s kid, someone’s future mom or dad. Someone. They aren’t robots, but actual human beings. They belong to someone, they don’t deserve to die this early. No one does, these people are not disposable. These people are dying and after every tragedy, we still stop and wonder if this will ever end. For good this time. And that is my article on surviving a school shooting. Keep yourself safe, J.D. If you or anyone else has struggled with a school shooting or suicidal thoughts, do not hesitate and call or text the numbers down below: National suicide prevention lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or 988. Crisis text line: HOME to 741741 Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/
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By Tabitha During this pandemic, the arts have been suffering the worst from the effects of Covid-19. Specifically in the UK, musicians and others in the art sector are being told to "retrain and find other jobs" by Rishi Sunak as it becomes harder to earn money during this time.
Although he addressed that his statement wasn't specifically for those in the arts sector but rather everyone in "all walks of life", as we will all have to adapt to the new normal, it is very apparent that the arts sector has taken this personally as this has been a sector which has been attacked consistently by the government. But what is so important about the arts? It was the arts that started a lot of what we see and have today. A lot of the art movements that exist help design and influence how we see our present and what would be better for us as a society in the future. The arts are what bring culture to our cities and entice other travellers to come visit. As someone who has pushed my way to be seen in the creative industry, the struggle that creatives have to go through is a constant. Even during pre-covid times. I’ve had first-hand experience with hard work being disregarded in the eyes of other “academic” professions with the arts being seen as a hobby or something we could do on the side. It's very clear that not everyone possesses creative talent, and certainly not everyone works as hard as those in creative industries to perfect their craft. Seeing how the government and other businesses treat the arts demotivates me and my pursuit of becoming a set designer. What would my future look like post-pandemic? Will I have to retrain and find another job? For a lot of us, it looks like this is a hopeless venture and we could never #savethearts. However, there are many ways in which you can do so, which can start with just supporting local creatives, sharing, and/or buying their work. Just this much is helping their product and what they do stay alive. It is saying that their hard work is recognised and still valuable to many people. The more this is publicised, the more others will begin to recognise that the arts are not just all fun and games. It requires determination, persistence, hard work and resilience. This is just the beginning of what you can do. The next process includes signing petitions, speaking up about the arts and their role in society, donating to different art organisations, and calling out those who believe the arts are not worth the effort of training. Organisations that you can donate to include: Almeida Theatre, The Royal Academy of the Arts and East London Dance. We must recognise the arts are what we use to bring us hope, especially in these times. It brings us together and will help begin the movement of new ideas and what we begin to see in our “new normal”. The arts are not just a luxury; it is a combination of passion and determination to survive in the world we live in. Therefore, support your local musicians, photographers, actors, dancers and others in the arts sector. Let them know that you hear their voices and they will always be just as valued as the other sectors. By Mona Why are you religious? This isn’t an easy question to answer. For some, religion provides safety and structure within their lives, for others it allows them to feel loved and a part of a community. However, if you are religious simply because it’s expected of you, you might need to re-evaluate your stance as a religious person. Just like 220 million people worldwide already have.
These people are known as atheists or nontheists, and if you haven’t already guessed, these are people who do not believe in the existence of any gods. In a society as influenced by religion as ours, this can lead to a lot of subconscious discrimination. Religion provides people with a strict set of rules to abide by, such as the Ten Commandments in Christianity and Judaism, and the Shariah in the Islamic religion. These rules are often provided to set guidelines on how people should behave in society and how to live moral and god-fearing lives. Very often these guidelines provide comfort to religious people, bringing structure to their lives and reassurance that others will abide by these laws too. Additionally, providing them with an added feeling of safety. Therefore, a person who does not abide by these guidelines and has no incentive to do so would be regarded as a threat. A threat not only to belief systems but also to the safety of religious people. How can a person who has no belief system, differentiate between right and wrong? How can they be trustworthy people, without the guiding hand of religion? As previously stated religion is a guide on good and moral behaviour, therefore it can be assumed that atheists who do not have this guide within their lives lack good and moral behaviour, or are due to their lack of religion, more susceptible to immoral behaviour. This belief, even unconsciously, leads to discrimination and even fear of nonreligious people. These beliefs cause a distrust of atheists within positions of power. Atheists are very rarely elected as ministers, governors or mayors. Patients often refuse to be treated by doctors and other healthcare providers who identify as atheists. In Ireland, teachers are required to have religious training from Christian universities, in order to work in public schools. In fact, in the countries Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, atheism is a capital punishment. In Brazil, as of 2009, atheists are regarded as the most hated minority group within the country. As an atheist, I do not see myself as any less of a good person, than anybody. We all have the potential to do bad things and have bad thoughts. Resisting these thoughts alone does not make a good person, however, wanting to do better both for yourself and others, is a good start. Simply because I do not have a religion, does not mean that I am inherently a bad person or that I am more likely to do bad things. Neither does it mean that I am in search of religion or in need of conversion. For those of you who would like to learn how to be a part of the solution, here are some tips-
Attempting to shut down aggressive atheism would be denying atheists their freedom of speech. However, this doesn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to disagree with their statements. It simply means that they should be allowed to disagree with beliefs within religion and broadcast those beliefs, without feeling threatened. Religion is a cornerstone of our society, we allow it to influence our behaviour and thoughts, and in some cases, this is a good thing. However, when religion leads to the discrimination of others, we might have to re-evaluate our stands on certain points within our belief systems. After all, we live in a modern world, shouldn't we try to adapt our beliefs to modern times I hope you learned something today? And for those of you who know somebody who has been discriminated against due to their non-religion, here is some help- If you need someone to talk to By Camille *Disclaimer* My experiences with conservatives in America do NOT represent how all conservatives are. I have respect for everyone’s ideas until they prove they are bigoted. As we grow up, we start to learn things about ourselves. These things can range from our favorite food, our style, politics, all the way to what side of the bed we prefer. When we learn about ourselves, a big influence tends to be our surroundings. This can mean the people that are around us, to simply where we are. This explains why certain groups hold certain preferences in specific areas. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes some individuals hold different opinions and go against the majority.
As for myself, I grew up constantly moving and was surrounded by different people. Out of the seven states that I have lived in, 6 of them were conservative at the time that I was living there. By definition, a conservative is someone who is against change and would rather hold traditional values. While I have provided a definition, this is to be taken with a grain of salt. Not every conservative holds the same values. Both of my parents are conservative and are not afraid to share their opinions on certain situations. It’s almost as if the universe wanted me to be a conservative by surrounding me with conservatives. From my experience, most conservatives I met are known for their devoutness to religion, more specifically, Christianity. There is absolutely no issue with celebrating your religion, but when that celebration becomes condemnation and hatred, maybe it is time for you to reevaluate why you are practicing a religion. Conservatives are also known for wanting to keep traditional values. These traditional values include marriage between a man and a woman, anti-abortion, cisgenderism, religion, etc. While I try to understand that everyone has values of their own, I absolutely refuse to associate myself with a group of people who have values that are deemed as hurtful and offensive to others. When I was younger, these opinions never bothered me. I was too naive to pay any mind to my environment. As I got older, however, I started listening to these views and reflecting on them later. Sadly, a lot of the views I heard were not inclusive to all and can be deemed as bigotry. Being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community myself, I did not appreciate the harmful opinions others formed about us, therefore I sought after aligning myself with more open-minded people. Needless to say, I formulated different opinions despite being surrounded by those of conservative values. While I don’t align with a label, I will say I am a leftist who seeks equality amongst everyone despite race, gender, sex, sexuality, and any other quality that might deem them different from the majority. By definition, a leftist is someone who holds left-wing political views. Left-wing politics support social equality and egalitarianism to some degree. Despite my environment basically shoving conservatism in my face, other aspects of my life have helped me shape my own political opinions. Below, I have compiled a list of ways that helped me formulate my own opinions:
While it may be difficult living in an area with people of different values as you, it is essential for you to find what is right and fight for it. It may feel as though nobody is listening to you, especially if you are in the minority, but you must know that there are people out there who support the same things as you. It is important to form your individuality along with your own beliefs and values to shape who you are as a person. I hope you all find a place where people fully accept you and you all fight for what is right. While I don’t believe helplines would be the most helpful, below I have compiled websites to help you figure out who you are in terms of politics. By Mel The UK government has proposed significant reforms to disability benefits, aiming to reduce welfare expenditure and encourage employment among individuals with disabilities.
These measures have sparked considerable debate regarding their potential impact on the disabled community. At first, when you read that, you think this could be a good thing, that it might encourage more young people who don't claim benefits. They might think it's encouraging rather than claiming benefits. But, what about the other side of it? People who have disabilities that stop them from working? Did they ask to have these struggles? I think not! I can understand that the possible purpose of this could be to stop people who are not disabled from claiming benefits. But why should the people who are disabled have to suffer anymore? There are many other ways to go about doing this, such as having a more structured program to determine who needs these benefits to help them live. To understand more about why the government is making this decision, I decided to read some articles about it. The more I read, the more it pushed me to stick to my opinion that it was a bad idea. One of those reasons is a statement I read from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, “The necessity of overhauling the sickness benefit system to prevent a wasted generation of young people”. When I read that, my first thought was, do they think that the current generation is a waste? If that’s true, then why don’t they provide more support for people and then we can resolve two issues in one. Charities and backbenchers express concerns about the potential adverse effects on disabled individuals. Sixteen disability and poverty charities have warned that cutting disability benefits could have "catastrophic" consequences, urging the government to prioritise meaningful reforms over arbitrary spending cuts. - Source from The Times. This is where I wanted to add in how I will be affected, just to give some insight into one of the millions of people’s lives that are going to be affected by this choice if it goes ahead. I suffer from non-epileptic seizures, also known as functional seizures or dissociative seizures. This is NOT epilepsy as many would think or assume it to be. And because of that, they assume that because it’s not epilepsy, it isn’t a disability and won’t stop you from working. In my eyes and many others, it is a disability, and yes, it can stop you from working. For example, I cannot drive as my seizures cannot be helped by medication like they can help people with epilepsy. My brother was diagnosed with epilepsy a few years before my seizures started, and he went forward to get the medication, and now he is out living his life, has a job and can drive and travel. That’s what I long to have, just to be able to go out for a drive and get away from reality for a bit. Going to unique places that you can’t get to with a bus or train, or having to rely on family and friends to give you lifts. One of the many reasons people with functional seizures cannot work is that the seizures occur suddenly and without warning, making it difficult to maintain a stable work routine. Jobs that involve driving, operating machinery, or working at heights become especially dangerous. As the government moves forward with these reforms, it faces the critical challenge of ensuring that efforts to reduce welfare expenditures do not disproportionately harm some of society's most vulnerable members. To help this, we can write to our local MPs to help open up a conversation about the current problems we face as a nation. We can engage with community organizations, advocacy groups, and representatives of vulnerable populations to gather their input and insights. This can help in designing reforms that are more inclusive and less likely to cause harm. Activism is something that affects our day to day lives, as well as our entire existence. Whether you partake in it or watch it go by, it will always affect you in some way. It’s important to understand what it is, what each movement represents, what the end goal is for those movements, and what you can do to help.
Activism is the action or policy of using vigorous campaigning to implement either political or societal change. The changes can be issues that have been around for centuries, and although change can be scary, it’s time we do something and fix these issues. Sometimes we become so used to our lives now that we don’t notice the inequalities we may have in either a societal or political climate, which can be one of the saddest things about it. We can be so used to inequality that we don’t notice it. It’s time for that to change. Some major movements can represent racial inequality, LGBTQ+ issues, sexism, misogyny and environmental issues. Some movements include black lives matter, LGBTQ+ rights movement, feminism, me too and the environmental movement. A lot of misinformation goes out about these movements, as well as people who try to stop them from implementing change. It’s important that you do your own research about these movements and derive your own opinion. There’s a lot of misinformation spread, especially amongst the political climate, so please be careful. These movements can bring to light a lot of upsetting realities, so please be kind to yourself when you look into them. Activism is exhausting. It’s physically and mentally draining. It’s important that you look after yourself, that you take a break when you need to, and that you know when to stop. I’m petty, I like having the last word, but through this I’ve learnt when I need to stop and do things for my own safety and sanity, such as private my social media accounts and block everyone I’ve seen either mention me or interact with me in a hostile way. If people threaten to leak private information about you, find your location, threaten you, or send people to your accounts to leave hostile or harmful comments, block them and private your accounts. Your safety is the most important part of this. Look after yourself. There are many ways you can get involved in movements, both on social media and in real life. With social media, know how to block someone and how to private your accounts. In real life, make sure that you’re safe. In any kind of activism, things can get heated fast, so make sure you’re safe. Make sure you look after yourself. Your safety is important. On social media, share useful posts, share links to charities, challenge harmful opinions and posts, and report harmful content. Call out misinformation when you see it. While doing this, make sure you’re safe. If your well-being is affected, take a break. There’s nothing wrong with taking a break. If you get into a debate, don’t get emotionally attached to it. Don’t get hostile. Don’t call people names, don’t get personal. Challenge the opinion, not the person. Treat people with kindness, even if they don’t seem to deserve it. Being nice during a debate will make you the better person. In real life, write to local political officers, volunteer with organisations that help make changes, engage in conversations and go to protests. If you go to protests, please make sure that you’re safe. With certain ones that are taking place now, law enforcements and people against movements are making it hostile and quite often violent. Your safety is the priority. Look after yourself. You can search online who your local political elect is and write to them, but make sure to be polite. Again, be nice. Don’t get emotionally engaged because that’s when the hostility can peak. Don’t get personal. Don’t get violent. Challenge the opinion, not the person. Above all, your safety is the priority. Stay safe. Activism isn’t easy. I don’t think it ever will be, but it’s worth it if we can help change the world for the better. Chances are, the change we’re striving for won’t come around for a long time, and that can be a hard thing to accept, and sometimes it feels pointless even trying, but it’s worth it. If our actions can make the world a safer place for others in the future, I’m happy to do whatever I can to make that happen. The key thing with this is your safety, and I know I’ve repeated that a lot, but it’s important. As I said, it isn’t easy, it’s exhausting, it’s both mentally and physically taxing, so please look after yourself. Know when to take a break. Know when you need to take a step back and recoup. Listen to your mind and body and be safe. ~ En Link to global helplines- https://checkpointorg.com/global/ For the third time in some people’s university careers, lecturers and support staff at a number of UK universities are going on strike. They are striking due to issues around casualisation (a large percentage of staff are on zero-hour contracts, and are working second jobs to keep afloat), pension changes, low pay and high workload. Many students are against the strikes, as we miss out on contact hours, meetings, lectures, seminars and assignments that we technically pay for. First of all, what is a strike? A strike occurs when a workforce is unhappy with the way they are treated by an employer (in this case, the University itself), so they withdraw their labour, and stop working altogether in protest of conditions. The most famous strike is likely the miners strike of 1984, in which the miners union protested mass closures of mines. The miners withdrew their labour and threw the country into turmoil, as there was now no one mining for coal (which the country relied on at the time). A picket line is something commonly associated with a strike. A picket line is a physical line that staff will stand on (usually outside of their place of work), which they will not cross to go into work, and will encourage others to also not cross. It is important to remember that those who choose to strike don’t get paid for their time doing so, and many run the risk of damaging their careers, as employers obviously don’t care for people who strike. You might be thinking, why do strikes affect me? I’m not a miner, or a factory worker, or a lecturer! The thing is, strikes affect everyone. University staff striking affects the students who are missing out on contact hours, the families of the striking staff who are going without pay, the parents of students who are paying for university, the university itself and many other companies who work with the university to provide a service or run events. However, the most important thing about striking, in my opinion, is whether you support them or not. Here are some things you can do if you support the strikes:
And if you don’t support the strikes (which is completely within your rights, please don’t let another person shame you or put you down for not supporting something!):
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Teenagers With Experience is an online organisation created to provide teenagers worldwide with an online platform to share their own experiences to be able to help, inform and educate others on a variety of different topics. We aim to provide a safe space to all young people.
Please note that the content on this website is created by teenagers. While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information, it is important to remember that we are not professional experts. If you are experiencing a crisis or need professional advice, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional or a helpline. |