On September 17th, 2019, , Sandy Hook Promise uploaded a video on YouTube titled “Back-To-School Essentials,” about preventing school shootings.

The video quickly went viral on Twitter, and many news stations discussed it. Most viewers agreed the video shocked them to their core and moved some to tears. This seems to be exactly what Sandy Hook Promise hoped would happen. The video aimed to draw attention to and encourage viewers to discuss the harsh realities of school shootings, which have become far too normalized in today’s society. So, why was this video so profoundly impactful?

Various videos about the horrors of mass shootings have been made, especially in recent years.

Yet this one has sparked a serious discussion. This is largely due to the unexpected twist because the video does not appear to be about gun violence at all initially. 

As the video opens, it appears tobe a light-hearted advertisement for various products commonly bought as children go back to school. The shock factor begins when the children explain their new supplies are great, but not just for schoolwork. As a shooter enters the school, the children are forced to use their new colored pencils and scissors to defend themselves or use their new knee-high socks to make a tourniquet. In addition, the children appear to be in middle or elementary school. Watching children so young and seeing the rawness of the situation and fear in their faces makes one realize how horrifying a real school-shooter situation is. 

According to their website, Sandy Hook Promise is “a national non-profit organization founded

and lead by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary

School on December 14, 2012.” 27 innocent lives were taken when a man opened fire. 27. Although nothing can make what happened on December 14, 2012 at

Sandy Hook Elementary School less painful, Sandy Hook Promise is taking steps to aid efforts to make school shootings a thing of the past. Their most recent video, as well as others

they produced, often present the situation in very real, thought-provoking ways. They can remain respectful to those sensitive to the topic, while still clearly establishing the fact that we don’t have time to waste. Change needs to happen.

Despite Sandy Hook Promise’s efforts, according to the Center for Homeland Defense and

Security’s “K-12 School Shooting Database,” there were 110 school shooting incidents last year

alone. You may think, “that can’t be, I don’t remember seeing that many news stories.” That is

because these incidents have become so frequent that people are becoming numb to the

shock. The thought that every school shooting incident that occurs is not considered newsworthy is a disturbing one. And when the incidents do make the news, they become a hashtag, people insist we need to change, maybe even protest, and a week or two later things are swept under the rug. It is sickening.

So, how will things change? At this point, hope for our future and the safety of children in schools everyday depends on us. If we want change, we need to vote. Clearly hashtags and edgy posters have not had the impact we all want and need. Listen to the presidential candidates and educate yourself so our children won’t have to practice active shooter drills or think about where to hide in life-threatening situations. A student should be worried about their grades, not their safety.

Image Courtesy of Youtube.com