When Violence Becomes the Voice

I didn’t know what I was going to write about today until the news broke. Another school shooting. A political activist shot. To say I’m disgusted is an understatement. I never thought I’d live in a world where violence and death became the go-to method of making a point.

What gets me is that I genuinely love the differences in our world. Different people, different perspectives, different life stories. I don’t have to agree with them all, but I can learn from them. I can grow, improve, and see the bigger picture. That’s what diversity is supposed to give us: a chance to expand, not destroy.

And yet, today, a political activist was shot simply because his views didn’t match someone else’s. Love him or hate him, Charlie Kirk was still a husband, father, son, and human being. He pushed conversations others avoided, often with people who outright hated him. He wasn’t forcing his agenda. He was creating space for dialogue, facts, and perspective. Isn’t that what free speech is supposed to be about?

On top of that, we’re staring down yet another school shooting. Another act of violence. Another reminder that we’re raising kids in a world where they’re scared to speak up, scared to go to school, scared that today might be the day the lockdown drill isn’t just a drill. Mental health resources are being stripped away while mental health struggles are at an all-time high. Instead of uniting around the future we want for our children, we’re turning on each other.

Here’s the thing: it’s okay to disagree. It’s okay to raise your family differently than I raise mine. It’s okay to have opposing political views. What’s not okay is turning disagreements into death sentences. When did basic respect and decency stop being the bare minimum?

Yes, I believe in the Second Amendment. Yes, I believe we need better laws and stronger screenings. But no law, whether about guns, cars, or parenting, can replace the responsibility we have to care for one another. This isn’t about gun control. This is about how we handle conflict. Right now, too many are quick to pull the trigger, hide behind a screen, or use intimidation instead of conversation.

I’m not naïve. Violence has always existed. But it feels heavier now, more constant, closer to home. As a therapist and advocate, I fight for resources, awareness, and stigma reduction. And yet, it often feels like the rug is being pulled out from under us. Financial stress, political division, social media cruelty. It’s all piling up.

I’ll be honest: I’m exhausted. Tired. Angry. But I refuse to give up. I refuse to stop fighting for peace, for compassion, for the kind of world I want my son to grow up in. A world where disagreements don’t equal death. A world where mental health matters. A world where we do better, because if we don’t, we’ll destroy ourselves.

So yes, I’m tired. But I’m also determined. Determined to keep showing up, to keep helping, to keep pushing for a future worth living in.