Our world is rocked when news of danger and crime reach our lives. Living in rural communities, it is easy to settle into a false sense of security and block out what is happening in the bigger cities and the world around us. Yet, when things happen near someone we love, it opens our eyes to a world that is rapidly changing and leaves me wondering what the solution might be to keep our children and grandchildren safe.

A few recent events in the safe communities where my children live has me shaking my head and wondering what has changed in the hearts of people and what we can do to give our children a sense of security.

I thought about this a few years back when my son managed a signature bookstore in downtown Minneapolis on Block E. There were incidences of shootings outside the store at night, and some employees were mugged on their way to or from work. I put this down to a big city and a neighborhood that hadn’t adapted to being upgraded to fine establishments. And then I put it out out of my mind.

A few months ago, my granddaughter’s school and my daughter-in-law’s work was on lock-down in two of the suburbs of the Cities. The authorities were looking for a murderer, and he was armed and dangerous.

A few weeks ago there was a shooting at a McDonald’s we always frequent when we visit Iowa. This shooting took place in a community where normally things are pretty quiet.

This week there was a shootout in the parking lot of a Shakopee Walmart — again a place we frequent when we are visiting. My grandchildren are at both the McDonald’s and the Walmart on a regular basis. I realize these are random happenings, but they hit close to home.

In the Shakopee incident, it was a shootout in a busy parking lot at around 6:30 in the evening. It was a Craigslist meet-up gone wrong. The person supposedly buying a cellphone stole it from the hands of the seller, from what I understand. The thief ran and the seller ran after him. The thief pulled a gun. The seller also had a gun, so he pulled it and began shooting too. When I read it, I felt like I was transported back to the old westerns on television where the cowboys met on main street and had a showdown. Innocent people could have been hurt in the crossfire. Luckily no one else was hurt.

A friend was visiting this week before this happened, and she mentioned she was uncomfortable with conceal and carry, and I must admit I am, too. It makes me uncomfortable knowing someone next to me could be toting a gun. It doesn’t make me feel safer. That was her reasoning, too.

Maybe when I was a youth these things happened on a regular basis the same as now, but perhaps it wasn’t publicized.

I have to admit I do not know what side I am on with the gun discussion. The argument I hear the most is that criminals will get the guns no matter how banned they are. That is probably true. Drugs are illegal, yet we have a drug problem in this country. Drinking is illegal in most states under the age of 21, yet our teenagers get the alcohol. Selling women for sex is illegal, and sex trafficking is a big trade in the United States.

Maybe we should ban common sense and morality. Sounds silly, but don’t we always want that which we cannot have?

A week ago a relative in a large city in an upscale neighborhood was confined to her house because her neighborhood was on lockdown with swat teams scouring the yards and helicopters hovering overhead because of an armed robbery at a home in the neighborhood. The trappings of the neighborhood lull you into a false sense of security. Crime is not supposed to happen in good neighborhoods and small communities.

I can tell you until at least 10 years ago, I do not remember knowing anyone who had been a victim of gun violence. I can tell you I didn’t fear for my grandchildren in their rural or city community schools. I wasn’t afraid of what might happen if they visited McDonald’s or Walmart.

I have accepted the changes in my world with advances in technology, the way we shop, the new ways of communicating and other changes in the way we live in 2016. But one thing I will never accept is gun violence spreading across America today. My grandchildren and all children deserve a better world to live in. Stating that is my way of taking away a little of the helplessness I feel in my heart today. Maybe someone will hear what is being said, and maybe they have a solution that will work. I don’t.

 

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send email to her at hermionyvidaliabooks@gmail.com. Her Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/julie.