A tragic mass shooting occurred in a Monterey Park dance studio, resulting in 11 fatalities and nine injured people on Saturday, Jan. 21.
A 72-year-old man named Huu Can Tran was later determined responsible for the harrowing occurrence.
With the uprising speculation that this event could be considered targeted or a hate crime, I see it affecting the Asian-American community quite heavily, including myself.
Being Filipino-American, the recurring AAPI-targeted attacks have raised my awareness regarding my safety in everyday life.
The ongoing stigma that a mass shooting is something “common” or “to be expected,” especially towards marginalized groups, is such a miserable and wretched narrative. However, it is realistic as these acts of violence never seem to end.
When thinking about the impact that the Monterey Park shooting and other traumatic events like so have on me personally, it definitely doesn’t make me feel comfortable in any environment.
There were people attending an event at the dance studio that didn’t think they were going to die that night.
With that being said, does that mean no matter where I go, I’m going to have to worry about something like this happening? The unpredictability is what makes me nervous to go to school, the mall, my local grocery store and many other places.
Being a woman in society alone already me feel unsafe, so adding this new worry on top of the other aspects that already emphasize my lack of security is difficult. It’s hard to accept that I’m not truly safe anywhere.
The way I see it, xenophobia and racism has made itself comfortable in the words and actions of local citizens. Enough to the point that resorting to acts of violence is what it comes down to.
This category of crimes could be committed by any kind of person, but one thing that is common with all these affairs is that the people responsible had access to guns and were able to acquire one rather easily.
Stricter gun laws must be implemented to avoid weapons coming into the possession of unstable and irresponsible people.
If we were to address mass shootings in the United States, it has to be in a loud, clear and attention-catching way so that people can really hear it.
However, at the same time, a multitude of communities have already suffered way too much grief and loss, so I ask the question, what could be louder than that?