Enough!

I was born at the dawn of the Second World War, but my consciousness of it did not really take hold until my father gave me the book, Hiroshima, by John Hersey. I was 10 or 11 at the time, but it’s profound effect I’ve never forgotten. Sometime in my teens I became aware of the Holocaust and with that knowledge I knew that I would no longer be surprised or shocked by what human beings could do to one another. It was not a lesson I was seeking, but its mark is indelible. 

Eighty some years have passed and there have been other wars, atomic bombs, terrorist attacks and practically every conceivable sort of murderous mayhem and destruction imaginable propagated by people upon other people. The mind reels at the truth of this reality. Still, I was not shocked by it. 

Then came the first of the school shootings in Connecticut, a psychologically crippled young man murdering children, hardly older than toddlers. I felt the shock of it. How could this be? The wanton, merciless slaughter of purposely targeted children, children, in an act that shocked and shattered the soul of the country. But even that shock to the psyche didn’t last long when other such incidents followed, and now comes another to propel the mind into disbelief despite my earlier cynical assumption. 

This latest event in Texas, this incredible slaughter of the innocents did give rise to a surprising and almost startling response though from an unexpected quarter, Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors basketball team. Faced by sports media expecting his comments for an upcoming finals game in Texas, a visibly shaken Kerr let his emotions get the better of him and speaking from his heart let free his outrage at what had occurred. 

Spurred by his anger and passion, Kerr surprisingly pointed squarely at where the ultimate blame lies for this and all the other mass shootings, the Senate Republicans. This is the political entity, these are the people, that have stymied gun regulation in this country for decades and the result has been devastating; random mass killings of innocent souls with military-style assault weapons practically everyone in the U.S. has access to. 

Twice Kerr called out these 49 people for the political cowards they are and the venality of their deeds, done for the sole purpose of “staying in power”, by doing the bidding of the NRA and the gun manufacturing industry. Yes, everyone’s heard this and most know it’s truth, but Kerr’s unexpected words and visibly shaken body language drove home the madness of our ways and where the root cause lies in preventing its solution. This was not a practiced politician or clergy or police spokesperson mouthing trite words of comfort, but a man speaking from the awful truth of the moment and raging at the insanity that supports it. He closed by standing up and with hand raised spat out, “Enough!” He said it twice and it was startling. Then he abruptly turned and left. 

I’d thought I could no longer be surprised by what humans have perpetrated against their fellow beings and I was wrong in thinking I was inured to it. And I was surprised by the power of Kerr’s moment of truth, and I think that will stay with me forever. Still, we are the only country on earth where this regularly happens and it will continue until, like Kerr, we all stand and demand, Enough! 

— Will Shonbrun, Boyes Springs