A Statement on a Violent World

It was May 24, 2022, and I was pondering what to say about the murder of George Floyd, which happened two years prior on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, MN. Mr. Floyd's murder, witnessed on video taken by a bystander, was the catalyst for change for many who had previously taken no notice of the racism that pervades our country and its systems.?

Yet nothing has really changed -- only ten days earlier, 10 Black people were killed and three others were injured when a white supremacist targeted the Tops Friendly Markets supermarket, located in a primarily Black neighborhood in Buffalo, NY while live-streaming his terrorist actions on Twitch. An 18 year old man, filled with hate.?

And then the heart-stopping news that another school shooting had taken place, this time in Uvalde, TX, at a mostly Hispanic elementary school. A total of 19 children killed, plus 2 adult teachers were murdered in cold blood. The 18-year-old killer had no problem purchasing two AR rifles for his birthday, one of which was used in the killings.?

Twenty-seven school shootings with injuries or deaths have taken place in 2022 alone, 5 to 6 per month on average. Since 2018 there have been 119 school shootings, about two per month on average. We are accelerating, and yet our lawmakers do nothing.?An NPR article?gives the statistics on mass shootings in the US -- 200 this year to date, where there were 4 or more people shot or killed. When will it end? When will it impact you, directly or indirectly?

One of my friends said "What did those babies see?" about the Uvalde killings. It's stuck with me ever since.?

That post that I composed in my head about George Floyd? It never got written. Stunned into silence, sure that after Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Parkland, after Tops Friendly Markets that we'd come to our senses and pass responsible gun laws. That we'd acknowledge, after George Floyd's murder that we have a racist problem in our country. That we keep on dividing ourselves by "othering" people whom we think are not like us.?

We are all one. When will the killing stop? It's time to change policy and take action. It's past time. The time is now.?

Here are a few resources on healing that the Aligned at Work? team recommends:

• National Association of School Psychologists:?Talking to Children about Violence: Tips for Families and Educators
• National Association of School Psychologists:?School Violence Prevention: Tips for Parents and Educators
• Child Mind Institute:?Tips for Helping Students Recover from Traumatic Events- USDOEHelping Children Cope with Frightening News?
• American Counseling Association:?Coping in the Aftermath of a Shooting
• Time.com:?How Workplaces Can Support Employees After Racist Violence
• HRExecutive:?How to help workers struggling after the nation’s mass shootings

Laurie D Battaglia, CEO, Aligned at Work

Laurie Battaglia and the team at?Aligned at Work?? work with leaders to create workplaces of the future. They bring great leadership together with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and meet rapidly changing needs to today’s and tomorrow’s workforce. Aligned at Work ? specializes in Diversity/Equity/Inclusion/Belonging Consulting and Training, Aligning Leadership Teams, Strategy Retreats, Aligned Leader? Training, Executive Coaching, Team Coaching, and Career Coaching.

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