I don’t want to be angry.
I don’t want to know what the shooter looks like or what drove him.
I don’t want to hear how this ranks among all the other school shootings.
I don’t want to watch people argue on Twitter and MSNBC and everywhere else about gun control and when it’s appropriate to discuss the political ramifications.
I don’t want to watch videos or read transcripts of the events.
I don’t want to hear the NRA’s response.
I don’t want to hear the gun control lobby’s response.
I don’t want to be sad.
I don’t want to watch 6-year-olds being interviewed by reporters.
I don’t want to see a picture of the gun.
I don’t want to hear about background checks.
I don’t want to read about countries with more guns and less murders.
Or countries with no guns.
I don’t want to see a screen grab of the shooter’s Facebook page.
I cannot endure more empty handwringing from politicians.
I don’t want to hear about how criminals will get guns anyway, or debate whether it’s guns or people who kill people.
I don’t want to hear how the country has gone to hell.
I don’t want to read the Second Amendment again.
I don’t want to hear what this says about liberals and conservatives in this country.
I don’t want to have to explain this to my children.
I don’t want to live in a place where the flags are constantly at half-mast.
I don’t want to be scared.
I don’t want to hear from extremists on either side.
I don’t even want to hear level-headed arguments from the middle.
I am supposed to want to talk about it and learn from it, but I can’t. Not this time. I just want it all to stop.
Does anyone out there know what to do to make all this stop? Because I don’t.