Numbness, Agency and Hope

On My Mind

Numbness, Agency and Hope

I’ve struggled this week with what to

Perhaps you can relate. Or maybe

say, or even reflect on in a coherent

not.

way. The events of the last three weeks – and this past week with the

It has all been too much. Way too

most recent shooting in Uvalde,

much.

Texas – has left us shaken, angry, in disbelief, helpless, hopeless, numb.

There has been a flurry of activity in the news, in the media, on social

I forced myself to not get as

media, about our U.S. gun laws, and

emotionally involved with this last

about greed, power, and anger. Many

shooting, to hold it at arm’s length,

of you perhaps saw the Steve Kerr

because I was afraid of what I might

interview that went viral, the night of

trigger in myself if I did allow myself

the shooting. If you haven’t seen it,

to go deep in there. And then I also

it’s powerful. Human to its core,

felt guilt for wanting to put it out of

brutally honest, and the Truth.

my mind and carry on with my own day, and my own life.

In the face of tragedy, and

Tammie Chang, MD, LLC

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helplessness, what can we – what can I – do, we ask? How can each of us do something? Anything, to change the laws of our country that refuses to change in the face of again such epic tragedy? How can we not give in to despair, and instead find even a sliver of hope?

When we as human beings are touched at our core – in our heart and gut – we remember that we are all merely human beings. While we feel and may look different, we are not so different at all. We are of the same family. And at our core, is the power of our common lived experience, of our love and compassion, and of our common humanity.

So, I urge you to not become numb. To remember that what has transpired didn’t happen to “those people over there.” And instead, to remember that they are our parents and grandparents, our brothers and sisters, and our children.

Write and call your state representatives, senators, governors, and public officials. Jump into action in your local communities. When we no longer sit on the sidelines, and instead come together, the power of our collective voice is a force to be reckoned with. You, reading this simple message today, have more agency than you realize. And me writing these words, I’m reminded of this, too.

Tammie Tammie Chang, MD, LLC