Story/ T McPhee
Senior Tiera McKnight walked into a hospital room, flushed with emotion as she saw her brother fighting for his life, who was a victim of a gunshot wound to the liver. Trying to imagine the reality of the situation he was going through. Knowing her brother had been shot did not feel real to her and she felt as though she was a bad sister for not being able to help. Violence like this has become the “norm” for many different groups of individuals in the Des Moines community and McKnight has first handedly had to see one of the many the results of violence.
“I am also a very emotional person so I get emotional when I see students physically hurting each other over issues that they won’t care about in ten years from now,” relationships teacher Kayla O’Connor said.
Fighting is the main source of violence most students result to at East. Students see fights often because with conflict many student’s first reaction to arguing is wanting to fight another student. Adults look back every day at the choices they made in high school and regret some choices they made, but in today’s society fighting has become a norm to conflicts students come upon.
“A lot of people view violence as power. I also think that if you only ever saw the people are using violence/aggression to deal with issues then you normalize it as a way to handle conflict. So many students don’t want to be seen as a ‘pussy’ or weak and in order to prove themselves to their peers they choose violence,” O’Connor said.
Power: great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force. As a result to fighting student will feel like they are on top of the world after winning, feeling as though they are powerful. On the other hand there are students whose last interest is violence but are peer pressured into putting themselves into violent situations at East.
“My brother had been trying to deal with it alone because he is going through a lot internally so i feel like mending relationships is the last thing he has to do. I just hope it’s his best choice because we are always going to be family and I’m always going to be there for him,” McKnight said.
A tragedy to someone that has been involved with violence can be bring a lot of stress to an individual. I can be hard to deal with the so called rumors that go on with such a devastating experience . The best thing to do for someone is to let them find their self and give them the space they need until they are ready are speak out.
“Students will also often say that they, ‘Don’t give a shit’, about the person or the situation. So my response to that is, if a person really doesn’t mean shit to you, then why are you willing to face consequences on their behalf. What are you willing to sacrifice for a person you don’t care about?” O’Connor said.
Solving violence at East can come from things such as talking things out and not always going straight to wanting to beat up another student. Everyday East High students see these fights and circle around waiting to see what? Another student laying on the ground? Students may not always have serious injuries but the more students fight the more serious the injuries become. This violence we face can affect each student’s future that is willing to instigate with solving their problems with aggression.
“Growing up seeing violence everyday when there are problems can be a major cause to kids (being violent) at school,” junior Jazzy Johnson said.
Some students do not have a choice in the violence they are involved in. Growing up in hardships, violence has been the only resolution to many students problems as children. Others have gotten caught up with the wrong crowd, whether it is gang affiliated or just hanging around people who believe solving issues with violence is okay, some students did not get to pick their future, their future picked them. Even though students may feel they cannot get out of the violence they have been brought into, our community can push to make a change for the better of every student, from any background.
“I think if we all had a day to come together and let people speak out on what they have been through and where they have came from like most of the people included in violence grew up the same way and we could really come together and make a change to stop violence,” senior Deala Brown said.