It’s 4:15pm on a Friday and I find myself reflecting on the gun violence and American culture.
Thirty five minutes ago, I received an email from UC saying the campus was on lockdown. While I saw an email notification on my phone, I disregarded it, focusing instead on studying for a solid mechanics quiz. Minutes later, my phone vibrated again, this time showing a message from a group chat “Uhm, this happened – uni seems to be in lockdown.” The message also included a link to a New Zealand news site. What? I thought, immediately distracted from studying. I finally read the email from UC, realizing something serious had happened.
In the next five minutes, I had skimmed the news article, read emails from the school, and discovered there had been a mass shooting at a Mosque in Christchurch (later I learned there were two shootings). What did I do next? I went back to studying. Maybe it was because the professor hadn't said anything and I didn't really notice any of the kids acting differently at the moment. Maybe it was because I was anxious to take the quiz. Maybe it was because a some part of me had gotten used to shootings on the news (as terrible as that sounds). Whatever the reason, the shooting had moved to the back of my mind.
A few minutes later the professor said the incident had been brought to his attention. He told us some students may not be in the proper state of mind to take a quiz and that it was completely understandable. He advised us to check in with our loved ones and said the remainder of class was canceled, but we were welcome to stay in the room.
With the quiz officially, some students left while others continued to work on the material (myself included). I wanted to take advantage of the time to understand the material. It wasn’t until a fellow American exchange student said something that I began to realize the magnitude of the situation and how strange my reaction was.
“You know, I think we’re jaded about this being from The States…” I looked up. Huh, he’s got a point, I thought. As Americans, we have become desensitized to shootings. So quickly, I had let school distract me from an act of gun violence. Not only that, but I’d been oblivious to a significant part of growing up in America. I mentally took a step back. Mass shootings are not commonplace. They shouldn’t be taken lightly. I thought about the chaos, the victims, and what their loved ones would soon learn. Looking around, I studied the reactions of the students (majority were Kiwis). Most everyone was checking their phones constantly. I saw The Guardian (a NZ news source) on a girl’s screen. There were a couple groups streaming news reports on laptops. It was my first time hearing a news report in New Zealand, but the audio was structured so similarly to what you’d hear in the US, that it was eerie how easily I could distinguish the type on information.
The school remained on lockdown, but at 5pm I decided to walk back to the apartments. I gathered with friends and naturally, we talked about what was happening. It was interesting to hear the different perspectives from Americans, a German, and Canadians. Once again, I was better understanding my own culture and upbringing by listening to others.
…
Around 6pm, the lockdown ended. Information is still being released, but from what I know, these were the first shootings of their kind in Christchurch. I think this explains the shock of the community and the global news coverage. I also learned one of them happened only 3km (less than 2 miles) away from campus; I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to a mass shooting.
Anyway, I am safe and sound, but wow, what an afternoon this has been.