The recent massacre of three students and three adults in
Nashville is alarming. How and why did a
former student invade the school, locked and
loaded with an automatic weapon, and
ruthlessly kill innocent students and their
caretakers? While it is useless to speculate
on the thought process that led someone to
kill people, perhaps to make a statement, it
is clear that the multiple school shootings
that have taken place in the last several
months have encouraged many to continue the
trend by executing shootings of their own.
In the wake of the March 27 Nashville shooting, we were
treated to the usual rhetoric of “thoughts and
prayers” and even calls for stronger gun
legislation. But the gun lobby is so strong
and gun-toting zealots so politically powerful
that attempts to limit the availability of
automatic weapons get caught in the political
crossfire. Anyone can offer thoughts and
prayers. Who is willing to change policy to
protect our students?
While I am wondering how students are reacting to the
ever-present school shootings, the American
Association of Pediatrics (AAP), the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
(AACAP), and the Children’s Hospital
Association declared
a national emergency in children’s
mental health two years ago, citing the severe toll of the
COVID-19 pandemic on top of existing
challenges. While their report does not
explicitly reference school shootings as part
of the problem, Lee Savio Beers, AAP
President, said, “Young people have endured so
much throughout this pandemic, and while much
of the attention is often placed on its
physical health consequences, we cannot
overlook the escalating mental health crisis
facing our patients.” The mental health crisis
shows up through increasing incidences of
child suicide, the second leading cause of
death for young people 10-24 in 2018. The
number has likely increased since we have
experienced much disruption since the COVID
epidemic that shifted life paradigms between
2019 and 2021. If adults have problems
handling this disruption, how do we think our
children and young adults are faring?
“We are caring for young people with soaring rates of
depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and
suicidality that will have lasting impacts on
them, their families, their communities, and
all of our futures,” said AACAP President
Gabrielle A. Carlson, M.D. “This is a national
emergency, and the time for swift and
deliberate action is now.” The 2021 report
noted that young people in communities of
color had been impacted by the pandemic more
than others and how the ongoing struggle for
racial justice is inextricably tied to the
worsening mental health crisis. When young
people witness the heinous killings of Black
motorists or people simply “walking while
Black,” how does it affect their mental
health?
While our attention is focused on young people who are
students, we have often ignored the children
who, as young as twelve or thirteen, are
working in unsafe environments. There are
federal child labor laws that restrict the
hours that those under 16 can work, especially
during school hours. Too many employers ignore
the rules and are rarely held accountable. The
National Child Labor Coalition has documented the reckless use of children in
manufacturing plants, especially automobile
manufacturing plants in Alabama (Kia and
Hyundai are especially egregious violators).
Nearly half of all employed children work in
agriculture, where they are exposed to, among
other things, life-threatening pesticides.
While laws prevent child labor, enforcement is
lax when regulatory agencies are understaffed.
Louis Hine photographed jarring images of children working
in agriculture, mines, and other dangerous
places. His work, much of which was documented
at the turn of the twentieth century, was
responsible for the child labor legislation
from 1912, and was part of the Fair Labor
Standards Act in 1938. Our nation is moving
backward in protecting children, but that is
no surprise since we are going backward using
legislation to prevent exploitation.
Still, too many of us mouth the platitude that we believe
that children are the future while ignoring
our children’s mental health in the classroom,
the workplace, and the world. Our indifference
to our young people will likely result in
their indifference to us a decade or two from
now. Can we expect the young people we have
ignored to protect our Medicare or Social
Security? Why should they care for us when we
have not cared for them?
