Don't turn away from the victims in Uvalde

Also: Loving basketball for the game — and the politics [View in browser](    [❤️]( June 5, 2022 Dear Cog reader, I think it’s the instinct for self-preservation underlying our desire to look away from things that are painful and gruesome. It is unbearably sad to think about third and fourth graders shot in their classroom, or grandmothers killed in the cereal aisle of a grocery store, or people murdered at a hospital, or funeral-goers shot in a cemetery. The national conversation around the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have predictably moved on to timelines and motives and policy solutions that are unlikely to go very far due to a divided U.S. Senate. We’re doing our best not to look away. Adam Stumacher writes this week about his experiences with gun violence as an urban educator and father. “When I see photos of the kids who died at Robb Elementary School, I see so many of the students I’ve taught over the years,” [he writes](. “I see their gelled hair, their backpacks heavy with books, their fresh kicks and fresh faces.” It’s a beautiful, wrenching piece. Child psychiatrist Nancy Rappaport offers [practical and empathetic advice for parents](. She says one of the best things adults can do is build solid, trusting relationships with their children — so they always feel comfortable sharing whatever’s on their minds. And filmmaker Lorena Hernández Leonard shares her experience with PTSD after witnessing [gun violence and murder in Medellín]( during the Colombian drug wars in the 1980s. “After Uvalde, I can feel the fear clawing its way back into my bones," she writes. One of the tricks to living in this time — and maybe all times — is the ability to acknowledge pain and sadness, and carry on anyway. This week, we’re doing that by thinking about basketball. Sort of. Alastair Moock wrote a smart piece pegged to the Boston Celtics’ first appearance in the NBA Finals in over a decade. (I’m no hoops superfan, but it’s fun to have your home team in the finals!) There's no question that Moock bleeds green. However, his essay focuses on the [unapologetic activism of the NBA]( (and the WNBA) on issues of social justice. "Many Americans push back on the intersection of sports and politics. They look to their favorite teams for release from the daily grind," he writes. "It's a response that lacks understanding of the role sports has long played in our politics – from Muhammad Ali and Billy Jean King, to Colin Kaepernick and [Megan Rapinoe]( Boston currently leads the series 1 to 0. Game 2 is tonight. Go Celtics, Cloe Axelson Editor, Cognoscenti [Follow]( Support the news   Must Reads [Don't turn away from the young victims in Uvalde]( When I see photos of the kids who died at Robb Elementary, I see so many of the students I’ve taught over the years, writes Adam Stumacher. When I see them, I see my own son. [Read more.]( [Don't turn away from the young victims in Uvalde]( When I see photos of the kids who died at Robb Elementary, I see so many of the students I’ve taught over the years, writes Adam Stumacher. When I see them, I see my own son. [Read more.]( [I love basketball for the game — and the politics]( Having a winning team to root for sure helps, writes Boston Celtics fan Alastair Moock. But what I really appreciate about the NBA is how outspoken the league has been on issues of social justice. [Read more.]( [I love basketball for the game — and the politics]( Having a winning team to root for sure helps, writes Boston Celtics fan Alastair Moock. But what I really appreciate about the NBA is how outspoken the league has been on issues of social justice. [Read more.]( [Johnny Depp's strategy of destruction]( Depp’s efforts to smear Amber Heard is a form degradation meant not only to dispute her claims, but to attack her so profoundly that nothing she says is credible, writes Leigh Gilmore. The strategy is to destroy her. [Read more.]( [Johnny Depp's strategy of destruction]( Depp’s efforts to smear Amber Heard is a form degradation meant not only to dispute her claims, but to attack her so profoundly that nothing she says is credible, writes Leigh Gilmore. The strategy is to destroy her. [Read more.]( [4 things parents must do for children after Uvalde — and every school shooting]( Even as we witness unimaginable loss, even as we feel helpless, there are ways we can help our children, writes Nancy Rappaport. [Read more.]( [4 things parents must do for children after Uvalde — and every school shooting]( Even as we witness unimaginable loss, even as we feel helpless, there are ways we can help our children, writes Nancy Rappaport. [Read more.]( [I saw gun violence as a child. I carry it with me still]( Lorena Hernández Leonard grew up in Medellín, Colombia in the 1980s. By the age of 10, she'd run from multiple shootings and witnessed a murder. In the intervening decades she's learned how to manage her trauma — she wonders how kids who've survived mass shootings will do the same. [Read more.]( [I saw gun violence as a child. I carry it with me still]( Lorena Hernández Leonard grew up in Medellín, Colombia in the 1980s. By the age of 10, she'd run from multiple shootings and witnessed a murder. In the intervening decades she's learned how to manage her trauma — she wonders how kids who've survived mass shootings will do the same. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "What’s been missing, especially as the anti-abortionists have zeroed in their goal of overturning Roe, are visible protests or a larger cultural movement on the scale of #MeToo or Black Lives Matter. " "[I’m Black. I Thought White Feminism Would Keep Abortion Safe.]( Politico. "Simply put, gunmen are less deadly when they have to reload." "[6 solutions to gun violence that could work]( The Washington Post. “Orphaned children who do not get the help they need are at increased risk of exploitation, abuse, teen pregnancy, poverty, and vulnerability to violent extremism.” “[Covid-19 is leaving millions of orphaned children behind]( STAT. "There are still ways that parents can, must, help their children." — Nancy Rappaport, "[4 things parents must do for children after Uvalde — and every school shooting]( ICYMI [How little we care for the families of those killed in our wars]( We would prefer that slain service members' families be invisible, lest they remind us of the ugly truth of who and what we vote for, writes Andrew Carleen. [Read more.]( [How little we care for the families of those killed in our wars]( We would prefer that slain service members' families be invisible, lest they remind us of the ugly truth of who and what we vote for, writes Andrew Carleen. [Read more.]( If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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