In the past, people usually opted out of festive gatherings because they got ill, felt tired, forgot they had another event to attend or just weren’t feeling up to it.
A sense of dread was never a reason to cancel.
But because gun violence can break out anytime and any place, many Americans these days choose to stay inside rather than venture out to have a good time that might go terribly wrong.
Nearly 80% of adults in the U.S. are stressed by the thought of mass shootings, and a third of them say that fear of mass shootings stops them from going to certain places and events, according to a 2019 survey by the American Psychological Association.
Fortunately, the gunshots fired along the route of the annual Little Village Cinco de Mayo parade over the weekend didn’t result in the horror that descended on the Independence Day parade in Highland Park nearly two years ago, or the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and rally earlier this year.
Many Chicagoans were no doubt relieved to hear that a mass shooting was averted Sunday afternoon. Those who gathered to honor Mexican culture and Mexico’s victory over Napoleon’s French army in 1862’s Battle of Puebla, breathed a lot easier too, knowing that no one was killed or injured.
“This was great, except for all the violence,” Jessica Rizo, a mother of three, told the Sun-Times.
But Rizo, other paradegoers and participants should not be in such a situation: Rejoicing that their celebration didn’t turn tragic.
They shouldn’t have had to have the plug pulled on their fun either. But it was better to err on the side of caution, as Chicago police officials rightly decided to do.
The Cinco de Mayo parade was canceled just an hour after its start time, which had already been delayed by 30 minutes. Police and parade organizers also worked together to reroute the procession to ensure the safety of the crowd. Several people were arrested.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) said the city must act to keep the “stream of guns” out of neighborhoods, and his frustration is legitimate. But the bloodshed, or the potential for it, will continue until there is a widespread effort at the national level to implement common sense gun legislation. Chicago is flooded with guns from Indiana and elsewhere, and therte’s only so much the city, by itself, can do to combat illegal gun trafficking.
Without tougher gun safety laws and enforcement, Americans will keep worrying if large, festive gatherings are worth attending — and whether the event might be the last place they’re seen alive.
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