Trump misses the mark on his gun response, and we deserve better.
It's time for more than just "thoughts and prayers."
On Feb. 14, a former student walked into Parkland, Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where he shot and killed 17 people.
It was the 18th school shooting in this year's first 45 days. Like a number of other recent shootings, the gunman used a highly customizable AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Like many more, the shooter had a history of domestic violence.
In an interview with the Daily Beast, classmates of the suspect, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, described him as “creepy and weird" and an "outcast" known for spreading anti-Muslim hate and wearing President Trump's ubiquitous "Make America Great Again" hat.
Students react following the shooting. Photo by Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP/Getty Images.
When it came time to address the country in the wake of this tragedy, Trump did what many politicians do in these situations: He blamed mental illness.
"So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior," Trump tweeted Thursday morning. "Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!"
But then what? In fact, according to BuzzFeed, the FBI was made aware of Cruz as a potential school shooting threat back in September. Cruz allegedly posted online, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter."
At what point should he have been stopped? Trump placed blame on people for not reporting Cruz to law enforcement, when in fact, he was.
Then there's the matter of mental health.
Trump addressed the county from the White House on Feb. 15, 2018. Photo by AFP/Getty Images.
Speaking from the White House, Trump managed to avoid mentioning the word "gun" in his televised address. Rather, he tossed in a few religious references, saying, "In these moments of heartache and darkness, we hold onto God's word in Scripture: 'I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you.'"
He committed to visiting the school sometime in the near future, and said that the country needs to “tackle the difficult issue of mental health."
Gun violence isn't a mental health issue, and even if it were, our government is failing to address "the difficult issue of mental health," generally.
A 2014 study by Drs. Jonathan M. Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish set out to explore the connection between mental illness and mass shootings.
Together, Metzl and MacLeish examined four of the major arguments made in the wake of mass shootings: that mental illness causes gun violence, that a psychiatric diagnosis can predict future violence, that we should fear "mentally ill loners," and that gun control won't prevent future mass shootings.
What they found was that mental illness and gun violence have a tenuous connection at best, and that a lot of the rhetoric around that connection is vastly oversimplified.
Even if mental health and gun violence shared a convincing causal relationship, the fact is that this administration has repeatedly tried to gut Americans' access to health care — including mental health That leaves us with just two options: Either our politicians don't believe this is actually a mental health issue, or they think it is but don't care enough to fix it.
Neither option is cutting it. We deserve better — so do our kids.
Columbine was 25 fatal school shootings ago. We've done shockingly little to prevent this from happening again. Our collective shrug has created a generation that sees this as a normal part of life.
But even they're not having it anymore. On the morning of Feb. 15, Parkland students Kelsey Friend and David Hogg went on CNN, and pointed out what's painfully obvious about solutions that involve little more than offering "thoughts and prayers" and blaming mental health. "What we need more than [thoughts and prayers] is action," said Hogg.
"We're children," he said. "You guys are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role."
GIFs via CNN/Twitter.
Gun violence is a complex issue, which is why it's so important that it be studied. Unfortunately, we can't even get that right.
In 1996, Republicans in Congress put an end to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s studies about gun-related injuries and death. Fearing massive cuts to their overall funding, the CDC agreed to end its gun violence research.
In 2013, President Obama lifted the ban on the CDC's gun violence research. Unfortunately, again fearing backlash from pro-gun members of Congress who control the agency's budget, they've been reluctant to wade back into the divisive issue.
The first step to address the epidemic of gun violence is to acknowledge that there is, indeed, an epidemic of gun violence in America. We deserve leadership on this issue that goes beyond shrugging and blaming mental illness or offering our thoughts and prayers to victims.
We need action — and we need it now.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids… 
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie? 
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Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."