Staff Ed: Mass shooting is an intolerable act of anti-Semitism

By THE BLUE AND GRAY EDITORIAL BOARD

On Sat., Oct. 27, Robert Bowers walked into Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh with an AR-15 and three handguns and opened fire. Just like that, another mass shooting had taken place. Another community struck by tragedy, victims of anti-Semitism. The country experienced another senseless act of violence. Eleven people were killed, most of them between the ages of 54 and 97, and six people were wounded, four police officers among them.

Unfortunately, news like this no longer comes as a surprise. America, and perhaps the world, has gotten used to these types of tragedies, becoming desensitized because these senseless acts happen so frequently. We as a population need to resensitize ourselves to these acts of violence. These are terrorists acts and should be treated as such. They are tragedies that should be enraging the nation and causing reform. We can not allow ourselves to treat the murder of eleven people as a sad headline and move on. We should not accept this as an American norm.

Funerals for the victims are currently being held in Pittsburgh as people from different religions pay their respects to the deceased and mourn with their families. The Blue and Gray Press staff offers support to the survivors and the families of the victims as they seek healing and hope in this moment of grief, but we also encourage the community and population at large to take action against these unacceptable atrocities.