Journey For Justice Uvalde: the (mostly) whole story

Entering the town of Uvalde and proceeding to Robb Elementary School continues to tear me apart inside. I cannot write this blog post until many days later. And as we proceed along the border, I find that I cannot blog these horrific horrors at our border immediately.

Although understanding of the massacre in Uvalde is beyond the scope of most human beings, there are things we need to know about – knowledge that has not been reported in the main media or easily accessible in any media.

Or at least knowledge I did not possess until being here.

First of all, we should know that in this part of Texas there are more law enforcement agencies and individuals per square inch than in any other part of the nation.

And furthermore, more border patrol people than anywhere else.

So on May 24th, when the shooting took place, almost 400 various men (and probably some women) with guns, military training, and who knows what other war-grade weapons of choice they had, responded to the 911 call informing them that a 17 year old male youth had entered the brown children's elementary school with a military war-grade weapon.

And those almost 400 armed men stood around the perimeter of the building for 77 minutes – not doing a thing. 77 minutes after the reports of gunfire and after hearing gunfire and after knowing that children were making calls to 911 begging for help, saying they were wounded. 77 minutes while children who bled out might have been saved. Doing nothing.

Waiting

Children and their teachers waiting for the men with guns who were supposed to protect and save them, never entered the school for 77 minutes.

Waiting

Even the fuckin Texas rangers did nothing but wait.

No one can understand why the police didn’t react, didn’t try to capture the gunman, didn’t enter the building to protect elementary school children and their teachers.

Except these were the brown children of immigrants. And their brown teachers. And their brown school. Robb School.

We learn from Magdeleno, an awesome civil rights activist, that this school was the site of the first civil rights organizing and protest in 1970 for the rights of Chicano educational equality in the u.s.ofa. plus Farm Workers rights, etc. so it is the site of has a rich history of fighting racism and amerikkkan bigotry. There was a six week walk-out by these Chicano parents and children, which you can imagine the hardship

And now it is the site of 19 dead children and two teachers – all murdered as law enforcement stood by.

The 17 year old was a former student at Robb elementary who was staying temporarily with his grandmother. That day, she attempted to stop him and was the first causality he shot – in the face. And even as woundded as she was, she struggled to the neighbor's and had them call the police. She has survived but is in extraordinate pain and has undergone many surgeries. She will probably have to undergo 30 or more surgeries in the future as well.

The police and maybe governing body has plans to destroy the school but many in the town are wanting to destroy the police instead.

The other response is to build 8’ fences around the school and hire state troopers to patrol. The townspeople say enough with walls – build bridges instead and ban assault rifles at the very least.