Shot Down
This piece, Shot Down, is one I started following the Buffalo, NY Tops Supermarket shooting. I felt startled by the senseless and targeted nature of that shooting. As 2022 waned on, however, I never finished this piece.
I would eventually claw my way back to this canvas, unfortunately.
One viewer saw Shot Down and noted: Wait, so you're also involved in anti-gun violence matters? Since when? I had never solely focused on this issue, yet I have come to realize that so much of what I love falters at the threat of gun violence.
When thinking of California, guns aren’t the first thing that come to mind. Rather, our home is seen as a diverse haven with a platitude of other descriptors to define our identity: surreal beaches, lively cultures…somewhere safe, savored, and sunny. Kindled in that American identity is an urge for individuality: we can be who we want to be and express ourselves to our heart's content. However, one growing aspect of American culture has cast an overwhelming shadow over who we are truly becoming: individuals, or at least a significant portion of today’s youth, haunted by the fear of guns.
A new culture is molding us: one of perpetual violence and fractured communities. We feel the burden of frightening afterthoughts. Yes, I am a student who values diversity, but I also fear that celebrating my culture will place me as a target for gun violence.
Everything falls around gun violence.
I finished Shot Down due to the shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, those puncturing the Asian community amidst Lunar New Year. Gun violence harms all communities. One will never know when it is their last mark. Too many youth hurt, too many communities hurt---none of it is ok.