Defending Our Cubs

A bear got poked last Monday and it was pretty much the last straw. And folks should be on high alert because this bear is no garden variety grizzly – this bear eats grizzlies for breakfast. I’m talking about Mama Bears. We got poked and now we are angry.

Okay, first we were weepy or numb. Maybe we threw ourselves a pity party because we felt so helpless and hopeless. But no, I’m going with weepy. Any mother who saw the picture of eight-year-old bombing victim Martin Richards holding up a sign reading “no more hurting people”. We all put ourselves in his parents shoes and wept. I wept like a baby.

But now I am pissed. And even worse, I am pissed and I have a plan. And I want you fellow Mama Bears to join me. Because ladies I am sick of us women and our children getting killed. Done, done, and done, with it! I feel like between Gabby Giffords, Newtown Connecticut and the Boston Marathon it’s like the evil in the world is focused on making a statement about how badass it is by killing our symbols of innocence.

Are you with me? Because my plan won’t work without women. By virtue of birth we have all the tools necessary to push back against all this darkness and evil that is threatening what we hold most dear in the world. This is not a conventional war that can be fought with muscle. We need tenacity, bravery, commitment and the ability to understand complex situations and the subtleties of a solution – ladies, we own those traits. If you think a jihadist or a delusional schizophrenic is committed to their cause just ask any mother how many times over she’d die before she’d let her child be harmed.

So here’s my plan. It’s just two steps. I know your time is valuable and there is precious little of it so I’m making it easy for you. And there is a deadline on them. You need to act in the next twenty-four hours. If you don’t, statistically, you won’t ever do it. I’ll make it as easy as I can for you but you need to commit to just doing it.

1. Step one: there is such a thing as common sense gun laws. I live in Arizona where guns are as ubiquitous as toaster ovens. Guns are great sport, they can be great recreational fun, and yes they are useful for protecting your home. While I agree that people kill people, guns don’t, I also believe that there’s no need to help make the monsters who are killing us more effective. Common sense, right? . When the second amendment was enacted muskets were the heaviest fire power in the town square – you know, a MUSKET – one shot about every 30 seconds – not 30 shots every second. Times have changed and our laws need to reflect the realities of today’s society. We can be both pro-guns and pro-gun laws so you can suck it, NRA. Gun buyers should have to have a background check no matter how or where they purchase their guns. Guess who will be affected by this law? PEOPLE WHO SHOULDN’T BE BUYING GUNS, that’s who! High powered assault weapons have no place in our society except with our military and police. Period, end of story. I’m sorry that some gun owners won’t be able to pursue their hobbies and that end-of-days militias won’t be able to fully arm themselves – oh wait, no I’m not. I’m not sorry at all. Find a new hobby and please stop threatening to move to Canada and just do it.

So what might have been lost in the noise of last week’s drama in Boston is that gun legislation died in the Senate. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is a MamaBearican issue. And you know what is insane? It actually got a majority of the votes – 54 to 46. So that means that for a country who prides ourselves on being majority rule and fair is fair the majority did not win. Most polls show a majority of Americans support gun reform – many as high as 70%. So ladies, let’s be clear that bill was defeated because the NRA is powerful, well-funded, and organized. And they threatened the jobs of the senators who would have voted to pass it. As moms we don’t take too kindly to bullies. When a bully threatens our child we all turn into Rebecca De Mornay from “Hand That Rock’s the Cradle” – you know which scene I’m talking about. So here’s the first step of my plan. We need to show the folks who voted against the legislation that if they are truly afraid of losing their jobs they better stop selling their votes to lobbyists and start protecting our children or they should start looking at the Help Wanted ads today.

So go to this link and see how your senator voted: http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/free/20130417how-senators-voted-guns.html

Then go to this link and either congratulate them for doing the right thing and encourage them to keep fighting on our behalf or send them a mean eighth-grade-girl email letting them know that you and every other mother you know in the state will be voting against them in the next election: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

2. Step number two is going to be uncomfortable but women are really the only ones who can make this step happen. I need you to get in your friends and neighbors business and I need you to let them get into yours. No more driving home from work, pulling into your garage and never even seeing your neighbors. We need to get nosy again. Who lives in our neighborhoods and what are they up to?. And we aren’t doing this to be a bunch of pesky neighbors. We are doing it to reconnect with our communities. It takes a village to raise a child and we need to stop trying to go it alone. We need to start admitting that we are broken and weak when we feel that way and turn to our friends and neighbors to get involved and help us out.

This is complete supposition but I’d bet money that Nancy Lanza had concerns about her son Adam before we shot her and twenty-five other women and children dead. Just thinking it is pretty far-fetched to think he just woke up one morning the embodiment of pure evil. And this is no knock on Nancy, God rest her soul. Because we are all guilty of the same thing. As moms we try so hard to keep it all together and make the package look pretty that we forget to ask for help when we need it. Conversely with our busy lives crammed full of soccer, dance, school, and work we barely have time to say hello to our neighbors or spend time with our friends.

So step number two really has a part a and part b. I want you to call your neighbor if you know them or knock on their door if you don’t and reconnect. Chat with them. Find out what’s going on in their life. And part b is you need to call one of your girlfriends and tell her at least one struggle you are dealing with right now. Don’t be embarrassed. Don’t be ashamed. Open yourself up to your friends and your community and welcome them into your lives. Create the network that will help us as mothers to stop a tragedy before it happens.

Need I explain why step 2 is something only us chicks can do? I thought not.

So that’s it. Two steps toward empowerment. So much better than a pity party or wallowing in our hopelessness. Let’s do what we do instinctually and naturally and watch it transform our world.

If you like my blog you’ll love my book. Buy The Working Mommy’s Manual on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Working-Mommys-Manual-Nicole-Corning/dp/0615637418/ref=cm_sw_em_r_dp_6ZRcqb0QFT7P8_tt