Commentary: HPHS Student Shares His Thoughts On July 4 Mass Shooting

By Eli Greenstein

The fourth of July, a day I will always see differently. I was working as a lifeguard, sitting at the front desk waiting for the members. Nobody came in. I joked with a co-worker why nobody was here. Shortly thereafter, my coworker came running out with my keys, I knew something was wrong. She told me there was a shooting at the parade in my hometown and people were shot. Not knowing if my friends or family were alive, I grabbed the keys and ran to my car. Racing towards downtown Highland Park, I frantically called my mom. She assured me that our family was okay. Friends were texting me, worrying and wondering what happened. A really close friend texted me saying, “The guy next to me got shot, I saw him die.” My seventeen year old friend saw a man die. At that point I lost it. I began to cry and shake. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move, my body felt numb. The police issued a “stay at home” ordinance until the shooter was caught. I felt helpless. The only thing I could do was watch the news. Every station was showing hundreds of police, FBI agents, firefighters, EMT’s, and other first responders walking the streets I grew up on, now covered in blood. My favorite restaurant had its windows shattered by bullets. The bench I sat at and ate ice cream was covered in blood. As awful and tragic as this horrific event was, the beauty I would see in the following days was one of a kind.

The grieving process is different for everyone, and that’s ok. While we were all grieving, I actually saw something positive in my community. I saw unity. Just two days after the shooting, there was a memorial for the victims with hundreds of people in attendance. It was truly remarkable. Vigals with community members, gathering after gathering, fundraiser after fundraiser, it filled me with hope. I personally attended memorials with friends and family. Each time seeing more and more people. I would see classmates, we would hug and ask about each other’s families. What’s amazing is that it didn’t feel weird. It felt almost normal, like we've been close friends for years and years. Any personal grudges I had seemed so small and petty. Everybody wanted to be together because “there is comfort and power in understanding that one is not alone. (psychologytoday.com)” Being able to voice sadness, frustration, anger, anything at all helps you see that you're not alone, and that sense of togetherness is powerful.

That unity has not only united my community, but has sparked a new sense of confidence. When the shooting happened, I was devastated. I couldn’t go near where it occurred without crying. But after seeing my community come together and the strength my community demonstrated inspired me and many others to take action. Suddenly, the news became a little easier to watch. When I saw people crying in the streets, I began to notice how others comforted them and understood that it’s ok to not be ok. Public opinion has been altered. Public opinion is “interpreted from a social-psychological perspective as a state of consciousness in which individuals are aware that their actions are “seen by all” or “heard by all,” requiring that they constantly monitor not only their own actions but also the reactions of others in their environment. (britannica.com)” Everyone in my community has been affected by this mass shooting; they all understand the effects and darkness that comes with it. People didn’t want to let the shooting define them, instead they wanted to use this tragedy to bring real issues to light. Issues that need to change. They wanted to make the best of one of the worst possible situations.

I’ve tried to process my emotions, help give back, and try to see the good. But one thing has been lingering in the back of my mind, when will this end? When will the cameras leave and will people forget? It would be sad to not sustain the unity and selflessness that has been born. So how do we sustain this? I truly believe that we who have suffered through this, need to keep that anger, that sadness, that fear in mind and let it drive our actions. No citizen of Highland Park will ever be able to walk through downtown ever again without thinking about July 4th, 2022. We need to keep feeling things, we need to talk about it, and we cannot ever forget. We need to keep that in mind, that we are stronger together. Tragedy shattered the vase that is Highland Park, but little did we know, it could hold beauty once more.

This commentary was produced by Eli Greenstein, a 17-year-old Highland Park High School senior. The views expressed here are the author’s own.