On January 6th, 2021, days after billions of people celebrated the new year with hope for the months ahead, the Capitol building in Washington DC was taken over by domestic terrorists wearing MAGA hats, carrying MAGA, USA, and Confederate flags. The crowd pushed themselves into the building past Capitol police officers while breaking windows and removing barriers. Once inside the building, the crowd was videoed taking pictures with police officers, while other officers were nonchalantly standing by in the lobby. The crowd then made their way towards the chamber to stop the electoral college election of Joe Biden. A window connected to the chamber was vandalized and members inside the chamber had to be ushered out. Police officers had guns drawn and a desk against the door. Some Representatives remained in the gallery, hiding under their seats as they evacuated sections back to their offices.

To many of these representatives, the Capitol attack lockdowns were the first they had ever experienced. Representative Susan Wild, who was one of the last to be evacuated, said she was in “sheer panic” and that she “made one final call to her kids.” This is something all too familiar to most teens and young children, who often call home to say goodbye during school lockdowns. Many of the people in the Capitol building were worried, as they did not have plans for how to act in response to life threatening security breaches. Yet, this holds clear irony, as many of these congressmen continuously ignore American kids who have had to respond to active shooters at school.

Young children should not be more aware of what to do in these dangerous situations than governmental officials. They should not be offering advice to representatives about how to protect themselves the next time this might happen. The clear difference between the Capitol riot and the school shooting is that congressmen have people to protect them. While they are supposed to protect the children of America, they do not.

Maybe in the next couple of years, this trauma will lead to effective gun control policy for their constituents. Sebastian Madrigal ‘21 remarks how he “doesn’t see any imminent changes coming from the short lockdown they underwent.” He believes that “Congress is more focused on the future of their parties.”

It seems clear that the congressmen are more worried about the imminent dangers of the “radicals: and calming down the parties in the nation, but as children return back to school, hopefully, those who have experienced this riot will help the next generation and create progressive laws to stop school shootings in the United States.