On July 20, a masked man strolled into a movie theatre in Aurora Colorado, loaded his assault rifle, and opened fire into a crowded movie theatre, killing 12 and wounding dozens of others.
16 days later, at a sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a gunman walked into a Sunday service and killed 7 other Americans before being shot and killed by the police. 
And as if the wounds of these two horrific tragedies weren’t deep enough, on August 20th, the lives of 2 other Americans were taken at the base of the Empire State Building in New York City. 
It seems as though massacres like these are becoming a common occurrence in our country. I don’t want to be the one to admit it, but it seems as though we are becoming desensitized to these issues. Maybe it’s an indirect way of masking our pain. Maybe ignoring it is a way of not being able to deal with our fear. Or maybe, just maybe, we’ve become used to it. 
However, for me, I will never get used to it. I will never be able to fathom the idea of hot bullets piercing the flesh of innocent souls. To this very second, it shakes me to the core. When I began writing this piece, I did not know what I could possibly write to alleviate the pain of such a mammoth amount of despair. How could my words heal those afflicted by this? My sentences won’t bring back a son. My paragraphs won’t silence the screams. And my voice won’t wipe the tears running down a little boy’s cheek. 
A boy who lost his mother to the hands of a coward. 
Because that is what all these shooters were. They were cowards who were handed dangerous weapons. Whatever their inadequacies might have been, be it racism, mental instability or just a deeply rooted hatred for humanity, they were bloody cowards. For those who fear peace, unity and a respect for the human race are merely hiding their own weakness, and in an attempt to combat this, they attempt to instill fear in us. 
Consider this a message to all of them, you people have not rooted fear in us. 
In the sikh religion, there is a phrase used to describe followers of the faith, it is called “khalsa.” And by definition, the term means pure of heart. And whatever faith any American may practice, we must always remember to carry pure hearts. Hearts that have not been tainted by fear, ignorance and hatred. Hearts that must remain tenacious in the face of terror and hearts that carry blood that we all spill, regardless of color. Tears have no faith, blood has no religion, but most importantly, bravery is something that every human is capable of displaying. 
To the families afflicted by these horrors, I offer my deepest condolences. I know there is no collection of words that can make this heartbreak seem any less painful, but please remember:
We hurt with you. We will be brave with you.