I never thought I’d have to write this. I worked at Google
for 4 and a half years, and every day I walked through the YouTube campus. It’s
less than a mile from my house, within easy walking distance. It’s across the
street from where I buy my groceries, where I grab coffee with friends, and the
park where my children play.
I grew up in this area. Like many, I work in the Tech
Industry here and it’s where I raise my family. Everyone knows everyone, from parents
to kids to teachers to first responders. It’s a nice slice of Americana where good
people have a good chance to live the American dream. And I’m proud to call it
my home still.
It’s disconcerting to see places that are so familiar to me now
broadcast on the local, national, and international news. To hear the helicopters
hovering directly over our house. We are fortunate that everyone we know is
safe, both those who work there and live nearby. But not everyone was so lucky.
I tell you all this because until yesterday I was relatively
silent. Bad things happen on the news all the time, but it’s always somewhere
else, not right in your community and in your own neighborhood. Whatever your
beliefs or views, I’m not here to try and convince you one way or the other.
But this problem is not going away, and it will not get better on its own. If
it can happen here, it really can happen anywhere.
Whatever you believe, whatever you do, I merely ask that you
do it with love and compassion. Do something and do something now to change
this. Simple kindness to the stranger you pass on the street. Joining the peaceful
marches to end gun violence. Whatever your cause remember that real, decent
people are hurting and that this violence needs to end.
So hold your loved ones close today, and maybe even a few
strangers too. God bless.
