Lady Gaga responds to Dayton, El Paso, and Gilroy shootings with philanthropy
Like everyone else who's not a monster, Lady Gaga is deeply distraught following the recent spate of mass shootings. On Friday, she pledged to do something about it.
In a Facebook post, Gaga announced her intent to "fully fund the classroom project needs" in Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; and Gilroy, Calif. Those three communities have all suffered in recent weeks in the wake of mass shootings that left, in total, close to 100 people dead or injured.
"My heart goes out to those who were taken from us too soon and to their families, loved ones, and communities who are left to grieve," Gaga's note begins. "Everyone has the right to laws that make them feel safe in their communities. In this moment, I want to channel my confusion, frustration, and fury into hope. Hope that we are there for each other and for ourselves."
The message pulls up short of engaging with the politics of the moment, beyond the common sense proclamation that everyone has the right to laws that make them feel safe. Gaga focuses instead on making sure people who have been directly affected by lax gun control laws in the U.S. are safe and cared for.
The note goes on to say:
Surviving and recovering from these tragedies also means prioritizing your mental health and checking in on your loved ones. If you’re struggling, please be brave and tell a trusted someone. Don’t be scared to ask for help, I beg you. If you see a loved one struggling, please be brave and reach out, remind them it’s ok to not be ok, and listen to them. We cannot turn away from ourselves. We cannot turn away from our loved ones. We need each other. Don’t turn away.
The classroom philanthropy comes out of a partnership between DonorsChoose.org, an organization that aims to help classrooms in need, and the Born This Way Foundation, a youth-oriented non-profit Gaga co-founded with her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, in 2011. According to the pop star, it's going to help 14 classrooms in Dayton, 125 classrooms in El Paso, and 23 classrooms in Gilroy.
It's a commendable move, and just one of many acts of kindness that tend to follow these increasingly, heartbreakingly frequent shootings. Of course, while helping the kids is inarguably great, the kinds of real, meaningful changes that will be required to stem the tide of gun violence depend entirely on the federal legislature in Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately for all of us, an intractable Republican party and absolute abomination of a U.S. president continue to stand in the way of making those necessary changes.
Topics Activism Social Good
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
