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A Tragic Coincidence


  • HĂ©lĂšne FrancĂšs
    • WikiCommons

    WikiCommons

    Alors que nous commencions une nouvelle unitĂ© sur la culture des armes Ă  feu aux États-Unis lundi dernier, l’intervention en classe de notre assistante d’anglais, Catie Taphorn, nous a tous glacĂ©s


    After watching a satirical cartoon by Mickael Moore introducing a « Brief History of the USA« , our American assistant, Catie Taphorn, asked our class a question:

    Catie Taphorn

    ‘Do you know what happened yesterday night at my University, the University of Virginia (UVA)?’, Catie began. ‘Someone shot and killed 3 well-known football players. I didn’t know them personally, but everybody could recognize them since they represented our University at sporting events across the country. We don’t know the circumstances yet, but classes have been canceled today and everybody is shocked’, she explained.

    Indeed, the killer was still at large when Catie last watched the news. That’s why the American students at UVA were asked to shelter in place. However, while refreshing the news in class, sources confirmed that the young suspect had actually just been captured by the police, which was a relief for everyone.

    ‘American civilians have a right to bear arms which is protected by the Second Amendment of the Constitution, and it’s very difficult to change a Constitution. Indeed, the Republicans and the Democratic political parties are polarized in the US so they tend to disagree on such issues.’

    Catie taphorn

    Catie then tried to explain why there were so many school shootings in the USA.

    She explained that guns were fairly easy to access in the US, and that many gun owners believed they were necessary for self-protection. One example showed that there were more weapons than people in the US! (120-100)

    She remembered when the Parkland Elementary School mass shooting occurred in February 2018, during her last year of high school :

    ’16 elementary school children and one teacher were shot. That was awful’, she added. ‘Yet, those young innocent victims were not enough to change gun laws because Republicans usually believe that the problem isn’t caused by access to weapons, but by the malicious intentions of those who use them. In other words, they view gun violence as “a people problem, not a gun problem.”

    Catie Taphorn

    Our deepest thoughts to Catie and her friends at UVA.

    HĂ©lĂšne FrancĂšs and 1Ăšres 5-6

    I NEED HELP ! ??

    to be at large = to be escaped, fleeing

    to shelter in place = to stay safe at home

    to refresh

    to bear arms = to carry/have a weapon

    to be polarized = to have opposite ideas

    ??

    ĂȘtre en fuite

    rester/se confiner chez soi

    actualiser

    porter une arme

    ĂȘtre opposĂ©s; divergents, polarisĂ©s

    Je n’ai pas tout compris/J’ai la flemme de tout lire : pouvez-vous rĂ©sumer ?

    Une fusillade s’est dĂ©roulĂ©e dans l’UniversitĂ© de Virginie d’oĂč notre assistante amĂ©ricaine cette annĂ©e, Catie Taphorn, est originaire. Cette tragĂ©die s’est dĂ©roulĂ©e dans la soirĂ©e de dimanche Ă  lundi juste avant notre cours avec elle, et alors que nous allions dĂ©buter une nouvelle sĂ©quence sur la culture des armes Ă  feu aux États-Unis. Catie ne connaissait pas personnellement les 3 victimes, mais celles-ci Ă©taient membres de l’équipe de football de l’UniversitĂ© ce qui les rendait connues. Cet Ă©vĂšnement, dont elle suivait les rebondissements en direct pendant notre cours, nous a donnĂ© l’occasion d’en apprendre un peu plus sur cette spĂ©cificitĂ© amĂ©ricaine qu’est le droit du port d’armes aux Etats-Unis.

    Allez, essayez de relire l’article maintenant, vous allez mieux comprendre !

     

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