You may have heard the recent media coverage surrounding a woman who accused an Egyptian man of trying to kidnap her child inside the Huntington Mall. The woman produced a gun, and when he saw it, the man let go of her child and fled. You may also know that the woman’s story was heavily fabricated. An innocent man spent a night in jail because of her, and now she is the one facing criminal charges. There are quite a few takeaways from this story.

First, it is a metaphor for the sad reality we live in. The man may have just been patting the child on the head in an innocent gesture that was immediately misinterpreted by the child’s mother. Has our society devolved so much in the past few decades that we no longer trust one another at all? We are so quick to judge, and we are doubtful of anyone’s pure intentions. It goes without saying that perhaps this situation would have turned out in a completely different way had the man been white. A foreign, darker skinned man is pleasant to a child and is taken to jail. We will never know for sure, but what would the mother have done if the man was white. Was this a display of blatant racism? The answer can only be found in her heart, and it does not matter now. That man has already left our country, and who can blame him if he chooses to never return? America, the land of the free, the land of opportunities; just don’t find an opportunity to be too friendly with strangers, or you might be arrested.

Second, it is good to know that this mother was prepared at all costs to protect her child. She would pull her gun in an instant for the safety of her child, apparently even if the child wasn’t in danger. It’s her right as an American citizen to arm herself, but the situation could have turned deadly. What if she pulled the trigger on the Egyptian man? According to her original, though false, story, she was prepared to use her gun to protect her child. Maybe her first thought whenever she sees a person of color standing a little too close to her child is to ready her gun without a second thought. America already seems too focused on guns; we didn’t need this to hurt our image on the world stage anymore.

This recent incident at the Huntington Mall says a lot about the current state of our country. Mistrust runs rampant, guns are ready to be fired in a moment’s notice and it is not always safe for those of foreign descent to visit our land. We should feel ashamed for her actions and how they reflect badly on all of us. We can do better.

We can respect one another and take time to understand situations before drawing our guns.