Today I was heartbroken. The news hit hard. Over twenty people in Connecticut dead; eighteen children. I clung to the radio in my car, trying to understand. Why? Is it the lapse of federal gun laws? Is our mental health system so deteriorated in this country as not to get these psychopaths the care or seclusion they need? I was angry. I wanted to blame the killer, I wanted to blame society, myself and everyone. Is this something that will keep happening until everyone is numb? Aurora, Virginia Tech, Columbine… it feels the same and yet it doesn't. A grown man decided to enter an elementary school and commit a vicious act of evil beyond comprehension.
I thought all of this on my way to volunteering at a local elementary school. I expected lock down but no one else had even heard. It was better that way. The kids carried on much like they always do. I played games and pushed two young girls on the swing, thankful they were okay. That’s all any of us can really do right now. We can only be thankful for our children and the ones around us and pray that they stay safe.
When someone takes the life or innocence of a child it shatters us. Maybe it’s because we see in them the ability to extend our own mortality; maybe it’s because our hope for a brighter future is tarnished. I know for one, when I see my niece or any young child, I see hope; the potential for someone to live and do the things I never could. I doubt often I can change the world but never them. They are free; vulnerable but free. And when society fails to protect them it fails everyone.
I was so sad that I got sick :( I really couldn't believe that someone were so sick in their head as to go to a school to kill children. What's wrong with people? I still think of it and start crying.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Cinta :-(
DeleteI have vowed that until monday I will show my respect for the dead and living and wait until monday to argue the particulars...let this be a time of mourning for our nation, a few days of peace
ReplyDeleteFinding answers is mourning for some of us.
DeleteSuch a tragedy. People have literally gone crazy in this world.. I can not for the life of me understand it.. How anyone can walk into a school and look at those little children and do this.. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteI can't either.
DeleteCrazy, bad stuff happens to people everyday and this is a sad and violent reminder. At times like this we need to remember to have empathy and care for one another. If more people cared in the first place, this person would probably not have gotten to the point of losing it. I know of people who know a child is being abused but do nothing. This is where it starts - when those of us who can do something to help our fellow human, but stand by and do nothing. We all need to shift our way of thinking and start to think of our world as a community not just every human for him/herself. Sorry for ranting but you know...
ReplyDeleteIt's okay to rant. I'm a ranter myself. And I agree completely.
DeleteIt blew my mind...20 tiny, innocent children dead before their lives had barely started. Also dead, teachers and educators, but also teachers were heroes today who helped save the lives of many children.
ReplyDeleteI heard that the suspected killer, Adam, was 20 years old and suffered from Aspergers, was OCD and had a history of mental health issues and family problems for years. (Who knows if he was on drugs or not?) Like I told my husband tonight, how could anyone have known what was in that boys's head? I heard that he stole the guns from his Mother's home. Then I wondered WTF his mother was doing owning so many high-powered guns in the home where her mentally ill son lived. Why weren't they locked up? Here in the South, many, many people I know own hunting rifles. All of them are kept under lock and key. Maybe we'll never know the answers...nothing will bring back those precious little boys and girls. So I pray for God to comfort the families of those so brutally killed. xo
It's tragic and I will pray people remember to lock up their dangerous weapons.
DeleteWe can't understand it, fathom that someone could be so cruel. Yet, children are abused every day. It breaks my heart. What have we become?
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew Susie.
Delete"..and much it grieved my heart to think;
ReplyDeletewhat man has made of man." -Wordsworth
Sad but true. :(
It's terribly sad. Heart breaking.
ReplyDeleteYes :-(
DeleteI was crying and all I did was read one article. I'm really glad I didn't have a TV where I was. I would have maybe known more of what was going on, but I'd be a mess. What a tragedy!
ReplyDeleteMe too, Heather.
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