"And this is where I end up upsetting a lot of people but here goes. I ache for a young man who was an innocent child just like those he slaughtered. I ache that at the age of 20 he saw no recourse, he saw no innocence, he saw nothing but rage and pain that caused him to kill the very children he was not that far removed from being.
Why? Where were those to help him, to be with him, to love and nurture him? To seek assistance when it became apparent he had trouble coping with life? And where was he on those dark days of madness and depression when he would allow no one in his world? There is a tragedy on both sides of this issue. And as I watch our country split apart in an "us versus them" mentality, where yelling, and bullying, and name calling become the norm, rather than compassion and empathy, we will see it over and over again.
Let me also say as a person of strong faith, that the meme of "God not being allowed in school" is insulting and disingenuous. And contributes nothing but more animosity. I can think of many teachers and administrators, and students who come to school each and every day full of prayer and God. Our faith is best shown through our actions and words, not by beating our breasts on the street corner. The God I love, was in each bathroom, each closet, and his omnipresence outweighs our human attempts to include or exclude him.
There is no excuse for what happened yesterday. There are only reasons, there is only the clarity of hindsight 20/20 vision. what can we learn from this? What can we do as a society to minimize the potential next incidence? When will we "reach across" to understand what those who disagree with us are saying rather than just dismiss them outright. Sometimes the answer to being shouting at is not to shout louder.
And today, I try to wrap my head around the perpetrator and well as his victims."
I'm leaving this topic for now. The news over the next few days will paint a picture of what happened, in their dramatic fashion. and we can let it sift through our filters for the proper analysis. In a week from now we'll be heading southward for our vacation.
Dan Fogelberg wrote an amazing song with wonderful guitar work in it. Called Tucson, AZ (Gazette)
"His heart is filled with sadness and his soul is like some ugly vacant lot"
The neighbors speculated what could make a good boy go so bad?
Well, it might have been the desert heat it might have been the home he never had."
I'm so glad you're willing to look at this with such compassionate eyes. Love Dan Fogelberg.
ReplyDeleteWe lost a great soul when Dan died. One of my favorite songs is "There's a place in the world for a Gambler"
DeleteI found your blog through Teresa Evangeline. This post was acute, spot on, and really quite brave. Underneath most acts of evil there is a real human, perhaps greatly flawed, who did not have the strength to resist his or her own actions. But the truth is if we paid more attention before the ice breaks the bucket we'd all feel a lot better. Very, very nice. Thank you. This helps.
ReplyDelete