Friday, December 14, 2012

Rambling Thoughts On The School Shooting

I have no idea what I'm going to type here even as I start this.  I just plan on typing the first few thoughts that come through my head as I go.  So this will probably be even lower writing than the sub par standard I have set for myself.  But before we get into that, the most important thing that any of us can do right now is pray for the victims and the families affected by this horrible tragedy. 

-This is just horrific.  And that doesn't even do this situation justice.  27 dead humans, most of which are very young children who were at school, is probably the most horrific thing that one can imagine.  There is no justice for a situation like this.  Whether the shooter is alive or dead (in this case dead) there is no way that justice can ever be done to rectify this situation.  That is probably what bothers most people (whether we realize it or not) about situations like this.  Situations like this we just have to take it when they happen.  As people, we don't like that.  We like for "the score" to be even.  But no matter the possible courses of actions going forward, there will never be a rectifying solution for things likes this.  And we are left to just accept these horrible events.

-The shooter.  Reports are that this was a the work of a 24 man who's father was found dead and who's mother's classroom is the one that was the place of his horrific attack.  Obviously this was a man beyond disturbed.  But he will not get any sympathy from me.  Nor should he.  Whatever his sad story was, no matter how screwed up he was, he knew right from wrong.  And he knew this was wrong.  And he selfishly threw away that sense of right or wrong for other decent and innocent human life.  Whatever his sad story was, he felt he needed to push that on other people.  He may have been in pain, but guess what, we all go through pain at some point.  How we deal with pain helps define us as human beings.   He can be defined as a person not worthy of another thought and should be forgotten as quickly as possible.  Sometimes I wonder if that would help stop things like this.  If the shooters story is never told and they are quickly dismissed.  Don't give them their "15 minutes".  Don't tell their story.  He didn't do anything to deserve that.  The victims and their families deserve our full attention moving forward.

-We do have a hero in this.  If you can believe that.  Several actually when you think about all the teachers who did everything they could do to protect the children who were in their care.  But apparently the shooter had a heated argument with the principal before proceeding to his mother's classroom.   The principal, or someone in the office, turned on the microphone to the P.A. system to the school allowing the argument to be heard throughout the school.  And thus alerting the teachers ahead of time that something was wrong.  The principal was eventually shot and killed.  We may never know, but the principal's thoughtfulness (and as it turns out last act) to turn on that microphone may very well have saved lives.  And that's a story that should be told.

-Don't take time with one another for granted.  Ironically, I was just thinking about this today at work before I was made aware of this tragedy.  But for some reason I was thinking of a story when I was a kid and took time to play a video game instead of spending it with a grandparent with whom I was spending the weekend.  I was told afterwards that grandparents was sad about that.  It made me feel horrible.  Now that was a long time ago and kids do that sort of thing.  Heck we all do.  And we will continue to do that going forward.  If we lived every moment like there was no tomorrow, I wouldn't be sitting here typing this.  We all need our diversions.  Hell, if Mrs. JAML didn't get a break from me, she may very well go insane herself.  But what we do need to do is to make sure that we all make time to spend quality time together.  And making sure that we always let loved ones know how much we care.  You can never say "I love you" too many times.

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