Twelve innocent movie-goers were murdered and fifty-eight more were wounded in Aurora, Colorado during the midnight showing of the newest batman film this Friday, July 20, 2012. My heart is with their loved ones in the wake of this tragedy. I hope against hope that they are able to see beauty in the world again soon. I also feel horrible for the friends and family of the very disturbed man who did the shooting this weekend. I hope against hope that they do not torture themselves for not being able to recognize or correct whatever is so incredibly wrong with him.
Several mental-health professionals have flown to Colorado to offer assistance to those who were traumatized. They appeared on television to remind us that you didn't have to be in or near the movie theater to be on that list. Ask your friends how they are doing, make sure your children are eating and playing like the normally do. Have a family meeting and talk about your reactions and feelings after watching the news. Perhaps there is a charity your family can donate to or participate in so that you can all feel like your being of some help. Feeling helpful allows children to deal with emotional trauma more efficiently; study after study confirms this. Everyone reading this should know that is okay to be sad, confused and even angry. I have certainly experienced all of those emotions.
In my last post, I told my audience that responsible writers disclose any biases they may have. So, before I go on, I must tell you all that there are two things with which I am struggling while writing my feelings about this unnecessary, terrifying massacre:
1. I have a profound interest in psychology and mental-illness. I could do research on James Holmes and his crime and post my relatively uneducated opinion on why this killer killed. I would like to do that, but I refuse to because he may have the twisted goal of becoming famous or infamous for this. I will not be a part of helping him achieve that goal.
2. It is difficult for me not to get political. The internet knows what movies I watch, and where I buy my bras, but this man got away with buying deadly assault weapons and 1,000 bullet magazines online without it being reported. That is confusing and disgusting to me. I fear, however that if I write a post that sparks a debate about gun-control, it will no longer be a post honoring the victims who I wrote about in my opening paragraph. I also haven't done a lot of research on Colorado's gun laws, and try not to get into debates I can lose. At least not publicly.
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I heard a senator say that his mother taught him to look for the heroes in every tragedy. What brilliant advice! Those heroes are who deserve to be written about. An entire community was brutally shaken on Friday, their resilience and strength, deserves to be noted again in print.
Two of the victims are dead because they were protecting their girlfriends, and one passed away protecting his daughter. These three amazing men, teach those of us left on earth that perfect love really does drive out fear. (1 John 4:18). Maybe the loss of them will remind us to hug the important people in our lives tighter, and speak to them more kindly, too. Life is extremely brief, there is no point in living it in fear instead of in love. The police-officers, first-responders, and firemen and women who arrived on the scene within in 90 seconds, are great examples of living in love. They have devoted the time they spend away from their families to protecting other families. There is nothing better or more selfless than that. I pray that those around them tell them daily how special they are and that we , as Americans, realize how valuable all of the emergency personnel in our country our, and start paying them what they are worth.
The citizens of Aurora, and obviously a very strong group. Candlelit visuals immediately followed the shootings and local nurses and doctors gave up their time to ensure that the living victims in Colorado would recover as soon as possible. A local teenager, gathered as many friends as she could find, to take them the movies Saturday night. She decided to show her fellow citizens that heinous acts of violence cannot be allowed to stop us from having the fun we all deserve to have. Hopefully, we all can understand and appreciate that message.
Heroes are everywhere and many of them were made early Friday morning. I sincerely thank them for restoring my faith in humanity, and for showing us all that good usually wins.
Several mental-health professionals have flown to Colorado to offer assistance to those who were traumatized. They appeared on television to remind us that you didn't have to be in or near the movie theater to be on that list. Ask your friends how they are doing, make sure your children are eating and playing like the normally do. Have a family meeting and talk about your reactions and feelings after watching the news. Perhaps there is a charity your family can donate to or participate in so that you can all feel like your being of some help. Feeling helpful allows children to deal with emotional trauma more efficiently; study after study confirms this. Everyone reading this should know that is okay to be sad, confused and even angry. I have certainly experienced all of those emotions.
In my last post, I told my audience that responsible writers disclose any biases they may have. So, before I go on, I must tell you all that there are two things with which I am struggling while writing my feelings about this unnecessary, terrifying massacre:
1. I have a profound interest in psychology and mental-illness. I could do research on James Holmes and his crime and post my relatively uneducated opinion on why this killer killed. I would like to do that, but I refuse to because he may have the twisted goal of becoming famous or infamous for this. I will not be a part of helping him achieve that goal.
2. It is difficult for me not to get political. The internet knows what movies I watch, and where I buy my bras, but this man got away with buying deadly assault weapons and 1,000 bullet magazines online without it being reported. That is confusing and disgusting to me. I fear, however that if I write a post that sparks a debate about gun-control, it will no longer be a post honoring the victims who I wrote about in my opening paragraph. I also haven't done a lot of research on Colorado's gun laws, and try not to get into debates I can lose. At least not publicly.
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I heard a senator say that his mother taught him to look for the heroes in every tragedy. What brilliant advice! Those heroes are who deserve to be written about. An entire community was brutally shaken on Friday, their resilience and strength, deserves to be noted again in print.
Two of the victims are dead because they were protecting their girlfriends, and one passed away protecting his daughter. These three amazing men, teach those of us left on earth that perfect love really does drive out fear. (1 John 4:18). Maybe the loss of them will remind us to hug the important people in our lives tighter, and speak to them more kindly, too. Life is extremely brief, there is no point in living it in fear instead of in love. The police-officers, first-responders, and firemen and women who arrived on the scene within in 90 seconds, are great examples of living in love. They have devoted the time they spend away from their families to protecting other families. There is nothing better or more selfless than that. I pray that those around them tell them daily how special they are and that we , as Americans, realize how valuable all of the emergency personnel in our country our, and start paying them what they are worth.
The citizens of Aurora, and obviously a very strong group. Candlelit visuals immediately followed the shootings and local nurses and doctors gave up their time to ensure that the living victims in Colorado would recover as soon as possible. A local teenager, gathered as many friends as she could find, to take them the movies Saturday night. She decided to show her fellow citizens that heinous acts of violence cannot be allowed to stop us from having the fun we all deserve to have. Hopefully, we all can understand and appreciate that message.
Heroes are everywhere and many of them were made early Friday morning. I sincerely thank them for restoring my faith in humanity, and for showing us all that good usually wins.
Wonderful post. Thank you for helping me see something positive from that terrible shooting.
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