I realize I'm a little tardy in addressing this tragedy, but it's taken a few days to collect my thoughts. I still can't wrap my head around the reality of a kindergarten classroom being exposed to a gunman. It's something so horrendous that not even Hollywood would dare include it in a movie; yet it happened.
Seeing pictures of the mass-murderer, it's impossible to not question What made him so evil? I don't think we'll ever truly know. The evidence suggests that he found out his mom was going to submit her son into a psychiatric ward, and he found out. In an attempt to evade the inevitable, and make his mom suffer for betraying him, he went to her school that day and struck terror. Is society as a whole okay with letting that be the reason? Is that something we can just shrug off and say "he went crazy....he was insane... his mom should have concealed it better"??
If this was the only case of tragic action being taken in recent history, then maybe. From the Virginia Tech shooting, to the Colorado movie theater shooting, to the Oregon mall shooting, mass murders continue to be taking place in the United States. It's not just the case of one man being crazy, it's not just the case of one loose end not being tied up. More than anything else, this tragedy that occurred in Newtown should suggest to us that society NEEDS change.
We need to change the way we treat and interact (or fail to interact) with ostracized kids. We need to recognize violent tendencies in our youth, and seek immediate help. We need to remind our loved ones that we still love them. Nobody should feel nervous about going to school, the mall, or a movie. It's insane. Part of me wants to yell "FUCK YOU" to society and to the psychopaths within it that continue to commit these atrocities, but the logical part of me realizes that solves nothing.
I don't want to have to walk through metal detectors on my way to school... I don't envision my children's classrooms being guarded by armed men. My heart is heavy. America doesn't seem to have an answer, other than "BRING GOD BACK INTO THE SCHOOLS," which is an illogical and dividing argument even to a devout Christian like myself. I don't think a lack of God's presence is what altered the path that the Newtown killer traveled upon; I think it was a history of mishaps and maltreatments that brought him to the psychotic level, under which he killed those innocent children.
My prayers have been lackluster and confused these past days. I don't understand God's plans. I don't know how to cope with something so horrific, and I wish it wasn't real life. I send my deepest regards to the families of the lost ones, whom may have moved to the small-town Connecticut community as a means of avoiding conflicts like this. A once pleasant and peaceful city will now forever be tainted by what went down last Friday; it's traumatizing.
It's our humane obligation to ensure that these lives were not lost in vain. Change the way you treat others, reach out to those who seem troubled, and allow room for more people in your heart. I can't promise you that you will save lives by doing so, but I am certain you won't be hurting any.
-Jack
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