By Matthew Cohen
SJS Staff Writer
I sit here trying to think of something poignant to say, but my heart is broken. I could never imagine that something like this could happen, its impossible to take in. Two things will come from this, the gun control folks will start talking about how this could be prevented, and everyone is going to start looking for reasons. I don’t blame them, that was my first thought. Somehow, someway we all must try to make sense of things. I think perhaps I have given up, this does not, nor will it ever make sense to me. It is sheer madness.
Still if we have been paying attention this sort of thing is happening more; it seems like almost everyday. There are mall shootings, Senator shootings, movie theater shootings, and now the school shooting in Newtown. Does anyone remember a period with more of these sort of unthinkable actions? I just cannot believe that they emerge in isolation, maybe it is just the social worker in me. If it is madness than it has taken hold of not just people, but of an entire nation.
Can the enormity of this crime be placed on one person? I want to have answers, I want to offer words of reassurance, but I cannot find any. I just sit here in the pit of sadness thinking of the lives that children will no longer have. It is not just the parents, nor the schools, nor the towns, nor the states responsibility to protect our children, it is all of our responsibility. Whatever it is that has taken control of this nation is beyond me, but I hope that we will go about figuring it out before more children have to have their lives cut short in such a cruel manner. My prayers & SJS’s prayers are with the those children and their families.
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Depression, anger, alienation, degradtion of religous values and morals, all have a huge part to play in such massacres. The answer- not sure. I do believe every law–abiding citizen that so choses should purchase and carry a firearm. If even one other adult was armed during this tragedy, many lives could have been saved.
I don’t see this as a gun control issues, that was my point. Too many incidents of late. Seems more like socioeconomic stress than anything else.
Though sadlly, gun control has already become the issue discussed in the political forums. But there are deeper reasons why this happens here, as opposed to places like Switzerland, Israel, Lebanon- places in the world were guns are prevelant, yet school slaughters are almost non-exisistence. Is there such an inate need for violence that more violent parts of the world satiate their need for masscres in inter-tribal conflicts? Has our society made it so easy to disconnect from others and from moral values that the decision to slaughter is easier to make? I don’t know- I do know that now more than ever I want to exercise my right to be armed.
It’s funny, more then ever I want to be a monk. Two paths my friends 😉
As a parent of a kindergarten age child, tears come to my eyes reading about this tragedy, but that word does not adequatedly describe what happened.
Like the teenager in Alberta that ended her own life because of bullying by fellow students-how can the family or friends of Adam Lanza not noticed or seen anything odd about his behavior?
Incidents like this do not just happen out of the blue. There are always signs before for those that choose to notice them! Depression, social withdrawl, comments, social media where one posts feeliings and thoughts to friends and family…….A few years ago here in Montreal, a college age student went to downtown Montreal and open fired at Dawson College-another severely disturbed and depressed person that again signs are always there ahead of time!
The fact that Adam murdered his own mother at her place of work?
Gun control and gun registry is one issue, but this is really about a person having very negative thoughts of himself and feeling that his life needed to end, but he went many steps furter and murdered all those innocent kids! Why?
I cannot begin to imagine the pain that the families are going through or the depth of their grief…. my prayers and thoughts are with them….
I am literally heart broken, I don’t know any other way to say it…
Every single person in society that is aware of what happened yesterday should be heartbroken, saddened and in some way angry.
Change needs to happen! How many more innocent lives have to end before change does happen? Before citizens of the general society realize they have a responsibility for the good….to be proactive, to be humanitarians!
These two horrific events could have happened in any city, in any country, in any school…….that knowledge in and of itself should be a wake-up call!
Adam was noted to be weird, per news. Big problem is defunding of mental health system, and the increase of rights of the mentally ill to ludicrous proportions. This has resulted in exploding homelessness, and the a few of the masscres we read about.
@Matt– monk understood. Fight or flight- basic reaction to threat. I prefer to fight– but flight is a valid option, and the smart one, when the fight is too big to handle. I may be foolish wanting to be armed- but I am comfy with guns, and situations like this make me really hate that legaly I must be unarmed, esp. if I ever come across a situation where other people, esp. children, may need help. Even if I die – I’d rather be dead than helpless.
Naw I don’t run from a fight, just want to keep the flame lit:)