Saturday, July 21, 2012

Why?


While I was on the elliptical machine this morning, sweating puddles and wishing that the wheels wouldn’t creek so badly, my husband was having breakfast and reading the newspaper.  He told me that James Holmes’ killed twelve people, including a six year old child, and injured fifty-eight.   My thoughts turned to the victims who have lost their lives watching a movie, and to the families who are suffering right at this moment because of it.  To what his mom must be going through and blaming herself for.  It’s difficult for sensitive souls like myself to keep time to the music and just go on with life.  I have no way of knowing how horrible this specific tragedy has effected each of their souls, but I do empathize.
My next thought turns to how can I help.  I can’t.  I can’t change what’s happened.  After a few more minutes, I begin to wonder how it could have been prevented.  To say that we need to take away access to guns is like saying that closing all the fast food restaurants will prevent obesity.  If a mind is set on destruction of others and/or self, that mind is going to do what it sets out to do.
I have to believe that somewhere along the line of Holmes’ life, someone had to notice that this guy was more than eccentric.  He did not wake up on Thursday morning suddenly insane, in a room full of booby-traps and ammunition.  Someone noticed something wasn’t right and chose to mind there own business instead of making a phone call to the local authorities.   It’s not about blame, it’s about a person that just might have gotten help long ago if anyone had taken the initiative to notice that his behavior was psychotic.  
We need is to pay attention to what others are doing around us.  We need to get psychiatric counseling, not just pills, not just drugs, to those who can be helped.  For those who are beyond help, we need to be honest and place those folks in an institution for the criminally insane; permanently.
We await the motives behind Holme’s actions, because we think that if we know why, then we can figure out a way to protect our children, our families, ourselves.  Or so we’ll hope until the next time innocent children, teenagers, women and men are massacred at the hand of someone who’s mind no longer functions within the confines of a civilized society.
My husband went to work.  I finished my workout forgetting about the squeaking wheels.  So irrelevant in the light of my family not being killed in a movie theater yesterday.   Before we close our eyes to sleep this night, we will pray for the victims and families of the shooting tragedy in Aurora, CO.  For those who attended an event that was supposed to be fun, supposed to be entertainment, but instead, once again, has brought a nation in touch with her biggest fear.  Evil itself.

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