Another American Tragedy

Special Note: To begin with; my prayers and condolences to those who were injured, and most of all to the families whose loved ones were killed. You have my deepest sympathy and are in my thoughts and prayers. Aurora is in my heart, as it is, in much of the country.

 

“I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.”~Rachel Joy Scott  (1981-1999) 

Student & 1st Victim Of The Columbine High School Massacre

Originally, I was going to write about my daughter getting ready to go off to college, Thursday night changed all that. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the horrific crime that took place the other night, in a town just outside of Denver. The town was that of Aurora, Colorado; which ironically was rated as the ninth safest city in America by Forbes magazine.  The story now, became quite the opposite, with the images fixed on our television screens, following an evening out to the movies. Sadly, twelve (12) people were killed and fifty-eight (58) others were wounded, some critically, the youngest victim is only 4 months old while tragically the youngest killed was only six years old.

During the midnight premiere of Dark Knight Rises, at a sold out show of one of the most anticipated blockbuster movies of the summer, tragedy struck this quiet suburb. Authorities say the alleged gunman, James Holmes, had attended the movie with enough armor to help him in his planned attack. He had fortified himself with enough Kevlar and tactical body armament to protect is own life, while he mercilessly took the lives of innocent others.  We may never know, nor understand what was going on within the mind of this allegedly quiet, bright young man, who now will not be known for whatever good he might have achieved in his life, had he not seemingly become insane. Rather his name now will be synonymous with evil, having masterminded and executing one of the most heinous massacres in current US history.

This is not the first time that a gunman has shaken this country to its' core. We, as a society, have become not so much shocked, but more-so curious with violence in our culture. I find it surprising that all of this occurred in the same state where the infamous and equally tragic Columbine school shootings took place . What gave me cause for alarm, was that even though a massacre of mass proportions, had happened just over a decade ago, gun control laws are still lax in the state of Colorado. Thirteen years ago, when we collectively witnessed the horrors of gun violence, massacres are still happening, all over the country and still we talk about gun control. Talk, but no solution.

To prove that we have become indifferent to violence in our society, and have gotten somewhat apathetic, is the simple fact that there were young children present at this movie premiere. Now please, do not misunderstand and mistake this comment as a criticism of the victims from this horror, but what are we doing taking young children to a mature and highly violent film at midnight?

Here is another shocker, up until a few months ago; when Ted Nugent made his highly controversial comments regarding the current sitting President, I was an active member of the NRA. I am a legal gun owner, and had fully believed in the right to bear arms. What I do not support is the need for people to own semi-automatic weapons, or amass a stash of weapons without raising alarm bells. Like all things in this world, we need to regulate gun ownership and the sales of guns.

James Holmes, age 24 and a former graduate student working on his Doctorate in neuroscience until a few months ago, was headed in a completely different direction. Yet, in just a few months began to seemingly become unraveled. Dropping out of his graduate program, and began to set the stage and compile a gun collection and ammunition  amounting to more than 6,000 rounds. Had we stopped the empty talks, but had actually taken some sort of action, perhaps someone might have taken notice that someone was stockpiling enough weapons, not to forage on a duck hunt. There are few ways to currently keep track of those who are doing the same, and believe me, James Holmes is not the only one nor dismally, with the lack of gun control will he be the last.

The disinterest we place on the need for gun control, will only lead to more gun violence, and more massacres.

Map Depicting Statistical Data of Gun Violence in America

When our forefathers included the "Right to bear arms", it was given at a time when life was different. It was written at a time when settlers to the new land were fighting with the Natives of this land, when we had just emerged from a war with England, and fighting with the French in order to access more land. These factors were in play, when the decision was made, but we live in a different time, and like all things of history it is time for a change.

Perhaps, this tragedy, with the loss of so many innocent lives, this time we will together take a stand, and instead of talk, actually take action to help prevent further senseless deaths of human lives facing the barrel of a gun. In case you are in need of a few facts* to help stimulate you into putting pressure on the powers that be.

• While gun crime is down in the vast majority of states, it is up in New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Mississippi, Missouri, Arizona, Delaware, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Connecticut and several of the smaller states.
•  If you look at the firearms murder rate per 100,000 people, District of Columbia comes out top - with 16 firearms murders per 100,000 man, woman and child in the state. There were 99 firearms murders in DC in 2010, down 12% on 2009
•  In the beginning of 2011 the shooting spree in Tucson, Arizona, that targeted congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords left six dead, including a nine-year-old child. But since then, the issue has been given scant attention.
• The summer of 2012 in Chicago during the Memorial Day weekend 55 people were shot, a few months later in the city of New York, 77 people were victims of gun violence over the course of less then one week
•  The rate of death from firearms in the United States is eight times higher than that in its economic counterparts in other parts of the world.
• The overall firearm-related death rate among U.S. children younger than 15 years of age is nearly 12 times higher than among children in 25 other industrialized countries combined. 

*Statistics provided by FBI, CDC and The Brady Campaign

So while the numbers may be down, they are still too high. Do we need them to climb back up again before we start doing something?

Lastly, amidst the chaos and horrors of Thursday night, there were heroes. Young men protecting women, and children with their own bodies, some suffering wounds, some giving the ultimate sacrifice; their own lives to shelter another from the shooter.  I was most impressed by one young man in particular. The young man is Jarrell Brooks, 19 years of age, who was prepared to leave when the mayhem erupted, stopped when he heard a young woman scream "MY KIDS!". Risking his own life, he leaped into action, making the bold and brave decision to come to her aid. He managed to lead her and the children to safety, suffering gun shot wounds to his leg. When asked how he felt, this amazing young man said the following words; "I forgive James Holmes for shooting me, because it is more bold to forgive than to hate."

Let us take a cue from this incredible man, wise beyond his years. Find forgiveness for this madness, and be bold, as I stated in the beginning of this entry; we may never know or understand the type of sickness that festered in the mind of James Homes. How can we understand the mindset of a man that booby-trapped his own home with explosives, and waited for the theater to be packed, and begin a rampage on all who were present. Our boldness is to find a solution to prevent this from ever happening again to our neighbors.


No quotes tonight, just a thought. Have we become so adjusted to the sight of violence, we no longer have the will or fortitude to garner our own heroism to put an end to it?