I understand:
Bravery, selflessness, goodness, love.
These are all things we saw yesterday in the midst of madness and heartbreak.
Someone, in a brave, final act turned on the PA system at school to alert other teachers that something horrible and unthinkable was in their midst.
Teachers, with families of their own at home, instinctively went into action to protect the children. To keep them safe. First and foremost. They acted with courage and love. Teachers. Not soldiers. Not firefighters. Not policemen. Teachers, who may have gone into the profession because they thought it might be fun to be around kids all day. Teachers, who day after day correct spelling tests and do lesson plans and worry over family situations of "their kids" that they have no control over.
First responders, many just volunteer citizens, went in to harms way, not knowing what they'd find, or if they'd come out alive. But they went in anyway, and did everything they could.
The community, from all reports, tight-knit, close, loving, has gathered to support those who have lost: innocence, laughter, a future of memories that will never be made. It's an impossible task, but the community, and the rest of us, surrounded them with love and tears. It's all we could do in those terrible moments immediately after.
I hope, and I pray with my clumsy heathen prayers that we will all do the same for a young man who lost his mother to violence, and a brother to mental illness. He will surely need love and compassion to deal with the aftermath of this senseless tragedy as well.
I don't understand:
Why anyone with a love of our country, and good morals and a belief in a loving God, or just plain decency, would defend the fact that it's easier to get a gun than it is to get help with a mentally ill family member.
Because it is. It's easier to get a gun than a driver's license. That's a fact.
I don't understand why anyone who likes to use guns recreationally or for sport would feel offended that those of us who do not would like to see this rectified.
I do not wish to take away your right to own or carry a gun. I assume that you are of sound mind, and you enjoy hunting, or you live in a terrible neighborhood and wish to protect your family or possessions.
But I don't understand why you feel the need to defend how incredibly, UNBEARABLY easy it is for the wrong person to get their hands on a gun.
I don't understand why it is nearly impossible for a person with a history of mental illness, who has exhausted their resources, and their family and community, must be deemed a danger to themselves or others before they are able to get the help they need. Because THAT, as we've seen in the last DAYS, happens much, much, much too late. Mental illness is not like any other illness. Many people with mental illness do not believe there is anything wrong with them. They refuse help. And so their families are left to worry about them, about their safety and the safety of anyone in their path. And there is the stigma as well - "he's CRAZY", "he's NUTS"...an equation of mental illness with evil. Most mentally ill people are not violent. But those who are? Wouldn't it be humane to have the ability to diagnose and treat them before we find out the difference? To at least attempt to help them return to sanity, or at the very least, safety?
Because bottom line?
It is not "us vs. them".
It is "us".
Just us.
All of us together, with our differences and our passions, living together on this planet.
We're going to need to figure it out.
Hopefully sooner than later.
Wishing you peace and kindness. Do you understand?
Bravery, selflessness, goodness, love.
These are all things we saw yesterday in the midst of madness and heartbreak.
Someone, in a brave, final act turned on the PA system at school to alert other teachers that something horrible and unthinkable was in their midst.
Teachers, with families of their own at home, instinctively went into action to protect the children. To keep them safe. First and foremost. They acted with courage and love. Teachers. Not soldiers. Not firefighters. Not policemen. Teachers, who may have gone into the profession because they thought it might be fun to be around kids all day. Teachers, who day after day correct spelling tests and do lesson plans and worry over family situations of "their kids" that they have no control over.
First responders, many just volunteer citizens, went in to harms way, not knowing what they'd find, or if they'd come out alive. But they went in anyway, and did everything they could.
The community, from all reports, tight-knit, close, loving, has gathered to support those who have lost: innocence, laughter, a future of memories that will never be made. It's an impossible task, but the community, and the rest of us, surrounded them with love and tears. It's all we could do in those terrible moments immediately after.
I hope, and I pray with my clumsy heathen prayers that we will all do the same for a young man who lost his mother to violence, and a brother to mental illness. He will surely need love and compassion to deal with the aftermath of this senseless tragedy as well.
I don't understand:
Why anyone with a love of our country, and good morals and a belief in a loving God, or just plain decency, would defend the fact that it's easier to get a gun than it is to get help with a mentally ill family member.
Because it is. It's easier to get a gun than a driver's license. That's a fact.
I don't understand why anyone who likes to use guns recreationally or for sport would feel offended that those of us who do not would like to see this rectified.
I do not wish to take away your right to own or carry a gun. I assume that you are of sound mind, and you enjoy hunting, or you live in a terrible neighborhood and wish to protect your family or possessions.
But I don't understand why you feel the need to defend how incredibly, UNBEARABLY easy it is for the wrong person to get their hands on a gun.
Because bottom line?
It is not "us vs. them".
It is "us".
Just us.
All of us together, with our differences and our passions, living together on this planet.
We're going to need to figure it out.
Hopefully sooner than later.
Wishing you peace and kindness. Do you understand?
