The past week has been a rather emotional one for us as a
country. The Newtown, CT school shooting
has taken a toll on so many people. These
past 4 days, they continue to bury the victims and heroes. I have trouble thinking about this time of
year and so many people losing their kids.
Christmas trees up, presents bought and tucked away…maybe already
wrapped. And a country of victims- other
children with their innocence lost- wondering why.
The two lanes people are choosing to be in to combat
tragedies like this are: Gun Control and Psychological Intervention. I have thought about both sides. But it gets me to thinking about
Terrorism. These attacks are some of the most brutal we
have had and as the nation has come together, it has been reminiscent of 9/11-
with one exception. The terrorists who
blew up planes and buildings were the axis of evil. The man who shot up a school makes us
question out psychological care system.
Why?
Now before everyone gets all up in arms, I agree our
psychological healthcare is a damaged system and in need of attention and
funding. A huge step even before that,
is to create an outlet where teachers and professionals who see a kid
exhibiting “dangerous” emotional or physical behavior should have a place to
escalate it properly. However, there is
a large outpouring of empathy around Adam Lanza. Was it a breakdown of his parental unit? Was it autism or some other form of it? Was it misdiagnosed crazy- another victim of
a broken healthcare system? Did he have
a grudge or a motive? How did the shy
kid become the murderer? All good
questions- but my head keeps coming back to the same conclusion. Adam Lanza is a terrorist.
The definition of terrorism is : the state of fear and submission produced by the use of violence or
intimidation.
I find it interesting how we change the face and emotional connection
for a home grown terrorist vs. one who comes from the middle east. As Americans, we spend almost no time trying
to determine why terrorists from Islamic nations do what they do, or think how
they think. We don’t care what we did to
motivate them, or how/if we may be responsible for action that made someone
want to be a human bomb. In fact, we
lack empathy for entire middle eastern countries, tribes, and nationalities. “Terrorism” is not held to the same standard across
the world. This was a wealthy white American
kid who shot up a school. That seems to
be confusing a lot of people. There is
no group to associate him to. He is one
of us- our production, our responsibility.
Here is my thought for today (and it may change by tomorrow as I process this). Everyone wants everyone to be happy safe winners in society. We don’t want kids to lose anymore. We banned bullies and now kids who fight are held to the exact same consequence as kids who defend themselves. We cookie cutter our kids in brain and personality because if everyone is the same its easier to manage. We tie our youth in bubble wrap and as a result we have not taught them how to cope. It is my desire that we will someday stop exacting a war on kids who are different or worse, kids who already battle for social acceptance and individualism. I know deep down that all people go into a natural pecking order, and good parents will teach their children how to win some and lose some- not lull them into a false sense of reality.
But I draw the line at kids who will do damage. I don’t want to hear about how people who have
dangerous children who threaten themselves and others have no help. Dangerous people are not allowed to play with
the rest of us. If your behavior is
disturbing and unsafe and will hurt others- you don’t get to be here. We either need to counsel it out of them,
medicate it out of them, or remove them from the situation. The greater good cannot operate while we “find
a place” for people who want to destroy it.
We keep kids away from outlets, and fire, and knives, and strangers- we
need to also keep them away from people, even children, who have demonstrated a
desire to harm them. Because anyone
using violence or threats to make others fearful of their environment must be
treated the same was as we treat a terrorist threat. They must be dealt with swiftly before they
kill us. That is the only guideline our
youth needs to know.
Being more pro-gun than your average liberal (I am actually
mid process to get my license), I am torn.
However, I do agree that in the past 15 years and more through the 4
shootings in the past 5 years, I feel like this issue goes nowhere. The gun lobby is strong. And let’s face it…talking about these kinds
of tragedies gets draining for the best of people so we eventually let it
pass. I’ve not wanted to let this one go
so easily. It feels different this time. Maybe it’s the season. Maybe it’s their age. Or maybe nobody is really cut out to watch 20
tiny caskets leaving churches and synagogues.
And so for their honor, for their memory- I am more than
ever completely in favor of gun control; For the abolishment of assault rifles
for civilians and for the extreme measures for any other weapon. I live in a state where our gun license
process is said to be extreme- and even I think it’s too easy. Let it take months. Let it take a psych test. Let it take a home visit to assess the
risk. I don’t care. We don’t need to exercise a right here
anymore. We need to recognize a
wrong.
20 babies. 6 teachers
trying to save them. I am, as ever, in
awe of the people of Newtown CT, and other survivors and families of mass
shooting victims for your ability to stand, remain, breath, and simply not
implode on yourselves and give into the sheer torture and loss. There are no words of comfort. I just want them to know they give the rest
of the nation hope by being so strong.
#PrayForNewtown
