What to post today… anything seems trivial, especially holiday cheer, when I can’t get the thought of all those families in Newtown, all those bodies at the morgue….out of my head. All those funeral arrangements to be made just before what is normally a joyful family holiday. Their gifts are probably wrapped and hidden in closets or under the tree. The weight of the loss just beginning to crash like waves in the hearts of those affected…
Father of 6 year old Emilie Alice, Robbie Parker – has a message for the family of the gunman who killed his daughter and 19 of her school mates.
“I can’t imagine how hard this experience must be for you, and I want you to know that our family and our love and our support goes out to you as well,”
He’s a better man than I.
Ofcourse, the shooters mother is dead, by the hands of her son and her own guns. I don’t think any of this guy’s family saw it coming either. Details will surface.. but how can anyone ever truly believe their child is capable of such horror. And yet it happens. You almost always hear later.. there were signs along the way.
People all over are using this tragedy to bolster their causes… “SEE??… that’s why we need tighter gun control”…or… “Where was GOD when this happened? They don’t allow GOD in schools anymore, remember?”….
My personal take? I hate guns. I do think they are necessary in the hands of the right people and for the right reasons. There-in lies the biggest problem. There’s no real way to keep them out of the hands of the idiots who will use them for evil. And there will always be those idiots. There’s no way to known when a slightly unstable or mentally ill mind will snap. Making it harder to get guns might deter some, but honestly if a deranged person has it set in his mind that he’s going to plaster innocent childrens bodies across a classroom to soothe his hatred or make his mark in this world, he’s gonna find a way to do it without any of our permission.
Whether prayer was allowed in school or not would not have deterred him either. The saddest truth of all is, there is probably nothing that could have been done to prevent this… no real way to know it would happen. There will always be evil in the world and people who will execute it.
What alarms me the most?… it seems to be happening more and more frequently. In so many ways, the integrity of the people of this world is beginning to self-destruct.
SO! What to post today? Surely there are enough of us out there to offset the evil. Many of my fellow bloggers and readers do just that on a regular basis. Let’s counter the evil with plenty of good will – and whether religion is a part of your life or not, send healing thoughts out into the universe, say a prayer in whatever form has meaning for you – for those all over the world who are hurting today.
In this… I wholeheartedly believe.
Very well said. Yes, no way to control the evil in this world. I like to look at the pretty so I am not consumed with this horrific event.
I so agree with you, Karen. There is NO way that anyone can see into another's mind and know what they're capable of. I've heard people say "well, things are different now what with internet, cell phones, etc". Perhaps that is true, however there have been deranged people all through the years and sadly there will continue to be.
Love you lots!
Well said. So very sad that these things keep happening.
I'll continue praying.
Take care,
Pam
https://www.facebook.com/EmilieParkerFund?fref=ts
I agree with everything you said.
May God bless us all.
You are in our thoughts in Finland too. This happened to all of us. There are no words.
One of the photos of Robbie Parker made me weep like I hadn't weeped about his horrific event. When I heard him speak my heart felt pure love for him. His words come from a sacred place within him that most people will never know.
Tomorrow I will go to work and be with my teacher colleagues and students and cherish my relationships with them more sacred than I did on Thursday last.
Donna
I think that for me to be able to wrap my mind around this tragedy will be to do a Random Act of Kindness and to write a Random Letter of Love [left randomly in books and businesses] in honor of each of the victims, so that there will be twice the amount of kindness and love in this world to make up for what has been lost.
I agree k !!!! Let's try
I can't stop thinking about it either. I don't know how on Earth those families are going to get through this. I can't even fathom how they've gotten through it THIS far. And when it comes to the parents that have more than one child… how do they even begin to explain something so tragic to them?
I turned on the radio last night and "The Most Wonderful Time of The Year" started playing. I had to turn it off, from thinking of all those children and their families. For the first time in my life, the lyrics in that song felt so empty and cruel to me.
Kristin
I agree…but, if someone wants to purchase a gun, they should go through HELL and high water, again and again. Enforce laws!!!! the NRA has bought the politicians….maybe if one of their children were in that classroom, maybe they would start….also, I think these video games with shooting and violence need outlawed.
I agree, Karen. You stated it beautifully. I feel sick that we are surrounded by so much evil. I just can't get the jolly on right now. I am looking forward to the Day of Silence and Support in blogging world on Tuesday the 18th. If any one wants the graphic let me know- xo Diana
I agree, Karen….they say there are 3 million guns out there already……what shall we do ….fetch them all?
I do believe that gun control is too lenient…..that might help a little.
And God doesn't need to be in the schools, if it is in the HOME.
But I do believe that what Morgan Freeman said is true…….there is too much media hype in everything, every minute of every day….and it encourages sick people to aspire to being remembered, even if in a sick way like this.
Too much media, in my opinion.
I agree. We are building an emotionless generation. They express emotions through text or icons. We need to love our children out loud, not matter if our children are young adults or small. We need to once again start showing them it is okay to express love, kindness, fears, and dreams out loud. Reconnect with this young generation, hold a hand, smile, express a desire to HEAR what they are feeling.
Very well-put, my friend.
I watched in awe and admiration as Robbie Parker spoke of Emilie. The strength that must have taken, especially so soon.
Mr. Parker is soooo much a better person than I. How does he get that strength? Thank God for people like him.
As someone who did not lose a precious soul in this horrendous shooting, I honestly feel the same way as Mr. Parker. But if I HAD lost a soul? Maybe not so much. I'm not sure what that means in terms of the kind of person I am. All I know is the system is broken and I feel completely helpless and hopeless about it ever getting fixed. I will try to create a cocoon of JOY in my own little world and hopefully live out my days untouched by these kinds of horror and affected as little as possible by the broken system. That is my prayer for my family and friends.
buckets of prayers from this house have been sent to the families of the victims…..buckets and buckets of prayers…..xo
Karen, as hard as this is and some of my dearest frieds live and work in Newtown, there are more "good" caring people than evil, or should I say ill. What I am having a hard time with is why this young man's mental health was allowed to be untreated for so long!….JP
I agree, Karen. I won't participate in the blame game that so many are playing now. I will pray for the families, the children, the community and families all over the country tomorrow who drop their children off at school by faith and faith alone. I'll be one of those. I'm tempted to sit in the lobby with my 90lb German Shepherd, but I'm trying to focus on love and peace.
Because I definitely think this world needs more of that.
Well done well done! A beautiful posting that says what The Gardener would say. Heartbreaking just absolutely heartbreaking no matter the time of year….
I agree with you Karen. I simply cannot wrap my mind around all of this. Especially at this time. This time when families are planning gatherings of joy. How on earth are those people going to cope. I am having trouble moving my mind toward happier things…I can only imagine what they are going through. May God Bless them all.
We don't understand and we'll never understand how someone could take out the Emilie Alice's of the world. Just too sad to fathom. My heart aches.
I just posted this comment on another blog minutes ago:
The 24-hour news cycle has to stop as well. I believe this sensationalizes these horrific events and plants seeds. Our culture of violence needs to change IMHO.
I remember when my kids were younger and my boss at the time told me flat out that she would rather her kids watch violent movies than movies with any kind of sex. Even very mild sexual scenes. I remember being shocked! Let's think through this stuff!
Of course I'm not advocating letting kids watch overly sexual movies, my point is simply that why the comfort with violence, but the discomfort with sex. She isn't alone in her thinking. Just sayin' as they say.
smooches and hugs to everyone
I do not know the answer to any of this. I don't know what will make it stop. All the white light and energy from all of us that send it can't hurt.