The news of the Connecticut shootings made me angry, then heartbroken. I cannot begin to imagine the pain the families of the victims are feeling, or the pain of the children that survived and have to deal with great loss so early in their lives.
I don’t believe we should ever mention the criminals in these types of crimes. They should remain nameless – “Devil Walking” – that’s how they should be referred to. Never should they be reported by name, never should they be remembered. Take away the fame and the pictures, the stories of their lives. They are a Devil Walking doing unspeakable harm, and that’s all anyone needs to know.
If they are brave enough to live through their crime spree then they should forever be stripped of their identity, they should have their names taken away and be made to spend the rest of their lives sending financial support to the families of the victims. With a consequence like that they might think before committing such crimes. Where are their rights? They gave them up when they took the lives of others.
Yet, the mass shooting Devils perform the ultimate cowardly act of committing suicide and going down in history. Stop it! They don’t need to be remembered. The innocent lives they took – THOSE people are worth remembering, they were stripped of their lives, their hopes, their dreams, all taken in an instant.
On the flip side of this I can only say that mental instability is a growing problem. The answer – don’t just pray. Prayer is good, but prayer is NOT ENOUGH! Get involved, be aware of the people in your life. Take time to get to know them individually. Take time to find out what they are going through and if they need help, offer it if you can, or offer them a place to genuinely find help, above all – CARE.
There are at this very moment people all around each and every one of us that are hurting. The economy is bad, there are people going through job loss, financial worries, sickness and dealing with losing family members and friends. How many people do you ask how they are doing each day, and actually stay around to hear the answer? Do you just want to see them smile and say “fine” So you can go on your way? Would you like someone to ask you how you’re doing and know that they care what you say next?
It’s interesting how in an age when we are all so “connected” with social media sites and texting, we are disconnected for the actual events in each other’s lives. Those people that share their problems in the social media world can be shoved to the hidden lists or skipped over if they complain too much, or if things never seem to get better for them, God forbid the issues last too long. It’s easy to stop answering the texts or stop checking on someone if they are continuously having a hard time, don’t move on, or things don’t improve after a while. We are not a society that breeds patience.
Seeking help for working through problems, divorce, grief, job loss, abuse, health problems, from a therapist needs to stop being a stigma. If you need the help, get it. Stop worrying about what the masses think or say, it doesn’t matter what the social world thinks, what matters is that you are healthy and living the best life possible.
What’s that saying? It takes a village to raise a child? How about we rewrite that to read – it takes a community of caring individuals working together to create and maintain a healthy environment to live in. Let’s start today, reach out to the people in your life and get to know them, you will be glad you did and so will they.
Cherry Coley ©
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I was hoping you would post an article about this unspeakable tragedy because I so respect your perspectives and wisdom. Thank you again, Thea.
Thank you so much, Thea!
I really love what you said and I agree, we need to stop remembering the names of the killers – let’s burn them from our minds and keep alive the names and memories of the victims and HEROES of that day, because there were many, and they deserve to be remembered. I, too, agree that in this age where we are so “connected” it’s somewhat disconcerting that we are losing our human connection; the ability and desire to really reach out to people and to discuss problems face to face. Technology has a lot of perks but it can also be quite isolating. Great article, thanks for speaking out!
Thank you so much. I appreciate your comments and taking the time to read my post.