Theater 9. Aurora, Colorado. James Eagan Holmes. Alleged Criminal. Criminal Acts. Wasted lives.
Engrossed in news coverage of the Aurora Shootings, some say they do not want to focus on Holmes. They want to put the spotlight on the lives of the 12 individuals who died.
Yes. By all means.
As of July 21, 2012 at 3:58: The Denver Post reports the names of Veronica Moser, Jessica Ghawi, Alex Sullivan, Matt McQuinn, Micayla Medek, John Thomas Larimer, Rebecca Wingo, and, on air, CNN reported A.J. Boik, and Jesse Childress. In coming hours--in coming days, more names will emerge--more profiles shall emerge. Read and listen to those coming names and stories, in coming days.
For now, I offer to you a question--a response--that haunts me.
What is the motivation--what possibly may explain such horrendous acts? What a wasted life.
What an excruciating extinguishment of human potential. Extinguishment of the crimes' commissioned subjects--extinguishment of the human potential of the crimes' commissioners.
The commissioner. A wasted life. Extinguished hopes of what might have been. Condemnation to a barred life--a mental hospital, a prison, an lethal injection, or an electric chair. What a wasted life.
Some spew anger. Damn him to the acts he committed. Inflict upon him an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Some forgive, the person, if not the act.
Some pray. We are called to pray. Some for the commissioned. Others for the commissioner. All are called to pray for both--the commissioned, and for the commissioner.
How may we speak--how may we act. How may we dedicate ourselves to learn from--commit ourselves to a positive response to such horrendous acts?
How? We must.
Thank you so much for your considered, thoughtful and on-target blog.
ReplyDeleteI was sickened this morning as I was going through the TV channels, looking for updates.
Fox "News" did a tease for an upcoming story, to wit:
"Some politicians are aleady taking advantage of the massacre by proposing more limits on our 'Second Amendment rights.'"
Sick!
And the Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment was crafted to etch in stone a far-right-wing misreading of the Amendment. It is in clear English, but they choose to imprint their own cowboy mentality on our nation and its supposed protections.
What part of the following do they choose to misinterpret? "A well regulated militia...."