I could only imagine
what it must have been like at the theatre in Aurora, Colorado. The patrons that gathered for the midnight
showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” had no way of knowing that a simple evening
of fun would be turned into terror; their lives forever changed by a gunman who
opened fire on them.
As of the printing of
this article, there is still no reason given as to way the gunman, 24 year old
James Holmes, decided to cold-heartedly execute 12 movie-goers and injure 58
more. And I guess the question on
everyone’s mind is “Why?” Why did he do
it? What caused this man to snap? Why did he methodically plan to kill so many
people? Does he even know or care that
he took away someone’s child? Someone’s
mother? Someone’s son? Someone’s sister? Someone’s father? Someone’s brother?
The brother of one of
the victims spoke in a voice that resonated with heartbreak, saying that he
didn’t want the media to focus on the gunman.
He wanted the media to instead focus on the victims of this
tragedy. And though I agree with him, I
still can’t help but wonder why the young gunman decided to take so many lives
in such a public fashion.
We all know that part
of the healing process is making sense of the senseless. Many of us need to know what was going on in
the mind of this man so that we can prevent this type of tragedy from repeating
itself. I wondered if he was the victim
of bullying since that seems to be the thread of commonality in crimes of this
nature. Was James Holmes the victim of
bullying and if so, how long did it go on?
I’m sure that no one may care at the moment about his state of mind at
that time that this horrific incident occurred.
At least not until it happens again.
Because today, parents
hold onto their children just a little bit tighter. Kisses are held just a little bit longer, and
I-love-you is said with more sincerity.
We are reminded that life can turn on a dime and that sooner or later;
we will have to leave this place called home.
Just ask the families of the twelve people that were lost on that
fateful night.
But still, if James
Holmes was the victim of bullying, could this all have been avoided? If this were the reason for his actions,
could it have been prevented if someone recognized the warning signs and took
the appropriate actions? Or am I
reaching too high to make sense out of the senseless?
Because the simple
reality is, if there were no bullying and the only signs that he exhibited is
being a loner, then this makes this crime even more terrifying in its
randomness. In the days to come as the
citizens of Aurora pull themselves together, we will find out more about what
made this man do what he did.
The question remains,
are we really ready for the answer?
To make donations to
help the victims in Aurora, Colorado, please click on the link below?
J.L. Whitehead
No comments:
Post a Comment