Day 334 Question 334:

Why do some people succumb to violence at random?

It has become commonplace to open up my laptop and see a headline about a random shooting somewhere in the country (and horrific violence outside of the country is not uncommon in the slightest).  Just this week a young man at the ripe age of 22 walked into a shopping mall and starting shooting at random killing 2 people before taking his own life.  Why does this happen?  How do people take the lives of innocent strangers?  What is making them tick so badly that they believe that violence is the only answer?  I have to stop for a moment because I JUST opened up a new browser to check my email and the main headline on yahoo news is: Shooting at Newtown, Conn. Elementary School, Gunman Is Dead.  I am unable to wrap mu brain around the violence that keeps increasing day by day minute by minute.

My heart is truly breaking.  I had to stop writing to read that 27 people have been declared dead at a Connecticut Elementary school and thus far the count shows that 18 of them are children.  The shooter (they have now brought a 2^nd suspect into custody) was a 20 year old “man” that was the father of a student at the school.  This man has not only taken the lives of 27 innocent people….he has destroyed the lives of all of their families and friends and every single person that was in the school when this horrific event occurred.  Every single one of those young children will NEVER forget this day throughout their entire lives and that is just not fair!!  No child should EVER have to experience this kind of a violent and terrifying experience.  I do not have children of my own and my heart just aches….I cannot imagine what all of these people are feeling. I try so hard every day to believe in the goodness of all people but I cannot wrap my brain around this kind of violence and anger. I cannot wrap my brain around people taking the lives of the innocent….INNOCENT CHILDREN THAT HAVE EVERYTHING TO LIVE FOR!!!!  Why, as a country, that speaks so much of unity and freedom can we not come together and come up with a solution?  These disgusting acts keep occurring and all I keep thinking is that it is a very twisted way to get attention.  The more the media publicizes these acts of violence the more they occur and the more tragic they are each and every time.

I am sorry but right now I am angry.  Our country is manufacturing this kind of violence and no one is taking blame…everyone is just placing blame and moving on.  I just watched an interview with a guy that was shot during the Virginia Tech mass shooting and he said that the problem is that people feel deep sorrow and throw out their condolences and that is the end of the story.  There is no follow-up…..there is a conversation and education that is LONG OVERDUE!!!!  Our decision makers are so focused on bringing back the economy that they are forgetting about protecting the citizens….protecting innocent children!!!!!  I just don’t know what to say because I just can’t wrap my brain around it.  I cannot say it enough that violence will never be a solution….this country is being destroyed daily!!!  We have manufactured violence.  We have manufactured an entitlement mentality.  We have manufactured a society filled with people that have no concept of compassion or empathy.  Our lawmakers our supposed to be the biggest role models in this country but they are the worst culprits of all of these behaviors.  We hear anti-bullying campaigns all of the time and then turn on the news to see two political leaders bullying each other all over the place.  THIS NEEDS TO STOP!!!!!

I just can’t go on with this entry anymore because of the empty feeling inside of my chest.  I do not want to stop believing in goodness but I admit to being afraid of where this country (and world are headed).  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE hug the ones you love today.  If you feel sad, depressed, stressed, angry….please talk to someone….please never use violence as the answer.  You may be remembered but it will never be in a good way…..do not be the person that everyone around the world will hate!  As people we need to start communication more with each other….we need to ask more questions and stop living like robots!  Life is not meant to be this selfish….we need to talk with each other and share our struggles as well as our dreams….we all need to be seen.  I know so many people are going to react in anger and will hold so much deep hatred for this shooter (trust me I am very angry at him too) but remember we have no what type of mentality that “man” had….we have no idea of what his life was like…..we have no idea what he was thinking.  Parents need to talk to their children EVERYDAY and teach them to react with empathy and compassion.  Schools need to dedicate time to communication with students….let their voices be heard.  Adults need to learn what it really means to be role models….especially those adults that are constantly in the public eye.  Our media needs to STOP being so greedy and stop working for evil (for the money) and start working for good….they have this powerful tool that could make a huge impact for good but is instead used creating so much evil!  “AN EYE FOR AN EYE MAKES THE WHOLE WORLD BLIND!” ~Ghandi.  WE MUST END THE VIOLENCE!!!