Viva Gandhi
“If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.” Mahatma Gandhi
An 11th grader at a high school in Montgomery County, PA, pretty close to where Tommy and Tricia’s farm is located, where my 1 ½ year old niece is growing up, walked into a crowded hallway this morning and killed himself with an AK-47 rifle. I am so sick and sad about this I don’t know what the hell to do or say. My father had triple bypass surgery the day of the Columbine School shootings – April 20, 1999, a horrible day, but also a wonderful day because he survived and seven years later we just celebrated his 75th birthday. I don’t think I have ever resolved the conflicting emotions of that afternoon. We were finally “relaxing” in the ICU waiting room, the surgery completed, when my sister turned on the TV and any shred of innocence I perhaps maintained was gone forever.
Can I even find solace in the fact that today only one person, one deeply troubled teenager who saw no solution to his pain other than killing himself, was hurt today? Not really, since I can barely imagine what the kids who witnessed so tragic an event must be going through right now. I admit openly that I am not a fan of guns. Why the hell any civilian in the United States feels the need or desire to own such a weapon is truly beyond me. Do I blame the parents? I don’t think so. Wouldn’t their son have found another way to end his life if the guns weren’t present? Here was the child’s father being informally* interviewed on the news tonight, looking shaken and shocked. He just lost his son and he was devastated. My empathy was running rampant; of course he never meant for this to happen. Who ever means for something like this to happen? And yet he owned the gun. It may have been under double lock and key but his son found the key.
Is it the Dad’s fault? Our laws allow for him to possess this immediate, indisputable distributor of death; so no, it’s not his fault. It is all of our faults. People with guns kill people and people who live in a society where the ownership of guns is lawful, whether we agree with these laws or not, are equally responsible for the consequences.
The freaking Christmas lights outside the window seem to mock me tonight. Peace on Earth? Fat chance. And yet still I believe. I hope. And I will never, ever, own or touch a gun in my life. I have never made, nor felt the need to make, that vow before but I am making it now. I may only be one person, but I suppose we need to do this thing one at a time.
*By informal I mean that he was simply standing on his front lawn, a bouquet of microphones in front of his face.
For more details about this story: http://www.philly.com/.
An 11th grader at a high school in Montgomery County, PA, pretty close to where Tommy and Tricia’s farm is located, where my 1 ½ year old niece is growing up, walked into a crowded hallway this morning and killed himself with an AK-47 rifle. I am so sick and sad about this I don’t know what the hell to do or say. My father had triple bypass surgery the day of the Columbine School shootings – April 20, 1999, a horrible day, but also a wonderful day because he survived and seven years later we just celebrated his 75th birthday. I don’t think I have ever resolved the conflicting emotions of that afternoon. We were finally “relaxing” in the ICU waiting room, the surgery completed, when my sister turned on the TV and any shred of innocence I perhaps maintained was gone forever.
Can I even find solace in the fact that today only one person, one deeply troubled teenager who saw no solution to his pain other than killing himself, was hurt today? Not really, since I can barely imagine what the kids who witnessed so tragic an event must be going through right now. I admit openly that I am not a fan of guns. Why the hell any civilian in the United States feels the need or desire to own such a weapon is truly beyond me. Do I blame the parents? I don’t think so. Wouldn’t their son have found another way to end his life if the guns weren’t present? Here was the child’s father being informally* interviewed on the news tonight, looking shaken and shocked. He just lost his son and he was devastated. My empathy was running rampant; of course he never meant for this to happen. Who ever means for something like this to happen? And yet he owned the gun. It may have been under double lock and key but his son found the key.
Is it the Dad’s fault? Our laws allow for him to possess this immediate, indisputable distributor of death; so no, it’s not his fault. It is all of our faults. People with guns kill people and people who live in a society where the ownership of guns is lawful, whether we agree with these laws or not, are equally responsible for the consequences.
The freaking Christmas lights outside the window seem to mock me tonight. Peace on Earth? Fat chance. And yet still I believe. I hope. And I will never, ever, own or touch a gun in my life. I have never made, nor felt the need to make, that vow before but I am making it now. I may only be one person, but I suppose we need to do this thing one at a time.
*By informal I mean that he was simply standing on his front lawn, a bouquet of microphones in front of his face.
For more details about this story: http://www.philly.com/.
posted by Katie at
4:53 PM
1 Comments:
i hadn't heard about this story. that's very sad indeed. i recently had a conversation with my friend ian about guns. his friend owns several and they go to the shooting range for fun. his friend has a 2yr old daughter...
i just don't get it.
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