Prayers for Sandy Hook Elementary...

[Draugr]

I don't even know how to react. It's just been kind of a daze. I mean, just, why?

When a kid goes and shoots up his high school - it's senseless, it's a tragedy, it's evil, but, at least there's...some minimal level of understanding. Angry kid. It's not right and it doesn't make sense but at least you can get what he was thinking.

This guy...I mean, just...

I...

I don't know. There's no way to even....

...

I just don't get it.

[Sunflowers]

The only way to explain it is desensitization from super violent video gaming.
There were guns 40 years ago, too, but this never happened.

[Draugr]

40 years ago they were still claiming rock and roll was making people murder.

30 years ago it was metal music.

15 years ago it was increasingly violent TV programming.

Now it is video games.

It's just a meaningless scapegoat. There is no connection between a person who guns down twenty innocent schoolchildren and "violent video games." Just like there wasn't any connection then. The scapegoat just changes to whatever most people are doing.

Desensitization doesn't turn people into murderers, it just desensitizes them. I'm desensitized to violence, but that doesn't make me a violent person. The thinking being, I guess, that our emotions are the only things holding us at bay from turning into mass killers? It takes much more than deadened emotions to make someone do something like this.

[Gilly1331]

Originally Posted by katdog5911

Gilly- I am not far from you. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Thank you. It was def scarey watching all of this unfold..usually I am the one taking the 911 calls and dispatching the PD/FIRE/EMSunits.. not being only feet away watching them unfold. It was hard to watch my fellow co-workers and friends and the hundreds of families, and other responding emergency units take over my road. I am not one who suffered an immediate loss but many of my friends have lost family members. I can only be thankful for the hard working responders from local and State PD/Fire/EMS and FBI/ATF etc who are handling this terrible incident. Later on in the evening I brought some coffee to the Check Point at the EOC (emergency operations center location) for the officers who were there and got to see the faces of my friends. One of my dear friends who has one of the puppies from my latest litter was one of the 1st officers on scene and entering the building while the shooting was still occuring. Just to hold him in my arms and know what he had to do and witness was heartbreaking.

The families that lost their babies..literally babies..5 yr-10yr olds such a shame. They hadnt even begun to experience life, love, happiness, sorrow... My sister in law had accepted a position there this year as a sub-teacher and for whatever reason they switched her to another school before school opened and luckily she had called out sick yesterday! The helicopters hovered above my house all day yesterday finally left late last night and were back bright an early this morning.

This will forever be a tragedy..I will think of this every time I drive up and down my road. I HAVE to pass this school/Fire house EVERY time I come/go form my home to get anywhere else in town. I honestly don't know what else to say or do but pray and wish for my unborn child who will be arriving in the next few weeks to come that the world makes some changes. That people band together and make the world a better place again and stop all of this. There are so many other ways to take out aggression and anger without hurting anyone else.

[JakodaCD OA]

Gilly I was wondering how you were So very very tragic, and no words, I'm still in shock and it's just so unbelievable

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by Sunflowers

The only way to explain it is desensitization from super violent video gaming.
There were guns 40 years ago, too, but this never happened.

Did you see the CNN timeline of school violence? It was interested and quite disturbing. It seems these incidents are on the rise (perhaps even exponentially) but it's not true that it never happened. There were many instances of kids (sometimes 14, 13 years old) killing teachers or schoolmates.

[msvette2u]

[Stevenzachsmom]

It doesn't seem that the "Bath School Disaster" ever comes up. Perhaps because it happened sooo long ago - 1927. 85 years ago, a maniac blew up the elementary school in Bath, Michigan. Between the 38 school children, his wife, and other adults - he killed 45 people. Who needs a gun, when you have explosives?

The link is the story as told by the Bath survivors who are now in their 90s. Well worth taking a minute to read and remember these victims.

Survivors Recall 1927 Michigan School Massacre : NPR


Sadly, this is nothing new.

[Sunflowers]

First time I ever head of this happening was the crazy who got up in the clock tower in 1966.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/n...n/index_1.html


I had no idea of a 1927 incident.
I guess it's true that there is nothing new under the sun. There have always been evil people, but I guess now you hear of their deeds faster and in more detail.

Yvette, the Santa crying above is absolutely crushing.

I have been avoiding the TV all day. Sent my kids to Universal Studios for a day of fun, and just tried to stay focused on enjoying life. My boys don't know yet and I am sad to think they will discuss this at school. It just sucks to have them need to face this kind of thing at such a tender age.

[msvette2u]

There have always been evil people

And that explains just about everything...sadly. You can't disarm evil (best quote I've seen for a while on this topic).