September 19, 2013
-
Grateful
I am deeply saddened when I hear about tragedies like the one recently at the Navy yard. I hear about people going on a rampages and shooting crowds of innocent people and my heart breaks. I'll get into conversations with people about the How's and Why's behind such heinous acts and it's always the same questions...
How on earth was he able to buy a gun??
Why didn't people see the signs??
How did he get through the background check and gain access to the location??
Why didn't the authorities respond sooner??
What really bothers me about this line of questioning is the assumption that only terrorists or schizophrenics are capable of harming others. But sometimes... sometimes it's your neighbor... sometimes it's the kid you used to babysit... sometimes it's the guy you knew from basic training.
We're completely caught by surprise when we learn about those who perpetrate such crimes and we immediately try to justify the behavior by attributing it to some mental illness or ties to a terrorist cell group.
"Oh, well no wonder... he had an abnormal fixation on the Middle East and Iraqi culture."
"He had previous run-in with the law and he liked guns. So I can see how this would be something he would do."
It's almost as if our minds can't seem to comprehend the fact that someone "normal" could do such a horrific thing. But honestly, what is normal? Most people I've met have experienced tragedy, are struggling with some type of distress or depression, or have been affected by some degree of trauma. So... WHO is normal?
Friends and family of a suspect will say things like, "I never saw this coming." or "He was such a nice guy." or "Something must have happened because he would never do such a thing." The fact remains that he DID do such a thing. And you know what? I'm never surprised. I've come to the sobering conclusion (and this may be an unpopular opinion) that the only thing that restrains any of us is the hand of God. If it weren't for the fact that He holds your mind, body and soul in His capable hands, you could be just as capable of this type of behavior.
And it makes me grateful... every. single. day.
Comments (7)
People want to feel in control. If everything is under control, everything will be ok. It's the simplest way of avoiding chaos: control. So if something terrible happens, someone somewhere lost control, and it's their fault for not stopping or preventing it. When my dad died from his heart attack, friends went on diets - surely it was because of food. They got gym memberships, he must not have been active enough. Everything was blamed without knowing the truth which was: my dad had good cholesterol, good blood pressure, was highly active (being a football coach among other things), and we ate healthy, homemade meals pretty much every day. It was not in his control just as much as it isn't in mine that I have a history of family heart disease. Can't change genetics, folks.
Sometimes terrible things happen. And it wasn't someone's fault. No one dropped the ball. It happened.
What happened in Washington was apparently destined to. He was apparently a ticking time bomb for it. Sometimes, that happens. But I disagree with you, Riis, that it could be anyone. Violence and mental illness, hearing voices, a trained soldier (who yes, are trained killers, even if that isn't always their primary objective, it's an ever present, ongoing sign-off) IS a disastrous mix. Morality might stand in the way during more cogent times, but during the waves of deeper illness? Then, yeah, it's miraculous if no one gets hurt. This isn't the average case, though. And thank God it isn't.
I would not, in any circumstance, be capable of violence like this against any innocent soul. I feel fucking badly when I drop a stuffed toy too hard on the ground. It isn't ok to normalize extreme violence. We're not all capable of it.
Sorry I dropped the f bomb. I was filled with passion.
I'm going a step further. We were created in the image of God. We were not created for chaos. Were we born into a chaotic, sinful world? Yes. But humans aren't inherently created for violence, even if too many of us display it.
I think that there are combinations of reasons why people do the things that they do, but I do think that there are reasons. I don't (and refuse to) believe that any one of us are capable of doing these things in our current circumstances. That being said, we may well be if we had been born elsewhere... in a different time... with different life experiences and with different levels of family/friend support... or under different influences. Nothing is black and white, there is no one combination of factors that is destined to turn a person into a killer, but it IS because of A combination of factors that a killer did what they did.
I see this is also on WordPress. How can you keep two conversations going?
It's just a question.
it is sad cause the people were going to work not knowing what was going to happen
Prayers to the families of the victims and also the family of he who did the killing, for this shall also alter their lives forever.