Watching the news regarding the Uvalde Elementary School shootings was beyond troubling. The police spokesperson tried to explain what happened, stuttering over words, nearly weeping, and apologizing personally for the errors which were made.
Seeing the interview with the Senator from the Texas district in which Uvalde is located was harder still. He sobbed throughout as he pleaded for bipartisan support to address the issues which may suppress some of these horrible situations.
Perhaps one of the most poignant interviews I saw was with a former FBI agent who wrote a book on mass shootings (Katherine Schweit, Stop the Killing: How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis). She said that every time the U.S. suffers through one of these events, she receives a phone call from a friend in Australia who asks, “Why don’t you stop this?” Most countries around the world have significantly fewer shootings than we do.
This was the third of these horrible, publicized acts during the month of May (and more already in June). People say our country is numb because this happen so frequently. These recent horrors really touched me, especially because of the murders of young children in Uvalde and a number of elderly people in Buffalo. People are asking “why” and there is no clear, succinct answer. Why don’t we listen to approaches around the world from law enforcement, legislators and others who have found approaches which work?
In the meantime, families in Buffalo mourn for their family matriarchs and patriarchs. And families in Uvalde mourn for those beautiful young children. Senseless losses. Both sets of losses are complicated: the loss of elderly wisdom and caring that cannot be replaced and the loss of futures, hopes and dreams of parents and grandparents for 19 young children, along with the two brave teachers in elementary school.
And we should not forget people questioning and mourning across our entire country. Our six-year-old granddaughter asked us last week: “will the children die?” I have previously written on talking with children about death (please see: Who is Teaching Who? July 2021).
My heart hurts so much right now. I will pray each day for these families. And while they have my “thoughts and prayers,” I also have contributed to a victim relief fund (for lists, go to http://npr.com/ for How to Help Uvalde) and I intend to communicate with my legislators. The cynical in our world will again downplay “thoughts and prayers,” but I look at it this way: my communication with my God is my choice. Follow your spirit and your means for helping others! May all affected be At Peace in the time to come.
At Peace 