Shooting

Disclaimer: If you get offended easily by someone else not seeing things the way you do, then don’t read any farther.

 

First, I would like to express my condolences for the families in Connecticut.  A parent should never have to bury a child, much less because some moron decided to bust in a place where kids are supposed to be safe and take the child’s life. And then the shooter took his own life… that makes it even worse for the families because there will never be a trial to hold this man accountable for his actions. There will never be any kind of closure or justice for these families because this man took the coward’s way out. He didn’t just ruin the lives of the people who lost loved ones… he ruined it for everyone around there. He ruined life for the ones that survived because they’re never going to be able to walk through those hallways again without being haunted – students and teachers alike. The people that have to drive past the school every day on their way to or from work will now have to look at that school and remember what happened there. People looking at the town to move to will now reconsider because of this tragedy. Families, friends, neighbors, work associates… everyone has been effected and it didn’t have to happen. But that’s all it was… it was a senseless tragedy that no one could have prevented.

Some of the things that I’ve seen or heard are people saying that stricter gun laws would have prevented the shootings. I don’t like guns… at all. I never have. But in this situation, harsher gun laws wouldn’t have made a difference. The man had tried to get a rifle a few days earlier and was denied because of the laws that are already in place. He stole his mother’s guns… there’s already laws against theft. No additional laws would have prevented him from getting a hold of her guns, especially when he wanted them so badly.

But the one that gets to me the most is when people keep sharing or adding photos saying that if God were allowed in schools, that this wouldn’t have happened. I have a few issues with that. No, I am not what most people would classify as a Christian. I have been to many different church denominations… I grew up in a Methodist church for the most part, but I have also been to Mormon, Catholic, and Episcopalian churches. Each with their own belief system, some contradict the others. And honestly, I’m not sure if I understand the last 3 very well. So I had to come up with my own belief system so if you’re reading this, please do not take offense to the following…

I believe in a higher power, whether that be God, Buddha, Allah, Karma, Fate, or whatever. I don’t want to say “There is a God” because none of us have been dead yet, so no one can say FOR SURE that there is. Yes, people will say “There is a God” because they believe in the bible and what they’ve been taught and what they’ve read. But in all reality, no one here on Earth has ever been to Heaven so without being taught the Bible, no one can say for sure that “There is a God.”

But my personal beliefs aside… if people were inside reading/ studying the bible, it wouldn’t have stopped the shooter from achieving his goal. There wouldn’t have been some “force field” that would have stopped him from getting inside. It wouldn’t have stopped the bullets from coming out of the gun. It wouldn’t have stopped those children and teachers from dying. The same as the Bible in schools wouldn't have prevented the Columbine or Virginia Tech tragedies. These people had serious mental instabilities and teaching them the Bible in school wouldn't have made a difference.

As a side note that's slightly related - I also saw a post that said something about how their children should be able to go to school and worship as they please. But what about people that want to raise their children differently? Why should those people have the right to impose their beliefs on other peoples’ children? This country was supposed to be the place where people were able to come and escape persecution from their countries… not to have other beliefs forced on them. Religion is best taught at home, this way everyone’s rights are protected. Personally, I wouldn’t mind the Bible being taught in school… just as long as they teach the Koran and other religions just as in depth as they would the Bible. I want the boys to grow up and decide on their own what they want to believe, not have one belief shoved down their throats.

I understand there is a lot of sadness and confusion right now with anyone that this story touches and I understand the need to do something about it. But if you want to get something done, be rational about it. As much as this sucks, there really wasn’t much that could be done to prevent it. But there is no reason to waste energy suggesting things and trying to make things be put in place that won't be able to prevent this from happening again.