in Memorium

This is not the blog post that I had intended to write for today.  My original plan got upended by the tragic events last Friday in Newtown, CT and Sandy Hook Elementary School.  I wish my blog had been the only victim.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a resident of Newtown.  The grief, sorrow and sense of loss for everyone in that town must be overwhelming.  My heart and thoughts go out to them.

I do not want to be political with this post.  I do, however, want to shine the spotlight on a couple perspectives which seem to resonate with truth and honesty to me.

The first centers around comments that were originally attributed to Morgan Freeman regarding the role of the media in perpetrating massacres such as this.  That now appears to be a hoax.  Regardless, the sentiments expressed in the statement warrant some consideration.  One of the things that the now mysterious author of this statement says is that the media deserve some of the causal blame for tragedies like this.  Too rarely do we hear the stories of the heroes of these events, of which there are many.  Heroes like Victoria Soto, the 27 year old teacher who protected her students and paid with her life.  Heroes like Principal Dawn Hochsprung, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach, who allegedly rushed the perpetrator when he broke into the school.  They were killed valiantly trying to protect others.  There are, I am sure, dozens of other heroic acts, large and small.  It seems to me that this should be the focus of media attention.  Focus on the heroes and the victims of each tragedy.

Instead, the media tends to focus their attention, their pages and their airwaves on the perpetrators of these crimes, building them up in a way that many of them cannot dream of achieving in life without taking extraordinary measures.  To a person who is struggling with their grasp on reality, watching coverage like this can arouse thoughts of a copycat crime and copycat fame.  It is for this very reason that many newspapers and media outlets often do not report on teen suicides, or at least do not discuss the details.  I think this is a wise policy.

Which raises another issue that too often goes under discussed in the wake of these tragedies.  100% of the people who perpetrate these tragedies are mentally ill.  I don't care what their official diagnosis is, they are mentally ill.  As a nation, we need to figure out a better way to identify, treat and care for those who are wrestling with inner demons.  We cannot continue to hide from this issue or ignore these people who deserve our care and attention.

Mental health care has always taken a back seat to physical health care in our country.  I don't know why that is, but it has to change.  For an exceptionally personal perspective on what these issues look like from inside the family, please read an unbelievable blog by The Anarchist Soccer Mom here.  I thank her for her frank and heartfelt revelation.

I don't have any answers regarding what has happened in Connecticut and too many other places around the world.  I think we need to do something, and I always prefer taking positive, preventative action over negaitve, reactive action.  I don't think the answer is turning our schools into prisons or locking away anyone who shows signs of mental instability.  I do think there are answers and solutions out there.  I know that for me, the first step was and is hugging my family.

Peace.

Please.