Yet Again.....

I don't watch the news anymore.

I used to be a news junkie, but then I had kids. Obviously, I can't have the news on when they're around. Today is another example of that. Another mass shooting, again in Colorado. This time the victims were in a movie theater. They were there to see a Batman movie, though from the pictures of the trailer that's now being shown everywhere you look, Batman isn't quite what he used to be. It looked..explosive. Coincidence that this is where a gunman chose to kill 12 people and injure 40 more? Who knows.

What we do know is the horrific influence that this twenty-four-year-old has had on the world. And unfortunately, while we don't know the details, we also have a pretty good idea of the influence that the world has had on him.

Obviously, the gunman is the one ultimately responsible for the devastation that he created, but I can't help but wonder what prefaces a decision like this.

Was he bullied? Did his parents spend time with him? Were people kind to him? Did he grow up playing violent video games for hours on end, and watching movies about the apocalypse? Was he mentally ill? Did he get the help he needed? Did he talk about doing things like this? Was anyone paying attention?

I know what you may be thinking. Who cares? We should be focused on the victims and their families,  not the gunman who killed them.

My heart is 100% with the victims of this and their families. But here's the thing:

Now, he's the gunman. But once, he was a little boy. And then a teenager. And then a young man. He was exposed to things. And people. And experiences. He learned things. He explored things. He traveled a path. He reached a fork in the road.

And this is where he ended up.

Right now, there are many more little boys who are being exposed to similar things. And people. And experiences. And they are also learning things. As we speak. And exploring things. They, too, are traveling a path. They are reaching forks in the road. Where will they end up?

When we have an epidemic, isn't it our job to find out where it started?

Isn't that, in fact, the only way to stop it?

I'm not suggesting there's an easy answer. I have no idea what this gunman's life was like. In the absence of substantially more information, I wouldn't presume to blame his parents, or his schools, or the police and/or mental health health professionals who may or may not have had contact with him. But clearly, something, somewhere went terribly wrong.

Is it gun control? Maybe. Personally, I don't know why anyone who's not in the military or law enforcement needs access to a high powered semi automatic rifle. On the other hand, it seems that people who want to find a gun will find a way to find a gun. Which begs the question, why would anyone want to do something so devastatingly heinous in the first place?

We may never know the answer to that. But for me, it does lead to more questions:

Do we really need the kind of violence that is regular part of movies and video games today?

Do we as parents spend the kind of time with our kids that they need us to?

Are we teaching them what's really important?

Are we exemplifying what it means to treat others--all others--with dignity, respect, and kindness?

Are we truly placing value on human life?

Are we paying attention?

Because our kids are.

I'm not an expert on any of this. I'm just a mom who wants my kids to be able to walk across a college campus. Sit in a restaurant. Go to the movies.

 In peace.

I don't pretend to have the answers.

But that shouldn't stop us from asking the questions.