One Day of Peace

I’m not sure how else to put that, because frankly any person who really puts thought into the statements I have seen made the past couple of days… can see where there’s a whole lot of wrong. I want to preface this by saying that I understand that people grieve in different ways, and work things out in different ways, and that we are all concerned with the cause of what happened in the Newtown Tragedy. However, some of these comments, frankly put- need to stop.

I’m going to start with the one that I’ve seen plastered…. oh gosh. EVERYWHERE. I’m going to start with the one that actually (horribly) came out of the mouths of  politicians, as well as masses of everyday people. Mike Huccabee spoke out with this tid-bit:

“We ask why there’s violence in our school but we’ve systematically removed God from our schools,” Huckabee said on Fox News. “Should we be so surprised that schools have become such a place of carnage? Because we’ve made it a place where we don’t want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability.” “That we’re not just gonna have to be accountable to the police if they catch us but one day we stand before a holy God in judgement. If we don’t believe that, then we don’t fear that,” he said. (source)

This sentiment that this was from a lack of God in our schools was taken up and spawned many many memes that echoed the same thing. I just picked the first two that I came across this morning, but  the end point is that we should have expected this since we don’t “allow” God on campus. As I pick my jaw off the floor, let me ask you-

Are you effing serious?

Let me tackle this head on. First of all- what a piss poor time to push an agenda. Let me rephrase that, 18 children who were 6-7 years old, died. In this moment of tragedy all you can think to spout off is that it was no surprise? That it was deserved?

WHAT KIND OF GOD ARE YOU WORSHIPPING?

Secondly, we all know that God isn’t not “allowed” in school. We do know that there are things that are religious in nature that have restrictions. Like prayer situations, bible-gifting, and restrictions on the staff (something I will be happy to discuss at another, more appropriate time). That doesn’t mean that he isn’t there. If God, is really God. All knowing, all present- you know just as well as I do, that he’s there. That you could act in this moment that he somehow turned his back on those children, simply “allowed” that to happen because he was observing some sort of human imposed line is disgusting. This is supposed to be God we are talking about, not some foreign envoy from another country who is frightened of us. Do you really think that GOD is that petty? Or is it just that you are?

Now let me move on to the media.

Is it really appropriate to interview students in the midst of trauma? Should those be the people you are searching out to find to boost the ratings? We are all searching for a story, it’s true. We all want to know the details, how people are doing. We have to draw a line of what is appropriate and what is it. A great many of us would like to see an end to the use of children in this fashion. Leave them alone. Wait until after the shock has worn off. Let them process, just a little before having a microphone or camera shoved in their face.

Secondly- when are we going to start making it less appealing to people to actually commit these horrors? How about you take away to fame, the notoriety that comes with this sort of sick action. How about we let them know that NO. Everyone will not know their name. No. Everyone will not hear their “message”. That they will die, forgotten for who they are, while we remember the victims only. The good people, the heros. Why is it that his name (whether right or wrong, apparently) was spread from household to household within hours?

Now, we all knew that this would turn in to a gun debate. We know, because that’s what history has conclusively shown us. I’m not going to get into whether or not it’s an appropriate time. However, I would like to discuss the totally rude comments that I have seen directed at each other during this time. I’ve seen things that said that if the first thing you think about (after this) is about how liberals want to take your guns, you suck. Well how about this? If during a time of tragedy one of the things you think to do is to write up memes like THAT- you aren’t exactly getting a trophy for excellence in humanity either. And for the other side of the fence- No. This tragedy is NOT deserved because of stricter gun laws. Tragedies like this, are  never “deserved”. So before you all continue to sling mud at each other over gun-laws and this tragedy, remember that it’s as okay for the “other side” to care, as much as it is for you. If you feel that at this point in time it’s appropriate for yourself to discuss guns and owning them, don’t start spewing hate towards those who do as well, only with a different opinion than yours about the end result. Let’s have that debate civilly, and with some tact, sympathy towards the emotions and the victims of the situation.

And lastly, to the people who think that it’s pointless to try to help, that you cannot help- there is always a way to help. We may not be able to end the suffering of those affected by this event. As a mother myself, I understand that. However, the idea that we cannot help, don’t need to help, shouldn’t try to help, is a pile of… well. You all know what. I will continue my efforts to try to help as best I can, and I urge you all to help where you can as well. You will find a list of resources here on my blog if you don’t already know how to reach out and show your support. If you know of anything I missed, please let me know.

Image Credit: jethriot via flickr.com