Since last night (Philippine time), I have been glued to CNN and US news - saddened and horrified over the news about the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting. This happened during the midnight showing of the Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rising. My prayers and condolences go out to all the victims, family, and friends of this horrific incident.
First off, I wanted to say that I completely agree with Anderson (Cooper) when he said on his show Anderson Cooper 360 that he will only say the gunman's name a few times - that it is typical in appalling events like these to remember the killer's name more than the victims (I paraphrased). So I urge everyone, as you Google or tweet or post or blog about this tragedy, that you focus more on stories about the victims - their lives and their stories, instead of the monster who started this all.
I saw a news cast where it was mentioned that the gunman dyed his hair red and he mentioned that he was "The Joker." I also read that he lived alone and kept to himself. In my opinion, this looks to be the work of a deranged person who has lost all touch with reality. In fact, the first time I saw this on the news my first reaction was "wow, this is uncannily similar to the plot of the movie where this happened." I can't even begin to imagine what pushed this man over the edge to do all this horrific things.
This tragedy has reminded me once again about the importance of surrounding a person with people who exert a good influence and, if not a loving, at least a supportive environment. I don't claim to be an expert in human behavior, and i understand that there are issues that can't be solved by merely having someone to talk to, but I am a firm believer in the power of knowing that I can talk (or chat or email) to someone about what I am going through, good or bad. I know I speak for a lot of you out there when I say that there has been a lot of times in my life where all it took was to have someone ask me how I am doing, in order for me to know that someone still cares. And that made all the difference. I am extremely grateful to my own support system - my partner, friends, and family. I am going to spend a little bit more time today showing them how important they are to me. Maybe through a text, a phone call, a hug, or even a good laugh. I suggest you do the same.
For more information on this tragedy, please go to this
link.
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