What happened today was horrid.
The way the media outlets handled it was worse.
The fact that there is a logo circulating around Facebook for those who wish to use it as their timeline cover image is an abomination.
A fucking logo.
Some jackass felt the way to honor the memory of 28 dead men, women, and children was to create a Facebook logo and pitch it out there for everyone to use.
In other news, another of my FB contacts posted a beautiful photo of waterfire, that wonderful gathering of the community. Of course, it mentions Jeff Buckley was singing "Hallelujah". Really? Great song to honor the dead. "Maybe there's a God above / But all I ever learned from love / Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you"
It's a horrible song sung beautifully, so I guess that makes it okay to use in every damned way that is touching, right? It's not a love song.
ABC had a live feed on their web site. It was updated every few minutes with alleged facts, later proven to be false. I listened to an NPR reporter on the ground who didn't report a single fact he couldn't verify for himself. I thought him to be useless at first, later I realized the journalistic integrity of it all.
My heart goes out to the families affected, and I am saddened that it happened at all. I am thankful for the fact that my children are safe, or at least as safe as they can be in this world.
I feel badly for those mentally troubled people who are unable to find a better way out than murder and suicide. I'd like to think that someday we will focus on caring for them rather than taking away our right to bear arms, but I refuse to go deeper into THAT argument. Suffice to say, we need a better way to care for the sick.
I'm just ranting, but I think you know how I feel. There's so much more to say, but I'm having trouble saying it coherently.
I'll take your abuse now, thanks.
And the "facts" are still in flux, due to the media trying to get the scoop rather than the facts. Seriously, interviewing the KIDS?! I don't care if the parents said it was okay... NOT OKAY!
ReplyDeleteA mentally ill individual killed his mother and a class full of kids. Normal people just can't understand it, no matter what we blame. Time to just be quiet for a while and show some respect...
be quiet and then ponder.... where ARE we in this country? where are we going? what do we really VALUE? yes, we DO need a better way to care for the mentally ill, the desperate, the anxious, and the stressed out who are members of our society. we cannot do that if we are distracted by knee jerk reactions regarding gun control. we need to reconnect in this society. we need to teach our children critical thinking and problem solving skills that include lessons on asking for help... and, yes, perhaps now is not the time to rush to solutions. now we need time to support those families in their grief. we need to be in this moment so we can move forward in the next moment. if nothing else comes of this.... i hope it is that. be in the moment, listen, observe; reach out.
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