That is what President Obama said about the shooting in Arizona yesterday morning. Here is one version of the story the AP released: CLICK HERE but I'm sure you've heard about it so I won't go into details. Basically, the gunman was out to assassinate Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She, along with thirteen others, were wounded. Six were killed.
Of course there will be fallout about gun control, Democrats Vs. Republicans, the Tea Party, perhaps even smoking pot (as the shooter was known to do). Anything we can cling on to to try and make sense of why someone would go on a shooting spree.
The other day, my husband and I were watching Grey's Anatomy. It was an episode about a kid who went on a shooting rampage at a local college. Happily but unrealistically, no one died. The biggest conflict occurred when a patient in major surgery was identified as the shooter. Half of the doctors left, choosing to help the victims instead of the shooter. But two remained, taking their Hippocratic oaths to heart. Then it showed what was going on in the waiting room, which of course was filled with the friends and family of the victims. And the mother of the shooter. As she's waiting to hear if her son is alive or dead, the police take her away for questioning. Of course she is mortified. But she's still a mother. No one is sitting with her, not a single doctor is giving her updates on her son's condition. The woman keeps it together a lot better than most people in her shoes would, I believe. Then, as she's sitting there in her own private hell, a doctor approaches her (one of the ones who left the surgery room before) and gives her the news she so badly wants to hear: her son is still alive. At that very moment, that's all she cared about. Her baby was still alive.
I think a lot of times when we struggle to make sense of why such horrific tragedies happen, we look to other stories we're familiar with. Some are ground in factual history (Columbine), some might be Biblical, others are fictionalized accounts (like the Grey's Anatomy episode).
Personally, I'm not going to blame any one political view or a young man's drug habit. I'm not going to demand stricter legislation for guns. Not now. Right now, I'm praying for everyone involved, either directly or by association. I truly believe that's how I can make a difference.
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