I am sure that by this time everyone has heard of the tragic Colorado shooting that took place when a 24 year-old man stormed a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises and unleashed a torrent of senseless violence on unsuspecting moviegoers. Before, I continue I want to express how truly saddened I am by this news. I have no words which can even begin to describe the tragedy of this event. My thoughts are with the families and survivors.
I have been hesitant to address this issue as I feel that any sort of platitudes or condolences I can offer would just seem empty. Everyone from President Obama to Howard Stern has expressed their concern, meanwhile the media continues to exploit and sensationalize this as they do everything else. Right now, I do not know what I can add to the conversation. It would be cliche and distasteful to draw any correlations between the movie and the incident, and would miss the point completely.
I think what really brings this horror home is that even while it was happening I was sitting in a theater thousands of miles away with my own friends partaking of the very same movie that the victims had set out that night to see. Being the midnight opening for a popular comic book movie only further deepens this tragedy for me. I think of the type of people who would attend a Thursday midnight opening of a Batman movie, and I know many of them were very much like myself. I can only imagine my own night of anticipation and joy ending so terribly.
Amongst all the news coverage and the milieu of opinions on this event we need to make sure that the one thing that does not get lost are the victims. I found a poignant article by the Washington Times columnist Eric Golub, of which I would like to share a portion.
--We say we will never forget, but let's be honest. Many of us will. When the news cycle changes, a dozen people will fade from our consciousness.
This cannot happen. Not this time. Nine of the twelve victims were between ages 23 and 32. One was eighteen. One was only six years old. Another was 51, and his children are now orphans. One of the victims was celebrating their birthday.
Commit their names to memory.
Jonathan T. Blunk, 26: Mr. Blunk lost his life shielding his girlfriend, Jansen Young, pushing her beneath the seat and laying infront of her. Formerly in the Navy, Mr. Blunk worked at a hardware store in Colorado at the time of the shooting.
Alexander J. Boik, 18: "The life of the party," Mr. Bolk had a love of softball, movies and hoped to become an art teacher.
Jesse E. Childress, 29: An Air Force reservist, Jesse Childress loved sports, the Denver Broncos, comic books and superhero movies. The Denver Post reported that Mr. Childress had recently named his new car the "Batmobile." Mr. Childress was at Buckley Airforce Base.
Gordon Cowden, 51: "He will be remembered for his devotion to his children and for always trying his best to do the right thing, no matter the obstacle," a family statement said. Mr. Cowden was attending the movie with his children, both of whom survived.
Jessica Ghawi, 24: An aspiring sports journalist, Jessica Ghawi’s mother describes her as a person "easy to fall in love with." Ghawi survived the shootings at a Toronto mall last month, blogging about that experience:
"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders’ faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath."
John T. Larimer, 27: Petty Officer John T. Larimer joined the Navy in 2012. He was stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado.
"I am incredibly saddened by the loss of Petty Officer John Larimer -- he was an outstanding shipmate," Larimer's commanding officer, Cmdr. Jeffrey Jakuboski, said.
Matthew McQuinn, 27: One of the stories extreme heroes, Matthew McQuinn of St. Paris, Ohio, died after diving on top of his girlfriend Samantha Yowler. Ms. Yowler’s brother had gone to the film with the couple, brother and sister both survived.
Micayla Medek, 23: A recent graduate from William C. Hinkley High School in Aurora, Ms. Medek was planning a trip to India, but first she was attending the College of Aurora.
Veronica Moser, 6: The youngest to lose her life, Veronica had just learned to swim. She was at the movie with her mother Ashley Moser who remains in critical condition in the hospital after gunshots to the neck and abdomen.
Alex M. Sullivan, 27: Celebrating his birthday with a midnight show, Mr. Sullivan would have celebrated his first wedding anniversary with his wife, Cassie, over the weekend. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Alex's family has called him their "real life superhero."
Alexander Teves, 24: "One of the best men I ever knew. The world isn't as good a place without him," a friend says of Mr. Teves. Mr. Teves loved Spider-man and his alma mater, the University of Arizona. He had just earned his master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Denver.
Rebecca Wingo, 32: Ms. Wingo’s father posted to his Facebook page "I lost my daughter yesterday to a mad man, my grief right now is inconsolable, I hear she died instantly, without pain, however the pain is unbearable."
Now add in 59 more people who were wounded but lucky enough to survive. Now multiply all of these people by their families, their friends, and acquaintances who interacted with them frequently if not daily. So many more people were hurt, and will continue to hurt. Reaching out to them could prevent the tragedy from being compounded.
I don't know them. I never met them. For me, telling their stories would be impossible. For those who want to honor their memory, add to these paragraphs. Tell their stories.--
I know this is not the first or (unfortunately) last event of this kind, but for me it is especially poignant. I love superheroes and comics. They give us hope for ourselves and our world. They make us want to be better people and give us examples of heroism, kindness, and courage. Most importantly, they teach us that we can all be heroes in our own way, and they show us that even among all the bad and evil in the world we can still find true goodness. I believe that is something we can all stand to remember a little more.
So please think of the victims of this crime and their families, and though you may never meet them there are still many others in this world in need of help. As we move forward I can only ask that you never be afraid to reach out and help those you see around you, even if it is only something as simple as lending your ear to listen. Sometimes a kind word or a show of compassion can make all the difference in people's lives. There are no superheroes, but that just means we have even more responsibility to be the heroes that other people need us to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment