Weekend Reflections

The massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT...it's all over and unavoidable; the news, Facebook, the radio, blog posts such as this, Twitter, everywhere. Frankly, unless you are unplugged and out of touch with humanity and the world, then chances are you know what happened. Twenty-six lives lost, of those were 20 very innocent little children. No, I do not recognize the mother of the shooter, or the shooter, as being included in those lives lost because I feel they do not need the recognition. I am talking about the children and the staff at Sandy Hook whose only crime was going to school that day. And every one of those 26 deserve to be here today.

This is something that has rocked not just the nation, but the world. I am a mother of six children, 4 of which would have attended that school had that been the area we lived in. For me, a tragedy like this cuts deep, deep into my soul. Newtown, CT needs to heal, as well as the Nation, and so does the world. Apart from Westboro Baptist Church, I have yet to hear a person say that any of those 26 deserved it. No. They did not. However, it happened. Newtown, CT may as well have been Anytown, USA because it COULD have happened anywhere.

Now you hear the people screaming -- NO MORE GUNS! STRICTER GUN LAWS! MORE GUN CONTROL! Well, I'm going to say this plain and simple for all THIS IS NOT A GUN CONTROL ISSUE!!!!! When do we realize that it's not about the guns? If it wasn't a gun, it would have been a knife, an explosive device, or any number of things that can be used to inflict injury and death. Guns aren't killing people. People are killing people, and that's the whole of it. People have been killing people for ages. It isn't anything new. Take away the guns, and those who wish to kill just find another means. Stop blaming guns. Stop blaming inanimate objects for that matter.

There are those that are pointing the finger at the Autism Community with wild-haired beliefs that autism causes mass murderers. Ummm, really? I think not. And if they don't blame autism, people will point the finger at bi-polar, schizophrenia, or any number of other issues. Stop pointing fingers. Go get yourself educated and get off the blame wagon. People live and function with these things everyday.

Frankly, I'm waiting for the conspiracy theories to start. You know, the ones that will spread with rumors that the murderer was a product of government brain-washing. The rumors that will say he was trained to do this just so the government could come sweeping in and impose all sorts of anti-gun laws on a nation whose Second Amendment Rights include the Right to Bear Arms. To those people I say, GET A GRIP ON REALITY. You need to stop before you ever even think of going there. How is it I can say that someone out there has a conspiracy theory like this? That's easy. There are always those who talk crazy conspiracy theories. Please come back to reality or crawl back under the rock you crawled out from; not everyone is out to get you.

All of these things instill fear. Instead of talking about the killer, instead of pointing the finger at any number of things, and instead of allowing the media to keep projecting all of these negative messages into the public (makes for such great news, doesn't it?), change the conversation. Yes, I said change the conversation. Talk about true issues that matter. Let's get into a discussion on mental health and how we can help. Let's stop the stigma that "chemical imbalances" aren't the norm. Hey, buddy, what's normal for you isn't necessarily normal for the next guy. Stop making them feel like less of a person. If your child has ADD, ADHD, Autism, Bi-Polar, ODD, and the list goes on, get them the help they need and get yourself some support. This is not the time to feel embarrassed or ashamed. If you are too concerned about how those things reflect on you as a parent, then you have more problems than your own kid because that means you're spending too much time worrying about how YOU LOOK and no where near enough time investing in your child to make sure that he or she becomes the best person that he or she can become; something as a parent you should be doing for ANY and ALL of your children. So, get help. Get yourself help. Find not only a way to support your child, but a support system for yourself. Children, all children, don't come without challenges of one sort or another. Just because the "challenge" presented to you wasn't what you wanted doesn't give you a right to be hush hush about it. It has been proven time and time again that ignoring something does not make it go away. In many instances, it can further exacerbate the problem.

Now to get off my soapbox here, I will end with this. Twenty-six human being lost their lives, and many more than that have lost their innocence due to the actions of someone who needed help and wasn't given that help. TWENTY-SIX. Now is not the time to act out in violence, or in anger. It is time to stop looking at our differences. Now is the time to gather your prayers, blessings, energies and candles. This is a time to remember the innocent lives that were lost and pray for them, for their families, and for healing. However you pray, whomever you pray to, now is the time to set aside our religious differences and lend our energies to these families. Forget the person who caused these people's lives to end earlier than they should have, but, rather, remember those who died. If you do nothing else, remember just one name of those twenty-six. 

Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Madeleine Hsu, 6
Catherine Hubbard, 6

Chase Kowalski, 7

Jesse Lewis, 6

James Mattioli, 6

Grace McDonnell, 7

Emilie Parker, 6

Jack Pinto, 6

Noah Pozner, 6

Caroline Previdi, 6

Jessica Rekos, 6

Avielle Richman, 6

Benjamin Wheeler, 6

Allison N. Wyatt, 6

Rachel Davino, 29, Teacher

Dawn Hochsprung, 47, School principal

Anne Marie Murphy, 52, Teacher

Lauren Rousseau, 30, Teacher

Mary Sherlach, 56, School Psychologist

Victoria Soto, 27, Teacher

Lift them up, that the memory of them carries on. Peace & Blessings to all.