The End of Innocence: 26 Dead in Connecticut

Children at DisneylandStanding at the curb, look annoyed by the canceled shuttle service from the hotel to LAX, I reminisced about the wonderful time we enjoyed at Disneyland the past few days.

As I glanced at my iPhone to catch up on the news, I saw the headline “Shooting at Connecticut School”. Not again I thought and looked down the street for the bus.

The journey home was uneventful – on-time flights, polite crowds, cramped coach seats – but as we learned more about the “shootings” the sadness sunk in.

At Disneyland, we saw many kids. I often commented on the number of strollers. The new moms and dads taking their kids out for a spin. The easy laughs of children on Peter Pan, Dumbo, It’s a Small World or Alice in Wonderland. Yes we rode them, along with the kids.

The horror of the killings sunk in as we got home. We silently watched the news, asking the same question asked around the world – “Why?”

They should not be lost in the headlines: 6 adults, 12 girls and 8 boys. The children were either 6 or 7 years old. The teachers from 27 to 56 years old.

I went to bed that night thinking of the parents and the unopened Christmas presents, the car seats no longer needed – the horrible aching that would never go away, the new normal in their life. The sister lost forever.

I thought of guns and why we have them. The purpose of 2nd amendment when it was written in 1791 ? 220 years, 11 months, 29 days before this shooting.

I read Twitter and Facebook and shared silently in the outrage of my social media friends. The ones who post pictures and videos of themselves shooting their guns for fun were silent. The teachers were livid. Everyone was sad.

its a small world DisneylandI watched the Sunday morning news programs and listened carefully to the gun control debate. The pro-gun Senators and Congressman choose not to participate.

If a defense was to be made, it was the background checks worked, the killer was not allowed to a gun a few days earlier. He used his mom’s weapons. He was mentally ill – so guns are not to blame.

Left out was that it seems he selected the automatic weapons from his mom’s gun collection, a Bushmaster M4 semi automatic weapon  similar to the model used by soldiers in Iraq, not the deer hunting rifles. He is thought to have used ammunition designed to inflect as much damage as possible, not humane ammunition – an oxymoron at the least. It appears that he knew what he was doing.

President Obama said what he needed to say. He shed a sincere tear thinking of his own 14 and 11 aged children. Then he said:

As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it is an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.

Nice words.

We are at an inflection point in the United States. Advanced countries have adopted more reasonable gun laws for decades. The U.S. has taken a simple concept of self protection and allowed it to be morphed into the absurd. Don’t let the details of the Sandy Hook killings distract from the main point – the United States must become civilized.

I often talk about memories in the context of Alzheimer’s. If you have not experienced an older person not remembering their husband or wife or where they lived for years, think of the small child who will never have the chance to make those memories.

I am sad.

Alan

 

 

Share this post:

9 thoughts on “The End of Innocence: 26 Dead in Connecticut

  1. We in Britain feel your pain and our thoughts are with you. Why should one woman need so many guns to protect her home and family? So many ‘why’s “that require answers. Let’s hope 2013 will help to provide some.

    1. Love u 2 Daniel 😉 but this topic is too important not to give my voice to. It is time to stand up, make meaningful and thoughtful changes to protect children, movie goers, high school kids, university students and …

      1. We simply can not stop madness. This idiot used an assault rifle because it was available. He would have used a hunting shotgun and would have done the same damage. And nobody absolutely nobody is even thinking of outlawing, banning hunting guns. Not even Michael Moore.

      2. I agree with you, Alan. Even though this is a blog about climbing, you’ve already stated your case for the fight against Alzheimer’s and your blog is, after all, a community blog. And it’s also YOUR blog. Therefore, if you feel the need to comment on this tragedy, so be it. Good on you, mate.
        Kat

  2. Well said, Alan. An unimaginably horrific catastrophe. Why is it that anyone can any weapon from an unregistered “dealer” without a background check? According to the NY Times, around 3.5 million of these A-15 style semiautomatic rifles have been sold in the US, for domestic use, since 1986. “Enthusiasts” apparently need customizable assault rifles with hight velocity muzzles and 30 round magazines for target shooting and for assassinating deer. This is a “sport”. Some will spring for the grenade launcher option, presumably in wait for the black helicopters. I don’t think this is what the founding fathers had in mind when the second amendment was forged. Restricting the proliferation of weapons and ammunition designed and made for war will not impinge on anyone’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and may inhibit a future massacre of innocents.

Comments are closed.