It's been a week since the horrific shootings in Auroa, Colorado. Like most people, I was completely shocked and outraged waking up to the news last week Friday. I thought, 'It could have been us.' I've been to midnight screenings before. I am that person who's passionate about a movie to go out and see it first thing. It's what's so fun about these sorts of movie franchises...especially superhero franchises.
I think that's why we can all relate to this shooting. We all go and see movies. We all don't expect to not come back from it. The fact that most of the victims were only in their 20's; celebrating birthdays, just finishing masters degrees, going out with all of their buds for the night....it just makes it all the more heart breaking.
And then there's Jessica Ghawi. She was here in Toronto just a month ago witnessing the Eaton Centre shootings...missing being in the middle of it by mere minutes. She wrote about her own thoughts on how she felt that day:
"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....I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift."
What a horrible sense of irony this is. I suppose the only shred of comfort for Jessica's family is her appreciation for everything around her at such a young age...and just weeks before her own death. Jessica became the face of this horrendous crime during a time last week when not all of the victims were known. Her brother wanted to get her face out there, show everyone what was lost. His mission is to make the victims names known ahead of the killers. Many people in the media refuse to say the name of the suspect. Anderson Cooper refers to him as simply the suspect or alleged killer, and I saw Whoopi on The View scold herself for saying his name yesterday. It's a rebellion of sorts. All the killer wanted was attention for his sick agenda. Putting all of the focus on the victims and their stories is a way to beat the killer at his own game.
It's a nice thought, but of course the media has been splashing his image and name all over the news. I'm so tired of hearing about him. His plans. How many guns and ammunition he bought. His now insane and confused appearance.
It is nice to see the good, if that's possible, that comes out of these
situations. People coming together to mourn the victims in candlelight
vigils. People who never met the victims are now setting up funds in
their names via social media. Three hospitals saying they'll reduce or
eliminate the hospital fees of shooting victims. Christian Bale visiting
with the shooting victims in the hospitals, and then praying with
mourners at the makeshift memorial. I hope we take this time to remember
what humanity really stands for. We come together during these hard
times and lean on one another for support. We are compassionate and
caring. We are respectful of what each life has to offer. We are decent,
good people. This is what the murderer tried to disrupt. He came into a safe place where we all come together as decent people, and he tried to take that away from us. It's up to us to show him that's not possible. We have to move on and cannot be scared to leave our homes. The truth is, we really don't know when our last day is. We should cherish each day and each moment. If you need reminding of this, just read about the victims' stories. Each of them had a story and a life worth cherishing. Let's remember them by living our lives to the fullest.
