Connecticut School Massacre - Death-Toll currently at 26

[corvus1970]

From Yahoo:
http://gma.yahoo.com/breaking-conn-school-district-locked-down-shooting-report-151955384--abc-news-topstories.html

A heavily armed man invaded a Newtown, Conn., elementary school today, killing his mother and 26 others, mostly children, federal and state sources tell ABC News.

The gunman, identified as Ryan Lanza, 24, of New Jersey, was killed inside of the school.

In addition to the casualties at the school, a dead body was also found in his home, officials said. Sources said Lanza was armed with four weapons and wearing a bullet-proof vest when he opened fire in the elementary school.

Among the dead was the gunman's mother, found in the school, sources told ABC News.

That's just a snippet. You can read the rest at Yahoo news by following the link.

I felt I should take a few moments to post something about this here, largely because I was upset over some of the bickering elsewhere on the board, and this shook me out of that. All of that now seems trite and petty and not worth any of my time. This, this is important.

Shocking, disgusting, enraging, and saddening.

For those of us that ask why, there will never be any answers that truly satisfy that question, nor can there be. No answer can erase the stain of a crime of this magnitude.

For me, at this moment, all I can do is offer up a silent hope that if there is something for us after we die, that it is good, and there waiting for those children with arms spread wide.

[FatherXmas]

So much for finding a refuge from this story here.  Just waiting for the tie in to video games as that still seems to be the current bugaboo.

[corvus1970]

That bugaboo always seems to come up, unfortunately, as will a bunch of other useless crap that, frankly, doesn't address the problem at all.

And sorry, but I felt it was far too important to leave unacknowledged.

[Vasarto]

I hope hell exists...because I want whoever did this to go there.

[JaguarX]

Damn. That incident is just not proper at all. Very low thing to do, shooting up a school, very low.

[sl701]

For me, at this moment, all I can do is offer up a silent hope that if there is something for us after we die, that it is good, and there waiting for those children with arms spread wide.

I wanted to write a lenghtier comment on this particular statement, but my English just isn't good enough. I really, really hope you are right.

I was just checking on my son (he's a little bit over 1 1/2 years old now) when I heard the news. I'm really sick. All those innocent lives, their futures destroyed. I can't even begin to comprehend the pains the parents are going through right now and probably forever will. I'm not a particularly religious person but my thoughts and prayers are with them.

[Kheprera]

Sick to my stomach.  My oldest is in 3rd grade. My youngest turns 5 in 6 days.

Angry that this was the route he chose.

Mourn the victims, let the shooter's name fade into obscurity.

Tonight I'll hug my kids tight, like I do every night.

I  hope that anyone else who feels the need to do something so senseless against *anyone* seeks help.  This... is not an answer to problems.

[corvus1970]

As a friend of mine said elsewhere:

This country needs a universal health care system that includes comprehensive mental health.

And I couldn't agree more.

[Electric-Knight]

 

[faith.grins]

This is still a beautiful world, and people are still intrinsically good, and the ratio of hugs to gunshot victims is still very, very high.

There can be no "justice" for actions like these.  The death of a man who hurts children is still wrong because it never allows him to feel what he has done and regret it.  The only justice we can have is that best revenge:  to live a good life.  To live good lives for the sake of the people whose lives were unjustly cut so short.  To live good lives to remind the rest of us who are frightened and shaken by this that fear only diminishes our ability to reach out to one another and give ourselves comfort.  To live good lives so that those who have been left behind remember that everything we do in life is a risk, even having children, and that sometimes those risks pay off in ways we did not expect.  To remember that pain is not all-consuming, not world-ending, and that this, too, shall pass.

In the words of Charlie Chaplin in 1940, at the dawn of the most horrific conflict humankind has wrought upon itself, wearing the visage of Adolf Hitler himself:  "Do not despair; the hate of man shall pass."

[healix]

It was Ghandi who said:

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the entire ocean does not become dirty.

[Kuriositys Kat]

From Howard Taylor on the Shlock Mercenary website:

Let me share one piece of wisdom, passed on to me by Sarah Eden, whose nine-year-old said these words to her today: "When your heart breaks, you choose what to fill the cracks with. Love or hate. But hate won't ever heal. Only love can do that."


 My heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones today.

[Tanglefoe]

Last reports I saw and read were that the shooter was actually Adam Lanza, the younger brother of Ryan Lanza.  Adam was for some reason carrying Ryan's ID when he was found. 

Anyways, to the victims.  I wonder if there is any address being publicized where people could mail cards or flowers to the families.  Maybe to the school?  It would be cool if we could maybe get something together.

[TimtheEnchanter]

That bugaboo always seems to come up, unfortunately, as will a bunch of other useless crap that, frankly, doesn't address the problem at all.

The media will scapegoat whatever is the most convenient catalyst, so that Society can do what it always has: continue living under the delusion that our world is fine and nothing needs to change.

[corvus1970]

The media will scapegoat whatever is the most convenient catalyst, so that Society can do what it always has: continue living under the delusion that our world is fine and nothing needs to change.

There's not enough "INDEED" in existence to adequately express my agreement.

[faith.grins]

The media will scapegoat whatever is the most convenient catalyst, so that Society can do what it always has: continue living under the delusion that our world is fine and nothing needs to change.

I reject your pessimism.  I choose hope.

[healix]

Press done right..a Norwegian paper left out the killer's name, and instead focused on the victims. Many newspapers could learn from this.

[emu265]

Press done right..a Norwegian paper left out the killer's name, and instead focused on the victims. Many newspapers could learn from this.

That is certainly is something. 

...I work at an elementary school (as a paid volunteer for an after school program, basically)... the thought of the first graders getting so much as hit makes my blood boil.  But this...  I have no words.

[Little David]

It really broke my heart when news of this happened. It's hard for me to say anything meaningful about it. It's always saddening, infuriating when innocent people are made the target of a murderous rampage, but to deliberately target children?

I think what gets me most is how the killer supposedly wore a bulletproof vest, but wound up taking his own life anyway. The mentality behind these kind of people, why they do these kinds of things ... I just can't understand it.

The least I can do is keep the families of those involved in my thoughts and prayers.

So much for finding a refuge from this story here.  Just waiting for the tie in to video games as that still seems to be the current bugaboo.

I've already seen commentators on articles doing this: "When parents take the time to really look at the violent video games, movies and music their kids are listening to...especially when dealing w/someone mentally disabled, then and only then will we begin to address the problem. We have to stop glamorizing violence in entertainment."

What bothers me about statements like these is that I don't think any news sources have reported anything about the killer's entertainment preferences. I guess it shows just how eager some people are to use a tragedy to further their agenda.

[Victoria Victrix]

At least back when I was a kid people would wait at least six months before trying to make political hay out of something like this.

I have no words.  I just...have no words.  All we could do was buy 20 toys and take them to Toys for Tots Saturday.