Crazies

I was reading today about the parents of AZ shooter Jared Lee Loughner. They are truly a mess. I can't imagine the horror of having your child do something like that. It would hurt me so much more, to be one of them than it would to be as parent of a victim. How could you not blame yourself? I'm sure their parenting skills will be scrutinized but we know that even a perfectly normal upbringing can breed a nightmare: Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, one or two of my siblings :) LOL! Good thing I don't name names, huh? Someone might send me a strongly worded message!! Anyway they are apparently extremely distraught. My heart goes out to them. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the rhetoric of people running for office or just running their mouths has a huge impact on people. I get so angry at the sheer ignorance around me. I can't even tell you how many times I've heard my kids say that one of their friends say they want to kill our president or that their parents do. I wonder if they pause to think that THAT could be planting a seed. When I was a little girl I had a primary teacher tell us that the word "kill" hurt her ears. That it wasn't appropriate to say "I'm going to kill you" even in fun. I actually have stuck to that one and though I haven't inspired my kids to never say it as well as my old primary teacher did, I still call them on it if I hear it. It hurts my ears too.
Many people, including myself, was eager to hear what Jon Stewart would say on the matter. His first show to air following 9-11 was one of the most moving things I've seen in my life. One of the first time I realized the depth there. He's a comedian but he's extraordinarily intelligent and adept at what he does. Last nights show was sincere and concerned with just the right amount of levity. The man who has become the voice of sanity in an insane world said:

"I do think it’s important for us to watch our rhetoric. I do think it’s a worthwhile goal not to conflate our political opponents with enemies. If for no other reason, than to draw a better distinction between the manifestos of paranoid mad men and what passes for acceptable political and pundit speech.
It would be really nice if the ramblings of crazy people didn’t in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on TV.
Let’s make troubled individuals easier to spot."

The stories of the people who rushed in to help are so moving. They are a reminder that the world isn't completely lost in the shuffle of madness. That the crazies are fewer than the normal, good people. We'll see tragedy again but despite the way it seems on TV, any neighborhood Tea Party, and some people's family reunions, sanity will always prevail.

A shout out to my NEW dedicated readers :) If you have known me for any amount of time you will know this. The people who love me are very important to me. I would do nothing to harm them in any way. Sometimes the truth is painful and I do my best to be truthful.