If you haven't been living under a rock you probably have heard about the shooting at Northern Illinois University on Valentine's Day. 6 people including the shooter were killed, and 16 others wounded.
And everyone has an opinion. I've had the pleasure of hearing debates on gun control. Whether or not this kind of thing can be prevented. Whether or not the campus security was up to par. Whether people with psychiatric disabilities should be forced to take their medicines.
I want to use this opportunity to tell you all to please be quiet.
Somewhere right now is a mother who's world just came crashing down. A father right now is grieving the little girl that he taught to ride a bike. Somewhere at NIU, a student is learning the hard way whether the urban legend about getting all As for a semester if your roommate dies is true.
Someone woke up this morning without a best friend. Someone woke up this morning without an older brother. There are families, students, teachers that will never know "normal" again. There is a father trying to figure out how his son who was by all accounts a 'good kid' did something so heinous I can't begin to wrap my head around it. Someone just lost the girlfriend they loved with every last bit of their heart.
Somewhere, a person picked up the phone to call a loved one, and instead got news that would change their lives forever. Somewhere someone's world just stopped. Their lives, their world, nothing will ever be the same again.
So please, just for a second. Stop bickering about gun control. Or campus safety. Or psychotropic drugs. Stop using this to justify your position or to further your political agenda. Just for a second, let the people affected put their lives back together a little bit before you use them as an example.
Like I said on another site. I am so thankful all of my loved one's are safe, but my heart is broken for the people who aren't lucky enough to say that.
So just stop.
3 comments:
Hey I wasn't sure if you know, but Dan Parmenter was the little and only brother of Kristen Parmenter of Augustana. You would remember her from all the drunkin nights we spent at Mis B's. I just found out this morning and thought I would help spread the word to those who know the Parmenter family. Thank you for your blog too by the way. I'm sure it really means a lot to everyone. :)
Sadly, events like this seem to be on the increase, so it's likely that at some point in the future we'll all get a taste of the loss that the survivors of this tragic event have suffered through.
As a father, I can't even imagine the heartache that would accompany the loss of one of my daughters to such senseless violence. My sympathies go out to these poor people.
This is awesoome
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