Yet another killing…

(  I usually avoid "serious" or sensational subjects, but the headline in my local paper
"17 killed in a school schooting" was more than I could ignore.)

For what else are we to label it?

Have there not been enough deaths –

• In the name of a god, your’s, mine, his, her’s, their’s?
• As retribution: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?
• In the name of “my way of life is better than yours – you are in my way, i.e. you have to go?
• In the name of conquering new lands, be it by importing disease or by actually killing off those already living there – on the coveted land?
• Due to disease, whether brought on by one’s own habits or lack thereof, or simply by random genetic snafus?

Is it not enough that we will all die someday?

What can we do to prevent such senselessness?

I would suggest:

• Practice any, or no, religion – they all basically expound peacefulness, gentleness and love
• To punish the killer with death does not bring back those killed it simply allows society to do the same, ie kill. Follow the commandment “I will not kill”
• Who determines who’s way of life is good, bad or indifferent and who decides which is the best, the most correct? Thus I will let others determine their own.
• Why does any society need to kill an existing one? Can we not share?
• What explanation is there for a baby’s inherited gene combinations that were unknown until that point? Why do some patterns cause chaos, others remain silent? Let’s support the research, the possibility to find new treatments

In short – get along with everyone (I know that asking one to literally love everyone will never happen, but can’t we ignore other’s faults as we expect them to ignore ours!).

Can we not all pledge to try and hold our tongues, try and listen to the other, try and promote justice (not retribution), try to see the other side of the story, try to hear the silent cry of those seeking justification or notoriety simply to prove that they exist?

I don’t know this particular story – having only read the headlines – but where were we when this person was planning, suffering, implementing? This person (I don’t even know if it was one, several, male or female) didn’t live in a vacuum; there were others around him/her/they; there surely were signs.

I totally agree with another blogger

"I won't wait until the bodies are in the ground"!

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/02/15/wont-wait-bodies-ground-talk-guns/