American flags surrounding the Washington Monument in Washington are lowered to half-staff in a mark of respect for the victims on the Connecticut elementary school shootings (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
I wonder if I am the only one who questions the following: Are we, as Americans, Parents, and Christians doing enough to prevent terrible tragedies like the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school? As a clinician in the helping profession, I am extremely saddened and affected by the news that 27 people died today. The tragedy is even worse and horrific in nature as the majority of the victims were children. Why? Why do these events seem to be increasing in frequency in today’s society?
I recall another time that I felt like this following the Columbine school shootings. Since then, there have been many other similar tragedies, with the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting happening less than six months ago. I write this post not to ignite political debate or polarize the issue, but to ignite the true horror, revulsion, anger, and sadness deep in our hearts that these mass shootings continue to happen. My fear is that this shooting will not be the last – and even worse, that there will come a time that tragic events like the one in Newtown, Connecticut will not resonate the appropriate feelings of shock and horror, but one of feeling numb and apathetic to the point of becoming detached, unaffected and ultimately desensitized. At that point, I fear we will have truly lost our humanity.
Our Thoughts & Prayers Are With The Victims And Families in Newtown, Connecticut.
Please join me in not only keeping the victims and families in Newtown in your thoughts and prayers, but to keep those you love safe and hold them close. Tell them you love them – as often as possible.
Author’s note: I will leave comments for this post open. Please be considerate of others when posting….no haters, spammers or comedians…..this is not the time, place or forum for that. I am truly interested in how this has affected others. It is also my hope and intent that when enough people get behind an important issue or cause such as this one, then change for the better can happen.
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Keep functioning ,great job!
Glad you liked it – thanks for stopping by!
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Hey Rich–Wonderful and powerful words to ignite change. I completely agree that we need to call on our collective anger and revulsion to bring positive change. I honestly believe in my heart of social work hearts that gun control, secure school campuses, and attention to proactive measures to identify, screen and treat persons with mental issues are on the horizon. We’ve been guilty of desensitization on a lot of topics and tragedies, but I don’t think Sandy Hook Elementary will be relegated to the back burner.
Thank you for highlighting Morgan Freeman’s insightful words. But for the gun control debate, I couldn’t agree more.
It’s great to connect with a fellow LCSW.
Thanks for a wonderful, insightful post.
Hi Linda, thanks very much for stopping by and posting your comments. As a parent and social worker….I just feel compelled to do something – to take action. It is very refreshing [and gives me much hope] that there are others [such as yourself] who will not sit idly by and ignore this. Thanks for all that you do! I sincerely appreciate you dropping by…..I think there is much work ahead of us and look forward to networking with you in the future. Best Regards, RS
Thank you for posting. Great blog and very important information to share!!!
Hi Michelle! Thanks for reading and posting your comments – I appreciate that! Please be sure to scroll down toward the bottom of the post – I’ve included several resources from fellow clinicians on how to talk to children about help them cope with the recent tragedy. Take Care, Rich
Ive to say, I dont know if its the clashing colors or the dangerous grammar, however this weblog is hideous! I mean, I dont need to sound like a know-it-all or something, but might you could have possibly put a little bit more effort into this subject. Its really attention-grabbing, however you dont signify it nicely in any respect, man. Anyway, in my language, there usually are not much good supply like this.
Ahhh, the obligatory Hater…..I was wondering when one would show up here. At first I considered not posting this comment. However, after careful thought and consideration, I decided to let this person’s voice be heard. As a person who values ‘function over form’ their post made me reflect that in my haste and extreme revulsion to the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut – perhaps I failed to capture what I was hoping to achieve with my recent post. My blog is far from being slick and flashy in its presentation…..As a parent, my recent update was simply a reflection of my strong emotional reaction to the senseless act of dozens of children and school personnel being murdered by a seriously disturbed individual.
In a way, I’m glad this person did post their comments as it serves to prove my point that we, as a Nation, seem to be slowly losing our humanity and ability to care about each other. I am deeply concerned about how unaffected our society has truly become….to the point of being more and more desensitized to this kind of violence. As an example, the very first comment received after my post was published focused not about the horror related to this tragedy or how it affected them on a personal level, but solely on “the clashing colors” and “the dangerous grammar”….and described my “weblog” as being “hideous.”
One of the most insightful reactions [in my opinion] from the recent tragedy came not from one of our elected officials, but from the actor, Morgan Freeman. He seems to nail the fact that if the gunman had just taken his own life…the American public would not even know his name. Freeman states, “Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he’ll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.”
Freeman directs sharp criticism at the “sensationalist media.” I agree with him that the subsequent feeding frenzy of media attention on the gunman where he becomes instantly and infamously immortalized for murdering children [CNN even began to compare ‘statistics’ to similar heinous acts of other mass-murderers] certainly plays a role in tragedies like this. Stricter gun control and the need to improve mental health care in America also need to be addressed as possible solutions.
To help reiterate my purpose and intent for posting, “Our Thoughts & Prayers Are With The Victims And Families in Newtown, Connecticut….But Are We Doing Enough To Prevent Future Tragedies?” I would like to challenge everyone who read this to take action….to be affected, to not simply ignore the terrible events of December 14, 2012.
My hope in using the medium of this Internet blog is that we actually pause to think about what happened and take some responsibility – hold ourselves to a higher moral standard. Challenge our leaders and lawmakers to take action. I really am interested in hearing other’s reactions to this and more importantly, people’s ideas on how to take decisive steps to ensure this never happens again – ever.
Here are several resources for parent’s with children or people who have been struggling to cope following the tragedy in Newtown…[I will also re-post these links in my Blogroll]:
http://healdsburg.patch.com/blog_posts/tips-to-help-children-cope-with-traumatic-events
http://kylenebeers.com/blog/2012/12/15/on-monday/
http://www.sparklestories.com/blog/2012/12/blog/being-with-your-children-in-the-face-of-the-sandy-hook-free-story/
http://gawker.com/5968818/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAMbZyTp_U8
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drdaniel/2012/12/14/bully-or-bullied
http://www.talktherapybiz.com/anxiety-tips-sandy-hook-elementary-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-gun-control-and-mental-health-care/
Another good article to check-out on the importance of improving mental health in America:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/16/newtown-mental-health/1773479/
Another good resource…..
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/aftermath.aspx
http://smmsguidance.blogspot.com/
Rich, I see you posted my article, “Tips to Help Children Cope with Traumatic Events” at the top of your list of helpful links. Thank you for including me!
With regard to negative comments, my mother always used to say, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” There is a way to provide thoughtful criticism to others without attacking and name-calling. When I see name-calling in a statement, I immediately discount the entire thing. Civilized people should be able to have thoughtful, meaningful dialogue without insulting each other.
Although the internet is a wonderful, valuable tool, it allows a soapbox for a lot of people who wouldn’t otherwise have one, and don’t really have anything meaningful to say other than criticizing others.
Thank you for providing your blog as a valuable resource to the community. When these types of tragedies occur, it is our job as mental health providers to answer questions of worried parents, and communities to the best of our abilities which you do beautifully with your thoughtful site.
All the best,
Laura C. Strom, MS, LMFT, LPCC
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist MFC 49174
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor LPC 149
Santa Rosa, CA
Hi Laura, Thanks so much for your “+” comments…..I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to drop by! I agree that the internet has both pros and cons and I don’t expect everyone to understand or agree with my point of view. Again, I really appreciate you sharing your article – well done! It is my sincere hope that despite the recent tragic events, that somehow people will find a way to unite and some good will come from this.
Thanks for all that you do in your work to help others – I look forward to reading your future articles!
Warm Regards,
Rich Schlauch, MSW, LISW-CP, LCSW
While were on the topic of desensitization and concerns about disaffected Americans…..I couldn’t believe the flurry of racist tweets during President Obama’s address to the victims’ families during a special memorial service [I really hesitate to encourage others' to view the link below - it really is sad, pathetic and unbelievable in how some people reacted to NFL football being preempted in order to broadcast the special memorial services].
http://mashable.com/2012/12/17/sunday-night-football-newtown/
Regardless of your politics, try to show show some respect for the victims’ families at the very least! Looks like we have a very long and hard road ahead of us America…..
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Post-Script….found this excerpt by CRISTINA COSTANTINI, ABC NEWS National Affairs Correspondent.
“When you look at a list of mass shootings in the last 30 years, in which a single gunman killed at least four people, this year does have the highest number of incidents with six mass shooting incidents excluding today’s tragedy, according to a list compiled this year by Mother Jones. The Aurora movie theater shooting in Colorado, the Sikh shooting in Wisconsin, and the Seattle cafe shooting are among this year’s massacres.
In 49 of the 61 cases the gunmen obtained the weapons legally, and the majority of those weapons used were semi-automatic. Forty three of the 61 killers were white males, and one was a female, according to the list. The murders happened in 30 states around the country, and just under half of them were school or workplace shootings, according to The Mother Jones report.
Disturbingly, there have only been three years since 1982, according to the Mother Jones data, during which the United States didn’t experience a mass shooting.”
Morgan Freeman:
“You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here’s why.
It’s because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single victim of Columbine? Disturbed
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he’ll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.
CNN’s article says that if the body count “holds up”, this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer’s face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer’s identity? None that I’ve seen yet. Because they don’t sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you’ve just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.
You can help by forgetting you ever read this man’s name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news.”