Today a lone gunman walked into a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight" and opened fire. He shot 71 people, killing 12. The youngest murdered victim was only 12 years old.
This is not the first tragedy of this kind in this country and, sadly, it is not likely to be the last either.
Amidst the news stories showing the terror those people experienced and the profile of the killer and the logistics of how it all went down, there was no end to the heated debate over gun control in the US once again. It's an argument I'm so damned sick of I could puke.
As with each previous time this debate arose, the arguing has always fallen into the pit of "well, if you believe that you're just stupid!" Debate that results in name calling will never produce thoughtful response to any issue. Of course, the conservatives who want to interpret their "right to bear arms" as "we all have the right to own a gun and use it for our own protection" were out in full force. They tend to do that when someone, like the shooter in this case, shines a bad light on their cause. And this shooter certainly did that. It's easy for the conservative corp to believe that only bad people would do something like this therefore they are an exception to the rule and we should all just nod and agree. But in this case, this shooter (I won't use his name because that would dishonor his victims, in my opinion) was not a bad man. He was troubled, yes. But he passed every single background check with flying colors. His one discretion being a parking ticket he received some years before. At first glance, he seemed perfectly "normal". So, he was able to walk into three different sporting good stores and purchase his weapons including an assault rifle. I have to ask....why do they sell assault rifles at sporting goods store? Don't tell me because there are "collectors" out there and they have a right to purchase whatever they like. Bullshit! No one needs to "collect" assault rifles as a hobby. For gods sake, collect stamps, coins, baseball cards but not assault rifles. Why this country cannot ban the sale of assault weapons, exploding bullets, and other accouterments whose sole purpose is to kill another human being is beyond me.
Where does a gun man's right begin and my right end? Do I not have the right to attend a movie without fear of being killed? Do you want an ambulance with your popcorn? It's ridiculous. It's maddening. And, above all, it's stupid.
At least once a year someone strolls into a public place and starts shooting. And each time we act shocked and scared and pray for the victims and their families and hold our heads in disbelief and say things like "those poor people" and "he must have been crazy!" and that feeling lasts for a couple of weeks as we watch news coverage on the shooter, the event and the eventual funerals of those who were slain. What we don't do is get mad. And right now, I gotta tell you, I am pissed. When will we ever get to the core of what's happening in the US and realize that our government, no matter which political side you're on, has mastered the fine art of pitting us against one another - destroying our socio-economic system and instilling within us a deep fear that someone is out there trying to get us. Then we are inundated with pop culture on a minute by minute basis and what we are given is crap that shows that no one can resolve any issue without coming to blows and beating down someone else. Technology has brought us closer but also allowed us to remain anonymous if we choose so that we can speak in the most horrendous way to anyone from any place at all. We have become a land of fearful beasts. Afraid that someone will take what we have as we strive to have more and more. All of this leads to the disenfranchising of us. We lose our empathy. We lose our humanity. And when both those traits are eaten away and replaced with fear and a gun, we lose that part of us that would never think to harm another human being. We've lost our ability to listen to one another, our ability to care. We live in a society where it is possible for some to become so disillusioned that the only way they can see a solution to their turmoil is to enter a theatre and open fire.
As I said, I'm really pissed off about this. I'm angry that this has happened again. I'm angry that anyone at any time can go and purchase weapons that are only made for killing people. I'm angry that we live in a time in our society where we have lost our ability to care about each other. I'm angry that we have allowed our politicians and news media to instill a fear of our neighbors, at home and abroad, in us. I'm angry that 71 people got shot today. I'm angry that 12 people are dead.
Showing posts with label humanity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humanity. Show all posts
Friday, July 20, 2012
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A triumph....
Another memory...this one from 2000....
The first time I ever met Karen I was working as a representative payee. She was brought to me by her case manager who found out that Karen had tried to pay her $400 per month rent with four ten dollar bills. That was when she realized that Karen did not understand money or have any money management skills.
Karen came quietly into the office, shook my hand when we were introduced and then starting yelling, "I DON'T NEED NO FUCKING PAYEE!!" at the top of her lungs. It took some smooth talk to get her to calm down. Although the first few months were extremely rocky she seemed to eventually come around to the idea. Or so I thought. Karen, who was diagnosed with a developmental disability and moderate mental retardation, always had a series of shady characters in her life. Each time she would meet one of them, they would convince her that she could handle her own money and she would come into my office, angry and belligerent, demanding to be her own payee. I finally reached a point where I told her that since the Social Security Administration had appointed me as her payee, they were the only ones who could change it and she should contact their office to do so. Karen took character after character into the Social Security offices trying to get them named as her payee. Each one was shot down for a variety of reasons - no job, no home, outstanding warrants for their arrest. Karen finally gave up and resigned herself to working with me.
Not too much later, I was hired as a case manager and all case management services were moved to the agency I worked for. Lo and behold, Karen was on my case load. By this time, she had come to realize I was on her side and was looking out for her best interests. She would come to me when she was having any problems and felt safe to talk to me about anything.
Karen's one true goal in life was to get a job. She wanted desperately to work in the janitorial or laundry fields. Her job seeking skills left something to be desired. I made a referral to a local sheltered work shop in the hopes she would be able to learn some of these skills. It was a mistake. Karen did not understand how learning to do piece work, earning only pennies per piece, was going to help her get a job anywhere. (Come to think of it, she was right!) She went back and forth, in and out of the workshop for months until she finally gave it up altogether. I felt bad about it but at that time it was our only resource. I went with her to the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation hoping there might be something out there that I had overlooked. Karen was very excited about the appointment but we were both sorely disappointed when, after answering endless questions, we were referred back to the local workshop again.
Our next tactic for jobs was to apply for them independently. I knew this was a long shot. But Karen religiously brought in applications week after week and wee meticulously filled in what information we could. The section asking for past work experience always stumped us because there just wasn't any! Of course, none of these jobs panned out.
It was a full two years later that the State government came up with a new program to help disabled individuals find and keep a job. Again, another long shot but we had tried everything else so why not this? An appointment was set up and Karen met with the people from the new program. At first she was hesitant. But after several meetings and extra patience, Karen was sent out to shadow at a few different locations. She did wonderfully! It was exactly what she needed to get her going. She received her first paycheck just before Christmas that year and I've never seen anyone happier.
Karen is the poorest person I have ever known. She lives on a very limited income, has no real possessions to speak of and is very easily taken advantage of by almost everyone she's ever tried to befriend, and yet she is the most determined person I know. Her deficits far outweigh her capabilities but she never gives up. She has visualized how she thinks her life should be and I have no doubt that she will do everything she can to make it so.
I am no longer her case manager but she comes to the office one each week and asks to speak to me. She tells me how she's doing and what's new in her life. The woman who once would only swear at me now trusts me and I enjoy hearing from her. If a weeks goes by and I don't hear from her I know something is wrong and I alert her case manager. Everyone should be so lucky to know someone like Karen.
(NOTE: UPDATE: Since I wrote this a lot has happened in Karen's life. She is no longer in need of case management. She's moved to Milwaukee where she has a nice apartment and a new job. I ran into her a few months ago when she came to Kenosha to visit a friend. She updated me on her life and all that's happened and it's all been very, very good. She is in her 50s now and was just diagnosed with a significant hearing loss which she most likely had her whole life but never got any adequate testing. She now has hearing aids and her ability to understand what's being said and to communicate clearly has increased and is impressive. It's likely that she was misdiagnosed as mentally retarded when she was a child because, unfortunately, if a hearing loss goes undiagnosed from an early age the child is often put into Special Ed classes and labelled for the rest of their lives. Karen is a survivor of so many things - poverty, a shoddy medical system, lack of proper insurance, abuse, and neglect - and yet she is triumphant in attaining those common things we often take for granted. Karen's spirit and will to better herself against all odds inspires me.)
The first time I ever met Karen I was working as a representative payee. She was brought to me by her case manager who found out that Karen had tried to pay her $400 per month rent with four ten dollar bills. That was when she realized that Karen did not understand money or have any money management skills.
Karen came quietly into the office, shook my hand when we were introduced and then starting yelling, "I DON'T NEED NO FUCKING PAYEE!!" at the top of her lungs. It took some smooth talk to get her to calm down. Although the first few months were extremely rocky she seemed to eventually come around to the idea. Or so I thought. Karen, who was diagnosed with a developmental disability and moderate mental retardation, always had a series of shady characters in her life. Each time she would meet one of them, they would convince her that she could handle her own money and she would come into my office, angry and belligerent, demanding to be her own payee. I finally reached a point where I told her that since the Social Security Administration had appointed me as her payee, they were the only ones who could change it and she should contact their office to do so. Karen took character after character into the Social Security offices trying to get them named as her payee. Each one was shot down for a variety of reasons - no job, no home, outstanding warrants for their arrest. Karen finally gave up and resigned herself to working with me.
Not too much later, I was hired as a case manager and all case management services were moved to the agency I worked for. Lo and behold, Karen was on my case load. By this time, she had come to realize I was on her side and was looking out for her best interests. She would come to me when she was having any problems and felt safe to talk to me about anything.
Karen's one true goal in life was to get a job. She wanted desperately to work in the janitorial or laundry fields. Her job seeking skills left something to be desired. I made a referral to a local sheltered work shop in the hopes she would be able to learn some of these skills. It was a mistake. Karen did not understand how learning to do piece work, earning only pennies per piece, was going to help her get a job anywhere. (Come to think of it, she was right!) She went back and forth, in and out of the workshop for months until she finally gave it up altogether. I felt bad about it but at that time it was our only resource. I went with her to the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation hoping there might be something out there that I had overlooked. Karen was very excited about the appointment but we were both sorely disappointed when, after answering endless questions, we were referred back to the local workshop again.
Our next tactic for jobs was to apply for them independently. I knew this was a long shot. But Karen religiously brought in applications week after week and wee meticulously filled in what information we could. The section asking for past work experience always stumped us because there just wasn't any! Of course, none of these jobs panned out.
It was a full two years later that the State government came up with a new program to help disabled individuals find and keep a job. Again, another long shot but we had tried everything else so why not this? An appointment was set up and Karen met with the people from the new program. At first she was hesitant. But after several meetings and extra patience, Karen was sent out to shadow at a few different locations. She did wonderfully! It was exactly what she needed to get her going. She received her first paycheck just before Christmas that year and I've never seen anyone happier.
Karen is the poorest person I have ever known. She lives on a very limited income, has no real possessions to speak of and is very easily taken advantage of by almost everyone she's ever tried to befriend, and yet she is the most determined person I know. Her deficits far outweigh her capabilities but she never gives up. She has visualized how she thinks her life should be and I have no doubt that she will do everything she can to make it so.
I am no longer her case manager but she comes to the office one each week and asks to speak to me. She tells me how she's doing and what's new in her life. The woman who once would only swear at me now trusts me and I enjoy hearing from her. If a weeks goes by and I don't hear from her I know something is wrong and I alert her case manager. Everyone should be so lucky to know someone like Karen.
(NOTE: UPDATE: Since I wrote this a lot has happened in Karen's life. She is no longer in need of case management. She's moved to Milwaukee where she has a nice apartment and a new job. I ran into her a few months ago when she came to Kenosha to visit a friend. She updated me on her life and all that's happened and it's all been very, very good. She is in her 50s now and was just diagnosed with a significant hearing loss which she most likely had her whole life but never got any adequate testing. She now has hearing aids and her ability to understand what's being said and to communicate clearly has increased and is impressive. It's likely that she was misdiagnosed as mentally retarded when she was a child because, unfortunately, if a hearing loss goes undiagnosed from an early age the child is often put into Special Ed classes and labelled for the rest of their lives. Karen is a survivor of so many things - poverty, a shoddy medical system, lack of proper insurance, abuse, and neglect - and yet she is triumphant in attaining those common things we often take for granted. Karen's spirit and will to better herself against all odds inspires me.)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Murder She Said...
Last week two teen age boys broke into their neighbors house to steal her XBox. They bludgeoned her to death and are now facing charges as adults for their actions. They cut the phone wires and the electricity, used a ladder to get in the house, killed her, and then went back two more times while she was lying there to get a safe with a jar of coins in it and to take the ladder back.
This incident has caused a huge rift in our city. On the one side are those who know these kids and know they are truly the product of their environment. The parents of both of these kids are either in prison now or have rap sheets a mile long. On the other side, you have the those who can't take any of that into view and have already tried and sentenced these two. Our Chief of Police is among those which is turning this into a racial issue too. Some say "they killed a white woman so they won't get a fair trial" and others say "it doesn't matter what their circumstances are, they should rot in hell". And the sad truth is...I can see both sides.
Kenosha is largely a racially mixed city which has always had a history of merely living with illusion of racial harmony. In the past, any manner of criminal incidents have occurred which could be traced back to a black/white issue. It's an underlying current that goes largely unspoken until someone gets killed. Then it becomes the focus. And I think that is terribly wrong.
I see the lost humanity in this tragic murder. The victim and her family obviously have suffered the brunt of this heinous act. There is also the humanity of the boys who did this. Their back story reads like a text book description of emotionally and morally stunted human development. Yet, I concede that they acted in cold blood and knew exactly what they were doing. This wasn't a chance happening. They weren't surprised the woman was home. She didn't "come upon" them as they burgled her home. She was asleep in bed when they killed her and covered her body with a folding cot.
But we have all been affected by this and every other crime like this. It weakens us, taxes our resolve and hardens us to the world. It polarizes neighbors and creates tension in the community.
My heart goes out to all the victims in this scene - both living and dead.
This incident has caused a huge rift in our city. On the one side are those who know these kids and know they are truly the product of their environment. The parents of both of these kids are either in prison now or have rap sheets a mile long. On the other side, you have the those who can't take any of that into view and have already tried and sentenced these two. Our Chief of Police is among those which is turning this into a racial issue too. Some say "they killed a white woman so they won't get a fair trial" and others say "it doesn't matter what their circumstances are, they should rot in hell". And the sad truth is...I can see both sides.
Kenosha is largely a racially mixed city which has always had a history of merely living with illusion of racial harmony. In the past, any manner of criminal incidents have occurred which could be traced back to a black/white issue. It's an underlying current that goes largely unspoken until someone gets killed. Then it becomes the focus. And I think that is terribly wrong.
I see the lost humanity in this tragic murder. The victim and her family obviously have suffered the brunt of this heinous act. There is also the humanity of the boys who did this. Their back story reads like a text book description of emotionally and morally stunted human development. Yet, I concede that they acted in cold blood and knew exactly what they were doing. This wasn't a chance happening. They weren't surprised the woman was home. She didn't "come upon" them as they burgled her home. She was asleep in bed when they killed her and covered her body with a folding cot.
But we have all been affected by this and every other crime like this. It weakens us, taxes our resolve and hardens us to the world. It polarizes neighbors and creates tension in the community.
My heart goes out to all the victims in this scene - both living and dead.
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