10am: There are and will be lots of story’s whirling around for several days or weeks now. Not sure about you, but while I am somewhat used to it, I am not comfortable with the extremes of those stories. The reach in either direction of dissection that is delivered to us on a daily basis. Right. left, middle center, orbit….
But there is this thing about me that I don’t talk about much in wide broadcast. Some of you have it too and what you do with it is your business, your journey. Mine, I’m not sure if I keep it too quiet or express it too much.
I was raised to not pass judgment on others. I was raised to be fair, respect others and do no harm. Harm comes in many forms, verbal and physical. Both have and can have lasting impact on a humans existence. I also, as someone said to me, the good news is, you have the ability to know what people are thinking and feeling. The bad news, you know what people are thinking and feeling. Mostly, I do.
I heard someone say earlier today that the individual that who shot at the former president, was bullied mercilessly in high school. “He was bullied almost every day.” As I listened to this young man speak to this bullying, I felt and saw his pain. Was the pain his or his ability to feel the pain of one bullied and maybe some regret for not stepping up and in to stop it.
But that’s not what I’m talking about. Any person who even has an ounce of feeling or compassion left in them, I would hope could see and feel what I saw and felt when that young man spoke.
Did the bullied direct his hurt and abuse onto the actual or perceived ultimate bully?
What I’m feeling is in regard to the shooter and his actions yesterday, actually honestly, I don’t think it should take any special, extra perception, but anyway. If this individual was bullied as stated, how, why or did that manifest into what happened? Why was his revenge, his retribution for years of bullying this? What did he perceive in or of his target? What did it represent for him? An extreme? The cumulative collection of his abuse? Did his daily intake of information overwhelm his reality of humanity and did he see this as a person as the one to end all that had been said and done to him?
Of course, not everyone who was or has been bullied, got a gun, climbed onto a roof top and shot at the former president yesterday. But this one did.
I have worked very hard to not speak ill of others, to not share dehumanizing, disparaging words or ‘memes’ about others. But I see it so much from others. And I can’t help but think a couple of things. One, who has hurt you so that this is how you approach a solution? Two, you must not have had in your life anyone that you cared about who has either had diminished capacity in dementia or Alzheimer’s. Challenges with mental health or incarceration. Otherwise, my heart has to ask, how do you share or say these things?
What holds your anger at bay just at childish and juvenile meme’s shared on social media about someone’s health or speech or misfortune? What stops you at the ‘share’ and doesn’t take you to the roof with a long gun?
Is this our solution? Is this our way forward to a kinder, gentler existence together in a world that will change no matter how hard we try to keep it from changing?
What are we going to do to live together, to be productive and prosperous? It’s not charging a venue with guns and vitriol. It’s not fire arms taking out those of our differences, or promising arrest and prosecution for those who think differently than you do. Yet here we are.
Do we have to go so far back in time and so deep to come to the surface again and live or attempt to live in a world together where we all are accountable for our actions. Taking responsibility for our contribution to the emotional wake? We have laws and rules that apply to everyone not just a few. And what is broken, can’t we truly and honestly try to fix it without killing, demeaning or disparaging another human.
Step up friends. This is your world. This is your place to create what I honestly think is what we all want, peace, contentment, safety, trust, accountability and harmony.
“May you be safe. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease”.