On the other side of the state, a gunman walked into an elementary school and murdered 20 children and 6 adults. It is a town much like our town, a school very much like my kids' school. All of my heart, the most important part of my life, goes to that school each day, and I trust that they will come home safe to me. Today, 20 sets of parents and 6 other families had their trust shattered and their hearts torn apart.
My husband and I had our first apartment in Danbury 15 years ago. We lived within minutes of that school. There is a very good chance that people that both my husband and I worked with went to Sandy Hook, and have kids that go there now.
How can this happen? It took over six years to bring our sons into being...the thought that they could be taken away from us in just a minute by a madman with a gun....there are no words. I don't think I could survive it.
All my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the children, teachers, and the brave principal at Sandy Hook. I hope that our Governor and State Board of Education do something, anything, to improve the safety of our schools.
It is so hard to know where to begin on the safety issues. Do we start with more mental health checks? Is there way to install better security measures for the schools? I have so many questions myself.
ReplyDeleteThe man who shot those children used his mother's guns. I don't think gun control is the answer, but there is NO reason why an armed man should be able to walk into a school unchecked. We have to be buzzed into our kids' school, but the doors are often propped open and anyone can walk in.
DeleteSo heartbreaking
ReplyDeleteI just recently got elected to our local school board. And I know that there will be talk about this. But I don't know how we can make it any better without sending our children to school in prisons.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I am for change in gun ownership policy (like why does ANYONE in this country need an assault rifle?!), I'm also not sure that better gun control will solve the problem ... after all, look what happened in China at the same time on the same day. People can walk around with bombs in their shoes. All we can do is react to something that happens, like we did with 9/11 ... and we all know how useful that is.
What really needs to happen, I feel, is cultural change. There was a time when people didn't feel so outcast, so lonely, so angry that they had to resort to this kind of violence, even if they were mentally ill. Somewhere, we have gone wrong. There is a dearth of care.
I worry that even this will not be enough to spur change. I hope that worry is unfounded, for the sake of those little angels.
I think that there are things that can be done. There is more security at my husband's place of business than at most schools, and he doesn't feel like he works in a prison. At the very least, security cameras in the parking lots for a heads up would be nice.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry you have a connection to this tragedy.
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