Last weekend as I read about the Sandy Hook killings, I sobbed. For all of us, as a country - no AS PEOPLE, it's hard to even conceive of such a thing happening. Of someone that would do such a thing. Those little children... I just can't even fathom the pain that those parents have experienced.
I prayed for those kids. I prayed for those families. I prayed for us, as a world. That sick things that happen like that. The Middle East unrest. Syria. North Korea. Just the pure evil that seems to be out there...
But then, it's not always pure evil, is it? It's not really that cut and dry, is it?
I read a blog that has gotten a lot of publicity. A woman that is terrified by her own child. And she spoke to the issue of mental health. She spoke to the issue that there is not a clear path for people with such an illness. The jails are full of people that have done bad things. But would they in their right state of mind? Jail makes theses folks worse.
WHERE DO YOU GO WHEN THERE AREN'T ANSWERS?
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN A CHILD YOU LOVE AND RAISED BECOMES A FRIGHTENING STRANGER?
My child is violent. My friend sometimes says things that scare me. My co-worker raises red flags.
What. Do. You. DO?
No matter what comes out in the news, I cry for Adam Lanza's mother who didn't know what to do with him. I feel for the killer himself who was so obviously sick. I SOB for the children and heroic adults who gave their lives.
And I cry for us. Because until there are things in place to help these sick people, nothing will change. Because until things get BAD, there's nothing you can do.
To be clear, I'm not saying that medication is the answer. It can be. And it cannot. I am saying that TRUE TREATMENT is an answer. I am saying that taking out the STIGMA of mental illness is AN answer. I am saying that a place for people in such situations is an answer. NOT to become medicated zombies, but people that could lead fulfilling lives if properly treated.
Look. I write a lot about food on this blog. My puppies. My little life. I'm not political here and I don't think I am now because I feel this should be obvious.
My sister is a social worker and works with people with mental issues every day. She is patient. She is kind. She is what we should all be... SHE is a solution.
I know it's easy to look back and hindsight be 20/20. I know it's easy to look back and call for change. But I also know that we should learn from this that people are suffering. And that can be changed. I don't have a clear view of what the solution looks like. I do have a clear view that there should be a way to help folks before it gets this bad.
And because I don't want the killer's name to be the only name I mention here, I would like to stop for moment of silence of the lives that were called home before their time.
- Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06, female
- Daniel Barden, 9/25/05, male
- Rachel Davino, 7/17/83, female.
- Olivia Engel, 7/18/06, female
- Josephine Gay, 12/11/05, female
- Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06, female
- Dylan Hockley, 3/8/06, male
- Dawn Hochsprung, 06/28/65, female
- Madeleine F. Hsu, 7/10/06, female
- Catherine V. Hubbard, 6/08/06, female
- Chase Kowalski, 10/31/05, male
- Jesse Lewis, 6/30/06, male
- James Mattioli , 3/22/06, male
- Grace McDonnell, 12/04/05, female
- Anne Marie Murphy, 07/25/60, female
- Emilie Parker, 5/12/06, female
- Jack Pinto, 5/06/06, male
- Noah Pozner, 11/20/06, male
- Caroline Previdi, 9/07/06, female
- Jessica Rekos, 5/10/06, female
- Avielle Richman, 10/17/06, female
- Lauren Rousseau, 6/1982, female
- Mary Sherlach, 2/11/56, female
- Victoria Soto, 11/04/85, female
- Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/06, male
- Allison N. Wyatt, 7/03/06, female
God bless you and your families. I know I will hold mine a little tighter this Christmas. We are truly blessed to have each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment