According to the news, our country has just experienced the third fatal school shooting within a week. I know this not because it's on the news show I've been watching, but because it showed up on Yahoo several hours ago.
This raises a few interesting questions.
- What could possibly be behind such a rash of shootings?
- Why is the news media relatively uninterested in this last shooting that killed 3 little Amish girls at a school in Pennsylvania?
- If you were the violent type, why would you pick a bone with the Amish? This one really gets my goat, so to speak, because the Amish themselves are a pretty quiet and peaceful people. They basically farm and mind their own business.
- How is this a healthy living topic?
So what do you think? I hope you'll comment at the end of this post.
But first, some discussion:
Well, I suppose the healthy living question is obvious. The 3 Amish girls, the school principal from Wisconsin, and the teenager from Colorado may have thought they were living healthy lifestyles. And as individuals, perhaps they were. But now they're in a distinctly un-healthy state.
This comes as a direct result of their having been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
While there were clear individual health consequences, the individuals who received those consequences were not directly responsible for creating them. This is more of a society issue than a personal issue, isn't it? We're being called to look beyond the personal level to the global level.
What do the 3 shootings have in common?
From what I can gather, each of the three shooters had at least one thing in common. Anger and frustration. The next part is simply a guess. I would guess that part of their anger and frustration came from a feeling of not being heard.
If we view shooting a bunch of innocent people as a form of communication, what do you think the message is? The message I get - loud and clear - is this. Nobody listened when I spoke nicely. So I'm pulling out the big guns. I'm going to be heard if it's the last thing I do! Which, unfortunately, it was.
Now let's shrink down from the global level to the personal level. Remember the last time you felt unheard? Weren't you frustrated? Fortunately, you had better coping skills than these gentlemen.
But it brings up an interesting question: How do we get heard above all the incessant barrage of media these days? How do we even get heard above the busy-ness of our friends, relatives, and co-workers? How do we deal with the frustration of feeling like we've gotten lost in the shuffle?
And of course, there's the added aspect of revenge. We'll save that for a future post.
Where's the news?
Well, there's a lot going on, isn't there? Congressmen resigning, a war, etc. Perhaps they're simply waiting for more facts to roll in. Or perhaps they're intentionally laying low to avoid spurring on further copy-cat events. And let's not forget that the Amish are a very private people. Perhaps (dare we think?) the media is simply respecting their privacy.
Why pick the Amish?
Perhaps the latest shooter targeted the Amish community for a specific reason. He said he was avenging some previous perceived wrong. Perhaps it was specific to the Amish community - we'll have to wait for the follow-up on that one. But I'd hate to think it was simply because he expected these peace-loving people to be an easy mark. Wouldn't you?
Ok, I've started you off with some discussion.
I guess the bigger question left on the table is this: If the three shootings represent a serious cry to be heard, then what can we do -- as individuals and as a society -- to become better listeners?
Elizabeth Eckert can help you explore how simple everyday choices create health — or undermine even the best of intentions. With a background that ranges from energy medicine to structural bodywork to developmental psychology, this "Stick-To-It Coach" has the experience to support you in creating the healthiest possible expression of — you!
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