With the school shooting in Texas last week, my mind and heart have been turning over what happened. Trying to make sense of the senseless slaughter. This happens every time when these horrific tragedies happen. It’s a time of grief. It’s a time for introspection and asking how we got here.
I have read a few facts about this particular shooting. One that stood out to me, said that the shooter targeted a young girl who had rejected him. The article pointed out that the news could have written the headline differently. They could have said something like, “A young girl was targeted after months of dealing with unwanted advances from the shooter.” Both sentences are true. But one doesn’t cast blame on the victim. I’ve been mulling it over in my mind lately thinking about this and other thoughts. How we as a society and our way of viewing things may need to change.
I don’t personally know the families involved. I’m very cognizant that whether they are family of the victim or the shooter, they are both grieving. I want to respect that grief. But as I seek to respect it, I must also try to understand what happened.
I don’t feel that school shootings can be blamed just on one thing. It’s not just that guns can be found in the home. It’s not just that kids play increasingly violent video games. Games which dull the senses of what really happens when you shoot someone with a gun. There are a lot of issues that play into the dynamics of a school shooting. I don’t think they should be ignored, but rather examined.
