I was surprised by the number of friends and colleagues who asked me this past week, "What was it like, going back to work at the theater after the shootings?" "Ummm, business as usual?"
I read the accounts of the horrific shootings, the people who risked - or gave - their lives to protect others... and have listened to just about every news outlet analyze the hell out of the situation. I grieve and mourn for the people who were lost or injured... for the families and friends whose lives were suddenly, inexplicably and irreversibly thrown into pain and chaos.
The sad truth of it is, there is almost nothing that could have forseen or prevented that horrific act from occurring. Those who know the perpetrator best either did not detect anything unusual, or simply did not acknowledge it.
Stricter guns laws would not have prevented this - for laws only affect the law-abiding, while those intent on doing evil will surely find a means to their end.
Armed security guards in the theater (we have one of those now) would not have prevented it; the shooter was inside the theater, then left through the exit doors that lead to the outside, and came back in through that same door, dressed up like a member of the SWAT team, armed to the teeth. If you can imagine the amount of sound insulation that is used in a theater multiplex, you can also imagine an armed security guard not hearing a single thing until people came bursting out of the auditorium, screaming. So no, an armed security guard would have made little if any difference, unless he was in the theater auditorium itself. And how can you draw a bead on a target in a dark theater, with the image on the screen blinding you?
Just thoughts.
No, I did not ponder the possibility of any crazies breaking into the theaters and gunning us down last Friday... I had a job to do. That's the simple truth.
Any one of us could die at any moment... whether it be in a horrifying tragedy such as this, whether it is by heart attack or stroke, whether we are hit by a bus, tsunami, asteroid or whatever. The variety of ways to meet our demise is truly breathtaking!
Our best defense against those who inflict such evil upon society is to just LIVE. Live with no fear and no regrets. To continue on in our daily lives with purpose, and show that we shall not submit to such acts of terror and cowardice. To remember and honor those who are taken from us in such instances, and to lend no notoriety, attention or credence to the cowards that inflict harm and destruction upon the unsuspecting and defenseless.
I will continue to live one day at a time, loving my friends and family, and appreciating the time I have to share with them. And should I at some future time be staring at death itself, I hope that I can go in a way that will be meaningful to someone else... that I can help save a life by offering my own.
Greater love hath no man that that.
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