Understanding Denver
I have been watching the news coming out of Denver, at first because of possible repercussions for my industry, but then out of horror. Not the sense of horror that others in the country feel, but a sense of horror that it was all for nothing.
It is never easy to sift the bits of actual information out of the news, but it is even harder with the current crisis-centered, beat-the-dead-horse nature of the media. In my sifting certain words and phrases kept standing out to me: inexplicable, "I don't understand," "it doesn't make sense." The US doesn't understand, because it doesn't want to understand. Understanding would take a self-analysis that the US is not willing to face.
So why did it happen? I'll tell you. Some time ago, those two kids did something different. For this they were ridiculed, they were insulted, and finally they were ostracized. This was not a short process. It likely took years. Years of insults. Years of ridicule. I've seen it happen, and I don't doubt it happened in Denver.
The above can be determined from the news reports. I would also guess that once ostracized, they were left to fend for themselves. Clearly defined as outsiders, they were abandoned by the adult power-structure that was supposed to protect them from the attacks of their peers. In their negligence, the adults became complicit in the torture of the gunmen.
The two boys couldn't take it. Not everybody can, or even wants to. So they lashed out, with guns and explosives, and people died. It's not that hard to understand when you really look at it. They were treated like shit, and it pissed them off enough to kill people.
I'm not saying they did the right thing. They didn't. All I'm saying is that I understand why they did it.
There is are lessons to be learned here, and as long as people continue to avoid facing the understanding of these events, the lessons will be lost. If the lessons are not learned, this will happen again, and again, and again.
Lesson 1
All the little bits of hate that you give to other people will be added together and returned to you five-fold. You can't go through life being mean to people a little bit here and there, and not expect repercussions. And neither can you claim to be void of responsibility for those repercussions.
Lesson 2
As long as the US refuses to accept those who are different, this will continue to happen. As long as the US lets it's fear of difference to become hate, that hate will rebound back and people will die. This goes beyond strange high-school kids who wear black trenchcoats. Every racist in the country is doing the exact same thing.
Conclusion
There but for the grace of God go I. I used to walk down the path that those two boys were on, I used to be different. But I changed. I used to think I had just mellowed out in my old age. I used to think that I was just lonely. I'm tired of lies. The fact is that I simply broke the cardinal rule, and I let the bastards grind me down. No more.
Last Modified 6/7/99
Created 4/25/99