First, read this piece from the Washington Post. I'll wait.
ow many children have we abandoned?
In reading Aaron Spark’s piece in the Washington Post, “I Would Have Been a School Shooter,” the unanswered question is, how many have we abandoned? And how do we create a culture which does not abandon those who smell, those who are overweight, those who are poor, those who struggle in school, those who reveal in little and big ways, how they are so very different?
Zero tolerance of bullying, like a gun-free zone, is a top down way policy means of addressing what is ultimately, a personal response to others. What saved Aaron was the actions of two families, in place of the broader community and his own personal family, acting out of kindness, above and beyond the call of duty, even when it seemed hard. The parents of Mike, might have sensed how dark and dangerous a place Aaron lived in, and felt fearful for their son and family, when asked to house him. The girl Amber’s family, likewise made a sacrificial act that required risk.
We live in a society that tries to establish a risk free life...with guarantees, with waivers, with padded playgrounds and bike helmets. However relationships, with real messy human beings, always involves risk. Policy without leadership in the arena of either gun control or anti-bullying, is tokenism at best, and won’t stop the next teen who feels cut off from everything and everyone. What Aaron’s article reveals, is the necessary response from the community to those who don’t fit the mold, who don’t seem to have their acts together, who are difficult, and in many cases, the most visibly difficult to love.
If we want a healthier and safer community, we must create a community which provides the emotional and physical and intellectual support to all. It isn’t just gun control. It isn’t just mental health. It isn’t just counseling. It isn’t just policies. It isn’t just any one thing. People spout the phrase, “It takes a village.” We need to recognize, being we are all part of each other’s village, and to the extent we ignore or dismiss or fail to love one, we’ve failed to love all, and when we as a village fail even one, that one could one day, if pushed to the point of feeling, they are nothing to the village, eliminate the village. If we want justice for all, we must be oceans of mercy. That's the only salve that erodes the desire for revenge, the desire to lash out at the universe, to reveal to the individual, to each individual, that not only does the universe exist because God cares, but there's a whole universe full of people who care, because each of you, is made in God's image, and a beloved son or daughter and our brothers and sisters. Wrote this a while ago, but never found a place it belonged, so it goes here.
In reading Aaron Spark’s piece in the Washington Post, “I Would Have Been a School Shooter,” the unanswered question is, how many have we abandoned? And how do we create a culture which does not abandon those who smell, those who are overweight, those who are poor, those who struggle in school, those who reveal in little and big ways, how they are so very different?
Zero tolerance of bullying, like a gun-free zone, is a top down way policy means of addressing what is ultimately, a personal response to others. What saved Aaron was the actions of two families, in place of the broader community and his own personal family, acting out of kindness, above and beyond the call of duty, even when it seemed hard. The parents of Mike, might have sensed how dark and dangerous a place Aaron lived in, and felt fearful for their son and family, when asked to house him. The girl Amber’s family, likewise made a sacrificial act that required risk.
We live in a society that tries to establish a risk free life...with guarantees, with waivers, with padded playgrounds and bike helmets. However relationships, with real messy human beings, always involves risk. Policy without leadership in the arena of either gun control or anti-bullying, is tokenism at best, and won’t stop the next teen who feels cut off from everything and everyone. What Aaron’s article reveals, is the necessary response from the community to those who don’t fit the mold, who don’t seem to have their acts together, who are difficult, and in many cases, the most visibly difficult to love.
If we want a healthier and safer community, we must create a community which provides the emotional and physical and intellectual support to all. It isn’t just gun control. It isn’t just mental health. It isn’t just counseling. It isn’t just policies. It isn’t just any one thing. People spout the phrase, “It takes a village.” We need to recognize, being we are all part of each other’s village, and to the extent we ignore or dismiss or fail to love one, we’ve failed to love all, and when we as a village fail even one, that one could one day, if pushed to the point of feeling, they are nothing to the village, eliminate the village. If we want justice for all, we must be oceans of mercy. That's the only salve that erodes the desire for revenge, the desire to lash out at the universe, to reveal to the individual, to each individual, that not only does the universe exist because God cares, but there's a whole universe full of people who care, because each of you, is made in God's image, and a beloved son or daughter and our brothers and sisters. Wrote this a while ago, but never found a place it belonged, so it goes here.
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