There are times that I want to hide from the news, too.

Otherwise, I couldn’t function.

I wish there were answers to your questions; unfortunately, violence like this is so difficult to understand, and – even under extreme circumstances – difficult to excuse.

I understand that these people are in pain; but for them to then inflict pain on others (either literally or figuratively) makes no sense to me. It betrays a lack of empathy there that I would hope exists in most people.

An “I wouldn’t wish this kind of hurt on my own worse enemy” mentality, you know?

I will never forget a student in my senior English class who began acting bizarrely for a few days; weird outbursts of temper, strangely confrontational behavior. I do not remember the exact trigger, but one day he lost it and started yelling at another student. He stood up and pushed his desk over then headed out the door shouting.

I was terrified because he seemed so unstable. I locked the door to the classroom and called down to the office at which point he tried to get back into class and started banging on the windows and door. He threw trashcans and cursed. Loudly.

Eventually, he was escorted away and I don’t recall if police were called or what the exact events were.

I only remember being called to the office the next day and his father apologizing to me saying “this isn’t like him” and “he’s had a switch in meds” which I hadn’t even known he was on.

I recall wondering if someone like that could or would get a gun and come back to school. But I comforted myself by rationalizing that instances like this are rare.

Still. To those who are the victims, and to the families of the slain, these attacks aren’t rare enough…

The evil and sadness in the world are absolutely unbelievable. I’m studying Revelations right now and am saddened to think that a time will come when there is more evil than good.

And like you I often escape into books. Amazing how they can buoy my spirit. Even fiction.

xoxo