(no subject)

[songspinner]

I was proud of one of my students this morning - he has family and friends in Virginia and he brought up the deaths in a really respectful and appropriate way this morning in class. (his relatives and family were all right, including the ones who were on campus) Unlike another kid, who immediately reported radio news-show rumors as fact - a lot of kids listen to the car radio with parents on the way to school, I guess. At least that let us have a discussion about how to interpret what you hear and how rumors can hurt and scare people.

Just sifting through all of it, three things stand out to me just now while I'm still awake...

1) I can't imagine what people are going through in that town right now. But I hope that people remember that this young man clearly had some sort of breakdown into serious mental illness and that he had a family as well who will miss him. Probably even friends. (any time a headline like this screams "Loner", I wonder to whom they spoke)

2) I hope that the news media doesn't convince lots of people that all mental illness = mass murder. The world doesn't need more prejudice right now - just more healing.

3) And is there any way to send money to the biker groups who are planning to guard the funerals of the shooting victims from Fred Phelps' group (who are apparently planning to protest the funerals?!)? I'd like to help pay for their gas money for the motorcycles to get to Virginia. Sigh.

I repeat what I said to someone yesterday online - I'm awfully glad that my daughter is too young to know about this. All she has to worry about tomorrow is dressing up as a character from "Peter Rabbit" for a garden and salad party in the school gardens.

Comments

[dreamflower]

I may regret asking this, because Phelps just makes me sick, but what the heck does he have against the shooting victims? As far as I know, there's been nothing reported about any of them being gay.

(Assuming I could resist the impulse to smack him one upside the head, it might be interesting to ask him "why funerals?" It's not like his tactic gets anyone to agree with him, and even people who agree with his opinion theologically try to distance themselves from him. *shakes head in bafflement*)

[songspinner9.livejournal.com]

Ah. Somehow they think this is President Bush's fault and it has something to do with Iraq and people's sins.

And I'm pretty sure logic doesn't enter into this guy's mind. Ever.

Phelps the @$$hat

[axolotl9.livejournal.com]

his recent activity (since 9/11) is "God Hates America" because we tolerate alternative lifestyles. So he and his minions (most of whom are related to him - "Westboro Baptist Church" is essentially the extended Phelps family) have been spewing their vitriol at military funerals, saying that they were killed because the War on Terror is part of God's plan to bring the United States back to being a Christian nation. Apparently they are applying the same logic to the VT shootings. (If "logic" is in any way appropriate to describe their thought processes.)

The really scary thing about Phelps is that aside from a rigorous interpretation of Christianity (somewhere online there's a reprint of a 1954 Time magazine article about [then] newly coeducational colleges and some of the adjustments that students were making - Phelps was being proud of ratting couples out for PDAs), he used to be a decent guy. Civil rights lawyer who fought some big desegregation cases in Kansas, enought to win him accolades from the ACLU and NAACP. But that was 40 years ago, and somewhere he went off the rails...

[rhapsody11.livejournal.com]

{{{{hugs}}}} This must have been very difficult for you, to explain this to the kids. Especially when even we as adults hardly can comprehend the why..