On Bombings, Shootings, and other Chaotic Happenings
Today (April 25th, 2013), two bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. It's been roughly 6 hours since the attacks, and no one is really certain of the toll: 2 dead, 110 injured, I last heard. I last heard also that one of the dead was eight years old.
As much as I would like to feel shocked and surprised, and shake my fist in the air and demand answers as to why these awful things happen in this world, I'm saddened to say that I'm not shocked, or surprised. Bombings happen every day in the middle east, every day all over the world, and they always make the news, but no one really cares. It's not until it happens here at home that the United States truly understands the horror and agony of these awful occurrences.
However: Just because bombings don't happen in America as often as they do elsewhere on Earth does not make them any less bad. It does not make the death toll lower, or injure fewer people. Bombings are what they are, no matter where they happen: Horrific instances of violence.
It makes me sick, it makes me hurt, it makes me disgusted to wonder how someone could go through such senseless acts of violence. Although, now that I think about it, it's not senseless. If you put multiple bombs in an area and wait for them to detonate and kill hundreds of people, that was not senseless. You are doing that out of your conscious mind.
They must be mentally ill. Maybe it's because I'm young; maybe it's because I'm still a stranger in this world; maybe it's because I believe in good; but it is very difficult for me to believe that someone in their right mind can be absolutely the epitome of evil. The person or people that committed this crime must have either been very sick, or, as many have proposed, terrorists.
Muslims and other religious and ethnic groups have already been blamed. Republicans have been blamed, democrats have been blamed, everyone has been blamed.
This needs to stop. People need to step back and stop pointing fingers before the facts have come out. This is not a political issue. Two people are dead, and 110 others are critically injured. We should not even be discussing the political party of the perpetrator(s).
Another thing: Although these acts of violence are horrifying and terrible to imagine, it's no use wishing death upon whoever committed this crime. You can't fight fire with fire. At this hour, we should be focusing on helping those affected, and not wishing for more death.
As awful as this has all been, it astounds me the amount of compassion there is all around us. Mr. Rogers said "look for the helpers". In the footage of the accident, civilians can be seen running INTO the scene of the bombings to help. Hundreds of police officers, first responders, medical personnel, fire fighters, and military members went out of their way to save lives, and to help the hurt.
Google and the Red Cross have set up Person-Finders, webpages dedicated to tracking down loved ones. Even more humbling, regular people have offered their apartments and homes to house those needing a place to stay, who are unable to go home.
There will always be evil in this world, and there will always be horrific events of mass chaos and violence. But there will also always be helpers in this world, people who go out of their way to make a difference in these dark times. And that is why I don't believe in evil. That is why I believe at heart that there will always be more good people in the world than there are bad people.
