After a Disaster, People Keep Doing What They've Always Done, Just More So

In the words of a great man; "After a disaster, people keep doing what they've always done, sometimes just more so."

This man, as a matter of fact.

Last week a troubled man ended the lives of over two dozen children and teachers at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. There isn't really anything else to say about it, it happened. The shooter, Adam Lanza, killed himself during the siege, so he can't be put to trial or made accountable, he has family, but they are already in enough pain having to deal with the fallout from this awful tragedy. On the surface, it looks like this was just an awful tragedy, it wasn't orchestrated or planned, and by the time it had begun to happen it was too late for anyone to stop it. That won't stop people from trying to make someone accountable though.

The standard gun control regulation people come out of the woodwork after events like these. They love to claim that if Adam Lanza did not have access to a gun, this tragedy wouldn't have happened, even though the worst school massacre in US history was a bombing, not a shooting, and considering his mental state, Adam Lanza himself probably wouldn't have been able to get his own gun anyway. Another group that comes to the surface is the "blame the violent media" group. Before the police had even come out with all the details, Fox News was already set to try and place the blame on video games, Facebook, and any other hot-button issue that can get them viewers. An online "Mob" even took to Facebook to track down the shooter and try to find a motive. They ended up finding the Facebook of someone named Ryan Lanza, which was the original mis-reported name of the shooter, and attacked him for having liked Mass Effect.

This brings me back to my original point. "After a disaster, people keep doing what they've always done, sometimes just more so." People who grieve, grieve harder, politicians talk about the tragedy from a political standpoint, and people who love to point fingers and find someone to blame, will continue to do so, regardless of rhyme or reason. When an event like this occurs, there is no one factor that can be blamed for everything, it takes lots of little pieces to send someone over the edge like that.

This isn't about a political message, and it isn't about censorship, and it isn't about right and wrong. It's about learning from the past, healing, and moving on. After a disaster, people keep doing what they've always done, sometimes just more so, for better or for worse.

No blog post next week, being Christmas and all. I hope everyone has a happy holidays, stay safe out there.