By KARINA MATOS
The world is full of things that cannot be explained. What causes someone, without a reason, to kill an innocent person? Recently, one man ended up doing just that.
Aaron Alexis, the shooter, identified by the F.B.I., committed a random act of treason in Washington D.C, on Sept. 16th. According to the Los Angeles Times, the FBI chief described the situation as “[he], the 34-year-old civilian contractor, was not targeting any specific individuals Monday but rather was intent on killing as many people as possible, even shooting a security guard and grabbing his weapon to continue the rampage.” But why? Fatalities ranged from a volunteer, to a Navy architect, to even a soccer coach. Once again our nation has been effected by a senseless act of violence.
Associated Press was told “Alexis suffered from paranoia, a sleep disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, and… [he] also heard voices.” If his mental state is unstable, who is to say why he did the things he did? ABC News mentioned as well that, “One month before the shooting, [he] complained to Rhode Island police that “people were talking to him through the walls and ceilings of his hotel rooms and sending microwave vibrations into his body to deprive him of sleep.”” But that just makes me wonder why he was involved with the police beforehand, as well as why they didn’t bother to help him get medical attention?
The sad thing is that even though things like this happen, and people are sad about it, it never stops happening. According to the New York Times, Obama worded it nicely, “The question is not whether as Americans we care in moments of tragedy. Clearly we care. Our hearts are broken again. The question is do we care enough?…It ought to be a shock to all of us, as a nation and a people,” he said. “It ought to obsess us. It ought to lead to some sort of transformation.” Why do we continue to do these things even when we see the consequences afterwards? Why does it not drive people to change? The victims, innocent bystanders, each had their own lives, their own families, stories, jobs…
When a tragedy like this occurs, its hard to know how to react. What do you do from this point forward? It is hard to go on with our lives, because we can’t pretend it doesn’t exist. However, we can’t live our lives with fear and sadness controlling us. We remember the people who died, and we remember that life isn’t supposed to be that way. There is hope for a brighter future.
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