Unbearable Grief: The Connecticut Elementary School Shooting

Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 04:15 pm

At least 26 people, including 18 children, were killed today when a gunman opened fire inside a Connecticut elementary school.

The shooter had two nine millimeter Glocks.

Please forgive my silence till now. I’ve been struggling with this since it happened this morning. It’s a helpless feeling to imagine the unbearable pain of these parents and families. My heart is breaking for them.

I know many of you are feeling as I am right now. Please be kind to one another, and send your thoughts and prayers to these families.

We will discuss gun laws another day, along with mental health policy. Today is not that day. For now, hold tight to your loved ones and try to find some solace where you can. Psychologists say that doing something can help alleviate the feeling of helplessness felt by the public at times like this, so as soon as needs have been expressed, we will post links.

In the meantime, we need to grieve as a nation. We need to admit that this is unbearable, that we can’t hold this kind of horror, that we want more than anything for this to be untrue.

But we must face what is, in order to address it.

If I could have anything for Christmas, I’d ask that these families be spared this grief, but the world doesn’t work that way. Is there any reprieve from such horror?

I get through moments like this with music. Amazing Grace, with its message that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God (insert your belief system here), is one of the songs that’s pulled me through tough times:

Feel free to share your coping strategies in the comments.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, who face an unthinkable tragedy.

Image: Angel of Grief is an 1894 sculpture by William Wetmore Story

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