Today, I found out that while I was on my way to Omaha to pick up my son’s girlfriend from the airport, 8 people were being shot to death and 5 others were wounded by gunfire. With the holidays coming up and the Christmas shopping that is still needing to be done, it’s scary to think about how easily it could have been a member of my family or one of my friends as our family does alot of shopping in the Omaha malls. With Robert Hawkin’s statement that he wanted to “Go out in style”, I’ve yet to figure out how wounding and killing innocent people can be described as “stylish”. While it’s pretty much a no-brainer that the survivers will need extensive therapy to help them work through the trauma they went through, after going through such a tragic episode, I wonder if they will be able to receive ENOUGH therapy to get them through this and to enable to go on with their lives in any sort of a normal way. I wasn’t even in the mall and after hearing about the shootings, I know I will definitely hesitate before walking into another Omaha mall. I can’t begin to imagine how hard it will be for those that were there to ever consider shopping in a mall in Omaha again, much less anywhere else. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and friends as well as the survivors.
The fact that the shooter had emotional problems is no secret. It was well known before, and there is definitely no doubt about it now. What amazes me is the number of people with emotional problems in the United States that are overlooked. The reasons/excuses, whatever you want to call it range from:
People not caring when they see someone in trouble (the “it’s not my problem” syndrome that seems to be the norm anymore.
People not thinking they can do anything to help the person having problems. (Or at least not knowing which resources are available to go to, or to refer the person to)
People not being able to get the treatment they need due to not having enough money or no insurance, or both.
People not wanting to step up and say “My son/daughter/friend/parent/sibling (whatever the case) needs help” and actually doing something about it for fear of upsetting or angering the person.
It seems so easy for people to take the “it’s not my responsibility” approach and then to blame someone else when a person with psychological problems goes on a rampage.
While I dont in any way feel that the shooter should be glorified or excused for his actions, I do believe that people are going to have to start stepping up and stop ignoring the people with emotional problems if we want these kind of senseless shootings to be prevented. Alot of people died and were injured yesterday because no one cared enough to see to it that Robert Hawkins got the kind of mental treatment that was needed. The people that knew him best, KNEW that he had problems, KNEW that he was at a minimum SUICIDAL and as far as I am aware of right now, didnt bother making that one phone call that could have gotten him evaluated and treated. (To my knowledge, there was no mention about anyone requesting mental health care for him). Granted, they arent the ones that pulled the trigger, but had they cared enough, made one 5 minute phone call out of a lifetime, there is a POSSIBLITY that this tragedy could have been prevented. How people can know that someone is suicidal and not do anything because they didnt know that the person would hurt others, baffles me. Did HIS life not matter enough? How many deaths is it going to take before people stop looking the other way?
When is the government going to step up and take responsibility in their role in health care? Probably never. There’s been lots of promises made about health care reform, but where are the results of those promises? Where is the health care for those with no money and no insurance? How many deaths is it going to take before the government puts health care at least somewhere towards the top of their list?
These are just my own personal thoughts about the shooting.
