Sandy Hook 2012

I found this article digging through a file of old articles and notes. I wrote it in 2012, several weeks after the Sandy Hook incident and it was published in a magazine. I intentionally haven’t changed a word; it’s exactly as it was published. I find it amazing how little things have changed over 20 years. Like they say, “…the more things change, the more they stay the same…”

It’s Sunday morning in coastal Georgia, the fog’s burning off and it’s time to acknowledge people and acts that kept the Sandy Hook tragedy from becoming even worse, kind of an awards ceremony if you will. Here’s my awards- (1) Connecticut State Police Violent Crimes Detectives have been on the clock going on 72 hours and they’ve all had about a two-hour cat nap at best; they’re dog tired, operating on cold coffee, cold pizza and cigarettes. They’re doing a total reconstruction and when they’re done, they’ll know where every round was fired from and pretty much everything that led up to, and during the killing, including this asshole’s mind set and motivation. Will you be told every detail?... No, and you shouldn’t be for a variety of reasons. (2) The initial responding police units for evacuating kids (not knowing if they’d be doing it under fire), securing a perimeter and their quick, aggressive entry into that school. (3) That uniform CSP Lieutenant, who’s been the press spokesman, has been brilliant- he’s kept the public informed as much as possible, but protected the integrity of the investigation and kept the TV vultures at bay. (4) The Governor of Connecticut came to the scene, gave a classy, short statement, then got out of the way and let the professionals work- nice job, Mr. Governor. (5) Local fire department (all volunteer), no surprise here, when things get dicey, you can always depend on the smoke eaters. (6) The school district for having a well thought out emergency plan, taking it seriously and practicing it- it saved lives. (7) The kids were amazing. This could have been a lot worse. With that weapon and easy targets in a confined space, the death toll could have been 100 and not 20, but the kids were great. That AR15 has a loud, staccato report that was echoing up and down those halls, there’s muzzle flash, ricochets and the air was full of cordite smoke, those kids may not have known exactly what or why, but they knew it was bad. But they listened to the teachers, obeyed instructions instantly and didn’t panic- those little kids were magnificent. (8) The teachers- every American, at some point, should stop and consider what these heroes did that morning. There was no hysteria, instead, fueled by adrenaline, knowing they were probably going to die, but understanding they had to protect those kids, these women (at least 2) advanced towards the gunfire and the rest used themselves as human shields to protect the kids- get where I’m going here?... This is Medal of Honor territory!  So, ladies, the next time some guy tells you that women aren’t worth a shit in a life-threatening situation, just before you punch his lights out, remind him of grade-school teachers who died a warrior’s death protecting a bunch of little kids….   

Something that went over the head of 99% of the people was the Connecticut State Police assigning a uniform trooper to each of the 20 victim families, it wasn’t PR, it was to keep the gapers, self-appointed grief counselors and the sleazoid tv news people away from the victims’ front door and back a respectful distance- my contempt for the flash & trash tv news people continues to cruise along at warp speed. The shooter is a young white male from a middle-class family, nice suburban neighborhood, above average intelligence, pretty much of a loner, living at home, but probably in a strained relationship with parent(s), few friends, somewhat disconnected from mainstream youth culture, into or interested in Goth… anybody see a pattern here with a few other shooters that have been in the news?  Gun control probably wouldn’t have prevented this incident since his mother legally purchased the weapon and kept it in the house. A determined attacker will always find a way to defeat a mechanical or human obstacle and obtain or fashion a weapon (you can learn how to make a suicide vest on the internet)- gun control, at best, would have been an inconvenience to him. The answer is in identification and prevention of potentially violent people. Nothing just happens, this type of killer went through several stages before he killed (A) anger or brooding over a grievance, problem, hallucination, fear, (real or imagined) (B) either verbally, in writings or actions gave some indication of his problem (C) planned the act, obtained the equipment, justified his actions to himself, accepted that he would die and then calmly and methodically began shooting. That morning, the shooter was the calmest, most focused, and most determined person in Newtown, Connecticut, and nothing short of a police bullet was going to stop him. If you want to demand something, demand that your elected officials begin to address the mental health issue in identification, treatment, prevention, and incarceration of certain individuals, they’re not that hard to identify….