Bad things happen...

Why do senseless acts of violence happen?  There really can't be any answer for that--that is why they are called senseless.  You can't 'really' avoid them, or stop them.  They just are.  The vast majority of people do not have hurtful intentions, but unfortunately there is no consistent way to control or stop the small number who do.  And, I would think we can all agree that someone with senseless hurtful intentions is almost definitely going to have some sort of mental illness.  Why else would they want to hurt people?  If this is true, it seems to me that we all have to accept the fact that sometimes violent people are going to hurt innocent others.  And, that innocent other could be you.

It never happened... Until now...

Now, this isn't to try to scare you (or me). This is actually a therapeutic realization, because it is realistic.  Bad things sometimes happen that are just totally out of your ability to control or stop.  Bad things don't happen because someone did something wrong or was stupid.  I mean, sometimes smart behavior can prevent problems, but when someone is just crazy violent mad they are going to find a way to hurt someone. This is just a sad fact of life.  Just like the sad fact that the summer hasn't started yet in Seattle.  Some things are just forces of nature that we can not control or prevent.  This isn't to say I don't want things to change, because I'd do about anything to either end all violence.... or have a warm sunny day :).  


Now, we all know that the chance of being a victim of one of these random senseless acts of violence is probably worse than your odds of winning the lottery.  But, it CAN and WILL happen to someone, somewhere.  There is no person or entity (police/govt/etc) with the power to predict, prevent, avoid, or control all random acts of violence.

So what does that say about our safety?  Well, it says that we can never be 100% safe.  That shouldn't be a surprise.  Bad things sometimes just happen.  It sucks.  It is smart to try to prevent and plan for bad things, but that doesn't somehow make you safe or invincible.  Strangely enough, this knowledge actually makes me feel more safe rather than less.  For a person who likes to control things, this is a huge huge relief, because it means that even if I were perfectly in control, I could still be a victim.  So, that means that obsessing over being in control and aware of a situation doesn't matter, which frees me up to think about other things.  Like how much I'd love for summer to start here in Seattle!!!

Even Super-man is vulnerable to things beyond his control...