Tragedy

There's nothing we can say that would affect recent events and there's nothing we can do that would change your opinion about recent events, but it is with extreme sorrow that we have to acknowledge those things that happened this week.  In the last two or three days to be precise.  To put it another way, we can't allow those events to pass without at least acknowledging them.  Anything less would be guilt by complicity, or at least guilt by apathy.

A gunman entered a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and opened fire, killing eleven. Back in the early 90s, we lived about a mile-and-a-half from the scene of this crime. A tragic, obviously anti-semitic tragedy, and in response, our so-called President noted that if more of the congregants were armed, as many people may not have died.

As everyone knows, last week, a fanatical hard-core Trump supporter mailed explosive devices to many of our so-called President's more vocal critics.  Fortunately, no one was hurt and none of the devices exploded, and it's still not clear if they were intended to detonate or just threats and intimidation directed at the critics.  But it's a scary and violent action that shows just how far some people are willing to go these days.

Almost forgotten in this tragic news was the gunman who shot and killed two black shoppers in a Kentucky supermarket.  He reportedly told a white bystander that "White's don't kill whites," and had earlier been unsuccessful in getting into an all-black Baptist church, where one can only imagine what he would have done.

This is not normal.  This can't go unacknowledged.  There's nothing I or anyone else and most certainly not our so-called President can say or do to make everything alright again.  There's no "Buddhist" or "Zen" take on this, there's no "liberal" or "progressive" policy or position of all of this, and there's no "scientific" or even "philosophical" stance.  Hate-fueled violence occurs and there's nothing that can be said.  We can only expose it to the light of day.

Look at any news outlet or opinion page and you'll find no shortage of additional details and thoughts and ideas about what needs to be done, who is to blame, and what's going to happen next.  We here at WDW have the humility to admit we don't have the answers.  All we can do is to love each other as much as we can, while condemning the perpetrators and enablers of violence in the harshest terms possible.

As well as get out and vote.