Not that it makes a difference in the way things unfolded, as the victims died needlessly regardless, but I am truly shocked at this glaring omission of a material fact that went unchecked for nearly one and a half days. Even my last blog, which I submitted this morning (aftering typing most of it at 2 a.m.), has a misrepresentation of some facts in it due to what the media reported.
I know it is not unusual for stories to change over time, but who withheld such facts and why for so long? I believe that the public is entitled to the facts as they come available and in this situation, I cannot see a viable excuse for withholding that information. I wonder how much more odd and puzzling this story will become as more facts come out.
In light of this terrible tragedy, my thoughts and prayers are for the families involved, and the children around America who fear going back to school on Monday. I know if I heard of something this tragic when I was in elementary school, especially the earliest years, I would have been terrified of going to school. Young minds are incredibly impressionable at that age. Case in point, when I was four or five years old, a pretty young girl named Marsha Trimble was kidnapped from her neighborhood in Nashville. Eventually, her body was found nearby, and the story was all over the news (which at that time meant two channels and at 6 pm.) I was afraid to venture far from my house and the close eye of my family for a very long time. The fact that I still remember her name from 37 years ago shows how the story lingers with me all these years later. I feel for the children of today. Teenagers driving today grew up seeing the twin towers fall, two wars, and recently a rise in public school shootings, as well as other public executions. I wonder how they will fare over the years with this continual exposure to violence in the media.