There is no escaping it even if I wanted to. It’s everywhere. It’s on the radio, it’s on the television, it’s on the internet. I pass the crime scene on my way to and from work. The parking lot is still blocked off with police tape. Police cars still block the entrances with their lights flashing red and blue. National news teams report from a backyard across the street on Ina up on a small bluff; their bright lights, canopy, cameras and national anchorman cause traffic to slow during the commute home. Flowers, balloons and candles line corners and locations throughout Tucson. I see it on the faces of my fellow citizens; I hear it in their voices. Many of us strive to stay busy in an attempt to push past this even if temporarily. Many of us struggle to even function as the enormity of this tragedy envelopes us.
I think most every person in Tucson is tied to this tragic event in some way or another. If they haven’t yet discovered it, they’ll soon find their connection. Personally, there are a number of things that make this just that much more personal to me.
• First and foremost is the fact that this happened in MY hometown.
• Not only in MY hometown but basically in MY backyard, just a couple of miles from my house in Northwest Tucson.
• Gabby Giffords is MY congresswoman.
• I’ve met Gabby, spoken to her, voted for her and stand behind her.
• Several years ago, when she couldn’t reach my boss who was a personal friend of hers, Gabby got me on my cell phone in the evening and she asked for help when her father was hospitalized at TMC, the hospital where I work.
• I’ve met, spoken to and shared a joke with Gabe, her aide who was killed as he worked the Congress on Your Corner event on Saturday.
• I stood with others on the corner where Gabby’s office is located on the day of this tragedy because I didn’t know what else to do or where else to go.
• I helped with the organization and coordination of crisis counseling.
• I found out today through that crisis counseling that someone close to many of us at TMC was actually there on Saturday and administered CPR on that poor, little angel who’s life was cut short at just 9 years of age.
• The horribly disturbed young man that caused all of this lived just over one mile from my home.
• He went to the same high school as my kids.
• He attended the same campus of the local community college one of my daughters attended.
I’m sad, grief stricken and angry. To further those feelings, we all learned today that the sick people who call themselves messengers of God, those deranged members of the Westboro Baptist Church, will be here picketing the funerals of the fallen beginning with the service for Christina on Wednesday. There is no lawful way to stop them however there is a huge movement in Tucson to peacefully and lawfully create a human border and line the street to the church to block the family’s view of the WBC crazies.
I’m angry also at the people who are politicizing Saturday’s shooting. While standing on that corner this past Saturday with my fellow citizens helping each other grieve and looking for peace there were a few older women holding signs and chanting “Shame on FOX! Shame on FOX!” I was shocked and couldn’t stop myself from approaching them to say that we were all there to show love and support and this wasn’t about hate. I should have known better. People who so easily spout off political rhetoric no matter which side they are on will always find a way to push their message down our throats. Even in the most inappropriate time and place.
Through events like Columbine and the Virginia Tech shootings I didn’t quite understand how deeply those communities were impacted until it happened in mine. But I’m not ashamed of my hometown. This is not a reflection on the people of Tucson. This was the doing of a mentally unstable person who acted alone. I’m proud of my community and the way we are all pulling together to move forward. We’ll never forget but we won’t let this bring us down. I’m proud to call myself a Tucsonan.
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