Solve for X

I don’t feel like being funny today. I feel like being angry. And I hate it.

I hate that there are people in the world who steal the lives of children.

I hate that some guy can wake up in the morning, stick a few guns in his pocket, and proceed to rob parents of their children.

I hate that anyone who survived this latest atrocity has lost the sense of security that is such a large part of what living in a small town is all about.

I hate feeling like someone failed this young man— because maybe they didn’t, but I can’t help but feel that they did.

I hate that nowhere my kid goes on a daily basis is safe from the odd lunatic with a gun— not at school, not at work, not at the movies, not at the mall. Nowhere.

I hate fucking guns. I fucking hate, hate, hate them. (And please refrain from responding that “guns don’t kill people” because that is just a load of horseshit. Guns don’t shoot themselves.)

I hate that one of the first Facebook posts following this tragedy was some ridiculous quote about God not being allowed in schools. This bullshit is NOT about God nor is it about religion. Praying wouldn’t have saved those children today. It didn’t save the Amish schoolchildren either. And, really, what kind of God allows this kind of thing to happen again and again and again?

I hate that in the aftermath of this tragedy news outlets were speaking with grade-school children ON CAMERA. Are you fucking kidding me?

What I hate most, though, is that I know, FOR A FACT, that this shit is not going to end. Because there is no solution. There is no way to protect ourselves or our children from this random, unthinkable violence. No way.

I hate that I worked all day and half the night and my kid went to school and then to work (AT THE MOVIES, AT THE MALL), so I haven’t seen her yet. I know she is going to hate it, but I cannot wait to hug her when she comes home. I cannot wait.

photo credit: half-mast flag