This morning I was checking Facebook for a reply to a message I had sent when I saw the first indication of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Shortly after that I began receiving a series of phone calls from friends and colleagues here to ask about Mom and my family in general. While Connecticut is not a big state, Newtown is about 45 minutes or so from where my mother lives. Even so, it was taking place in an area where friends live, where I have been many, many times.
For the remainder of the day I kept a local Connecticut TV station on the Internet to hear what was going on whenever I was in my office. The news continued to get worse with each passing hour. The only thing worse than the facts was the speculation. Worse than the speculation was the erroneous information. And then came the unwarranted social media attacks on anyone with the same name as the misidentified shooter.
Before we have even begun to grasp the full extent of what happened the traditional and social media are falling all over themselves to try and figure out what motivated the alleged shooter to do what he did. Before we have even begun to have all the facts traditional and social media are ramping up the gun control debate.
STOP IT! Just stop all of it. There are more important things to do first.
Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. [Jeremiah 31:15]
Well said, Jeff! Thank you.
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