It’s been a week since the horrible shooting in Arizona and it’s been amazing to see how many people have seized the opportunity to advance their agendas or beliefs. 

Of course the gun control folks have made it clear that this wouldn’t have happened if the lunatic couldn’t buy a gun. Political folks are saying political talk has become too caustic and this is an example of the consequences for that escalation. Here in Rochester people held a peaceful demonstration demanding the quieting of political rhetoric. 

While it’s only been a week, the FBI and local Arizona law enforcement continue to tell us that the ‘person’ who committed the crime has no political affiliations or any agenda or any other kind of philosophy that would connect him to any group or ideology. Of course that hasn’t stopped people from trying to make it sound like something that it’s not. 1 mentally ill nut, nothing more, nothing less. 

We’ve heard that the college that kicked him out should have done more, that his parents should have done more, that his mental illness should have been dealt with before it turned violent. I understand that people are always trying to find meaning and seeking ‘closure’ and all that – and I completely respect that. But sometimes bad things happen to nice people and there is no reason that we can understand; it simply happens. I’m sure there are a whole bunch of people in Tuscon asking themselves if they should have done something, questioning themselves and going through the what if’s of this situation. 

I’m sure anyone who encountered this nut would have called the police if they had any idea of what he would eventually do, but it’s not fair to expect people to predict the future or more importantly, human behavior. 

I wish the murder could be punished 1000-fold for his crimes and that he could then rot in hell for all eternity. Of course that won’t happen. Nothing brings back those who perished that day. Maybe politics will change a little, maybe it won’t. Maybe gun laws will change, maybe they won’t. 

I suppose people will always seize opportunities like this to push their beliefs, but at the end of the day this boils down to 1 nut with a gun and it’s unlikely that there was much that could have been done to stop it, no matter what people say.