When I see this, it's hard not to feel sickened by the irony. Or even wonder if this somehow played a role in her death. I don't think that's likely. She and her friends saw what was happening around them and made a video. They did something.
While I don't believe I am a rat in a cage, I often feel that way, especially as a rather sheltered, white, middle-class man. I was relating this sense of helplessness to my wife. I really have no idea what to do other than pray. I don't want to say "just" pray. I hear people say, well, there is not much you can do other than "just pray." This diminishes the efficacy of prayer, as well as the power of God. I will pray. But yet, I want to do more. I told my wife I was thinking about fasting until the violence stops. I believe there is power in prayer, but there is amazing power in fasting and prayer, especially when you think of hunger fasts from the past that were geared towards social injustice.
But with my personality (I love attention) I felt like all this would do would draw attention to myself. However, I acknowledge much good has come from people using the Internet to share their stories, someone else's story and/or give much needed attention to a cause.
So far, the most original thought I have had was to shock everyone. To unnerve everyone out there. Consistently. The Internet is chock full of shock videos, pictures, etc. We are practically numb to them at times. I've seen some of them, and I've always been more intrigued with the videos that show how people respond to these videos. Their facial expressions and their physiological response. As someone who has seen a few of these pictures, I can tell you, the mere mention of a name calls forth that image very quickly.
I don't want to do this to make people sick or fearful, but I want to do it so they don't compartmentalize the death of a young child into that part of our brain where we store statistics and unrelateable information. If we learned anything from the mass shooting at Connecticut, and all the others for that matter, they shock and terrify us and our sense of security. We don't feel as safe anymore. Not at work. Not at school. Not our place of worship. We become desperate to find some means of safety and protection for our children and loved ones. But in truth, this is how some people live all the time. It just doesn't make headline news.
It's only January, and Chicago has already had 42 homicides. This matched a record last set in 2002. And this is after a year of over 500 murders.
So, dear readers, please pray. Pray I would know how to rattle cages.
