"What really matters is the blame, somebody to blame.." ~ Stephen Sondheim

After the horrific happenings in Colorado last week, I knew this would be coming down the pike, but just because I knew it was coming doesn't make it any easier for me to stomach. A mere 5 days after 12 people were killed and 58 were injured, 7 still in critical condition, in a Colorado movie premiere of Warner Bros. latest installment of the Batman trilogy, "The Dark Knight Rises", someone has seen fit to file a lawsuit. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, some sick bastard who escaped death and injury has figured out a way to try and make money from a horrendous event, the worst mass shooting in this country's history, that tore 12 people out of the lives of their loved ones. Now, to be fair, he did lose his best friend in the shooting. I am sure the entire ordeal was traumatic, but who, after going through something like this says, "Now, how can I make a buck off of what happened to me?" The blog post just before this one talked about the fact that we have to find someone to blame when these things happen. The man's lawyers have decided to blame The Colorado Theater, James Holmes' doctors, and finally Warner Bros. for making a violent film. Really? Warner Bros. made a violent film? I am shocked!!!, she typed facetiously. Look around, all films contain some kind of violence. If this had been a screening of Disney's "Snow White" he would be suing the Apple Growers of America. Far fetched, I know, but you see my point. Violence exists everywhere on television, films, the Internet, books. For goodness sake, fairy tales are extremely violent, but just because I see violence or read about it, doesn't mean that I'm going to act it out. Why, because I'm not crazy! I'm not evil! I know right from wrong. I have compassion. Blaming Warner Bros. for the choices James Holmes made to kill innocent people is like blaming a car company because someone decided to get behind the wheel drunk and kills someone. The Colorado theater is to blame because the exit door the shooter propped open and entered through at the front of the theater was not alarmed. I have been going to the movies for more than 30 years, and I have often gone through the door at the front of the theater after the film was over. It usually leads directly to the outdoors. Of all the doors I have gone through I have never tripped an alarm, why? because they are not used solely for the purpose of emergency exits. If it had been wired with an alarm, it would be the first one I've seen in my 48 years. Finally James Holmes' doctors are named in the suit because he was on drugs. Vicodin, to be exact. the suit sites that Holmes was not being monitored properly. Vicodin, for those readers who don't know, is a pain killer. I may be going out on a limb here, but I am relatively sure that James Holmes is not the first person to take more than the prescribed dose of pain meds. When I had kidney stones, I was given a prescription once for Vicodin. I was not required to submit to daily urine screenings to obtain the prescription. The lawyer has even drawn the parallel between Heath Ledger and James Holmes and their use of Vicodin. Heath Ledger, the actor who played "The Joker" in "The Dark Knight", died of an accidental overdose of Vicodin. Somebody get me a map so I can follow this case down the rabbit hole. I know I'm being extremely sarcastic, but that's because I'm mad. When I'm mad I get really sarcastic. Attorney, Donald Karpel, was quoted as saying, "Somebody has to be responsible for the rampant violence that is shown today." Well, Mr. Karpel, someone is. It's James Holmes. He planned it, he pulled the trigger, he made the decision to act. If your lawsuit had any basis of truth, then anyone who ever made a decision to harm people would always have an excuse, somebody or something to blame, and isn't that the whole problem? Too many times through life we show the world that we don't have to be held accountable for our actions. That is the terrible trend that needs to stop. Choices have consequences. The sooner we start living our lives with that in mind, the better off we will be. The choice to make money off of this tragedy will have consequences. Good luck living with the money you're awarded, if any. I just hope you remember as you're spending each dollar what had to happen for you to get it.

What if you're right?

I didn't rush to write a post about the tragic events in Colorado yesterday because I knew if I did, it would be filled with anger and thoughts of revenge. When you hear of something like that happening, your first feeling is utter disbelief. Then that is quickly followed by anger, and then comes the questioning and finally we, in our humanity, have to find a reason. We have to lay blame. There will be an endless parade of speculation and analyzing in the weeks to come. Since the event took place at the midnight premier of "The Dark Knight Rises", people will draw comparison to that, especially since it has been reported that the shooter proclaimed to the police that he was "The Joker", the arch villain of Batman. People will blame our violent television shows and video games. They want to find a reason that this 24 year old boy would commit these atrocities. New crews are camped outside his parent's home hoping for some tiny thread to speculate on as to why. That's really the question we want answered, WHY? We may gain that insight where we have not been able to in events like these that have happened in the past. So many times in these shootings, after the individual has caused all the death and destruction, they turn the gun on themselves. James Holmes gave up almost willingly. No matter what theories are produced, we know one thing. Holmes' actions were not normal. What he put into motion on July 20th took planning. Lots of it! Everything he was carrying, what he wore, using tear gas, having a gas mask on, not to mention the booby-trapping of his apartment with explosives that law enforcement is still trying to figure out. We know he was smart, very smart, and seemingly normal, so what happened? That, ladies and gentleman, is the $64,000 question, and here is the answer: We don't know! We may never know. Not much comfort in that, is there? Here's the thing. The plain truth is, we don't have any control over what other people do, we only have control over ourselves. We only have control, as parents, to raise our children to be good people and know right from wrong and to have compassion for others. And yes, here's the pill that's a little hard to swallow, we have a responsibility, no, a duty to be honest with ourselves and others. Apparently when all of this hit the news yesterday, ABC news contacted the shooter's mother. Her words to them were, "You have the right person." How many times do we, as parents, friends, co-workers, see some sign, notice some behavior, just have a plain gut instinct that something isn't right, and ignore it? Rationalizing the sick feeling we have deep in the pit of our stomachs, that we are being silly, we are over-analyzing the situation. I can't call this to anybody's attention. What will people say? What if I'm wrong? What if you're RIGHT? How different would the community of Aurora be today if someone had been honest with themselves and told someone about that odd feeling they had around James Holmes?