The holidays are here, so what am I going to talk about today? Something cheery and uplifting, right? Perhaps I'll share my testimony of the Lord and talk about how Christians should connect with Jesus this Christmas? Nope. I am going to talk about the senseless violence which courses through the veins of America.
I officially have met three murderers: a guy named Savino (who is the eldest brother of my childhood best friend), Daniel Hetrick, my sister's ex-boyfriend (who just recently murdered someone, inspiring this post), and Kevin Adams, whom I went to high school with and who is responsible for the gruesome murders of his foster family. Kevin Adams was infamous locally, and adding to the darkness, in his mugshot, he had red eyes; I know this is a common enough error with some cameras (not sure why; that'd be an interesting rabbit hole to go down), which added to the Satanic image of him everyone had developed in their minds. Kevin used to sell over-priced energy drinks to other kids in high school; never, though, did I think he was capable of this.
The most surprising of all these is Daniel, my sister's ex. He always had a psychopathic sort-of vibe about him... but the fact that my sister or I could have been killed by him is chilling to me.
All in all, I find it a bit crazy how much murder and mayhem goes on even in my small town. It is not even to mention the trauma of the local college shooting which happened just nine short years ago, of which a close friend of mine is a survivor, having been intentionally spared and made to watch the carnage. My aunt was an instructor at the college at the time, and even though she was not in the classroom, it still took a toll on her. After the shooting, Barack Obama came to visit Roseburg. In a very tasteless display, tons of hillbillies gathered outside the airport to protest him, toting their guns and all. I stood with Tanner McCue and a couple other kids from the high school, among the very few who actually served a welcoming presence for the president. Obama was very tender with the victims' families; he gave hugs, and my friend managed to get a really nice picture with him. It is very sad, and obviously there is nothing that can alleviate the unimaginable suffering he went through, but at least he got a picture with the (at the time) president.