A Ray of Light in the Face of the Las Vegas Shooting

[lovemydogs]

The murder of 59 innocent people and injuries to 527 others is something you would think nothing positive could come out of.

But, as I was discussing the shooting with a neighbor I realized there was one positive ray of light in all the darkness and sadness.

While bullets were flying and people were running to save their lives, many stopped at risk to their own lives to help someone, strangers, they saw bleeding from gunshot wounds.

Instinct would say to run. Run to save your life.

And yet, so many everyday people stopped to help others.

Of course, all the off duty medical and police people who happened to be there for the concert were amazing and they saved so many lives.

But, I am talking about everyday people like you and me. They faced the hail of bullets to help strangers who were wounded and to me, that gives me hope for our country and society.

All the ugliness of the last year. All the depressing, selfish, greedy, nasty things that have happened in this country make you feel there is no hope. They were are going down into oblivion. That our society is coming apart in the face of evil and fascism.

And then, Sunday night so many everyday people became real heroes. So many acted with compassion and with so much selflessness.

There is hope.

[handmade34]

1. nope

this is not the time for prayer, for positivity, for seeing the good... yes, humans help each other all the time; in sadness, in storms, during accidents, in times of violence, friends, neighbors, strangers... there is nothing special about the people in Nevada, the residents of Houston or Florida during a hurricane, people stopping to help an accident victim... feeling like this is special or a great positive sign...

an act of selflessness, a sign of compassion would be the difficult work it takes to make a difference before the violence, fighting for the proper regulations in place before the storm, insisting on a good health care system before the medical emergency...

NOW is the time to be angry, very angry... it is almost as if we perpetuate the ugliness so we can feel good about how much goodness and compassion we have in the aftermath... I am sick of it and we need heroes that will fight and make it right before the massacre, we need people to risk their lives to save thousands preemptively instead of saving a few in the moment... DEMAND gun control. DEMAND regulation to make buildings safe, DEMAND a good health care system, DEMAND a clean environment, DEMAND an equitable economic system... putting ones live on the line to DEMAND these things for ALL the citizens of the U.S. is heroic...

I am fed up with "now is not the time" "there is nothing we can do" "those police/first responders/medical people are heroes"

NOW IS the time!! There is MUCH we can do (collectively) and it is the JOB of police to protect... nothing will be accomplished until we have the COLLECTIVE WILL to do something and it is damn time we all get in on it!!

[Demsrule86]

3. right and not one concrete suggestion...we have a gerrymandered house...

Demanding...simply won't work. The only hope is to flip the House and Senate and the presidency...and that can't happen until 2020. We might get the house or the Senate in 18...don't know how the gerrymander will affect our chances.

[Demsrule86]

2. Sorry just not feeling it...seeing Americans run from gunfire that is because of our crazy laws

makes me sick...I see no good whatsoever.

[treestar]

4. A good point, yet some of the same people

would be against helping in the more abstract way, via government program.

And then there is the issue of why it takes a tragedy. Though perhaps people do good things that don't make the news.