Dark Night

I am very sad. Sad for the people of Aurora, CO. Sad for the victims and their families. I just do not understand how someone can walk into a movie theater and shoot people at random, including children. I do not understand why. I have been reading/watching the news stories, but am struggling to process what has happened.

I am also very scared. I know it may seem like an overreaction, but we had tickets for The Dark Knight Rises yesterday, and I honestly did not want to go. Chris bought the tickets the week that they went up for pre-order, and I knew it meant a lot to him to see the movie. He had been talking about it for months (years, maybe). But it was really hard to get past that feeling of "this may not be a safe place" as  we headed through the mall and up into the theater.

I like to think it is a world of hope and possibility. Not of terror and fear.

Hmm. Let me rephrase: I recognize that I am privileged to live in a life that does not involve terror and fear. I do not have to question my safety and security on a regular basis. I also know that for some people, terror and fear is a part of their daily existence. That is something that I cannot even imagine.

Christopher Nolan, director of the Batman trilogy, shared the following statement in response to the massacre:

“Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theater is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families.” 

Fear and hope were both major themes in the Batman trilogy, especially this last film. I think we all are going to have to spend some time looking for our own sources of hope, as we try to make sense of all of this violation of our safe space.