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I want to remain shocked.
I don't want to ever see this as normal.
It just gets harder and harder to not see the latest attack on an unsuspecting public as "just another shooting". After all, they seem to happen all the time these days. In the short time I have been in Belize, there have been attacks in both Florida and Mexico.
It doesn't matter if it is a lone wolf or a militant group, a home-grown threat or international terrorists. There is nothing normal about this. Lives are cut short. Other lives are changed forever. Families and friends never fully recover. Loved ones will be missed at every birthday party, holiday celebration and evening meal forever.
None of this stops me from traveling. None of this will make me change my wandering ways. I've always told people, I could just as easily get hit by a car crossing the street in Columbus, Ohio. So, I cross paths, streets, roads, highways, byways and then wander where there aren't even any roads.
But, this latest attack was in Playa del Carmen! I know this place. It's not some unknown statistic in a place I've never heard of. I painted one of my most recent murals in Playa del Carmen. I know the street! The Blue Parrot Bar is on Fifth Avenue. I have a blog posting about that street. Every attack is insane. Every attack is a personal assault on a civilized society. But, this attack is the most personal one to me. I haven't even made it home yet from my stay in Playa del Carmen! The experience is all so fresh.
I have friends living in Playa del Carmen. One of them signed in to a Facebook page that assured his friends that he was safe. What kind of world is it that we need those kind of Facebook pages?
I'm just so sad today, and I mourn the loss that these families now suffer. However, I will not let this insanity defeat me. I'll change some of my ways. I mean, I didn't used to look for emergency exits in advance or think about where I might need to take shelter. I do now. But, I will continue to live my life.
None of this is normal. I will remain shocked ... and outraged.
I don't want to ever see this as normal.
It just gets harder and harder to not see the latest attack on an unsuspecting public as "just another shooting". After all, they seem to happen all the time these days. In the short time I have been in Belize, there have been attacks in both Florida and Mexico.
It doesn't matter if it is a lone wolf or a militant group, a home-grown threat or international terrorists. There is nothing normal about this. Lives are cut short. Other lives are changed forever. Families and friends never fully recover. Loved ones will be missed at every birthday party, holiday celebration and evening meal forever.
None of this stops me from traveling. None of this will make me change my wandering ways. I've always told people, I could just as easily get hit by a car crossing the street in Columbus, Ohio. So, I cross paths, streets, roads, highways, byways and then wander where there aren't even any roads.
But, this latest attack was in Playa del Carmen! I know this place. It's not some unknown statistic in a place I've never heard of. I painted one of my most recent murals in Playa del Carmen. I know the street! The Blue Parrot Bar is on Fifth Avenue. I have a blog posting about that street. Every attack is insane. Every attack is a personal assault on a civilized society. But, this attack is the most personal one to me. I haven't even made it home yet from my stay in Playa del Carmen! The experience is all so fresh.
I have friends living in Playa del Carmen. One of them signed in to a Facebook page that assured his friends that he was safe. What kind of world is it that we need those kind of Facebook pages?
I'm just so sad today, and I mourn the loss that these families now suffer. However, I will not let this insanity defeat me. I'll change some of my ways. I mean, I didn't used to look for emergency exits in advance or think about where I might need to take shelter. I do now. But, I will continue to live my life.
None of this is normal. I will remain shocked ... and outraged.