i’ve been meaning to say something about the shooting that took place in dallas on july 7th, killing 5 officers and wounding 9 others plus 2 bystanders. this was a terrible, terrible thing to happen, and i’ve quite honestly been putting off this post because i just don’t have the words for what it feels like this world is coming to. and yet life goes on – we continue to live our normal lives because it’s just the world we live in…and meanwhile the college where i go to culinary school is a crime scene [or was, i should say, since it just opened back up] and innocent people are dead. i don’t have words for it all, but i can’t ignore it, especially when it happened so close to home. i don’t have answers, i don’t even know what i feel except sad. and scared. not only scared for my safety, the safety of my family and friends and future children, but also scared because it feels like we’re getting immune to it all. it’s happening so frequently that’s it truly is becoming “the norm,” which is a horrible and unfathomable state to be in.
{photo was taken off google images. i wish it were bigger! this was the direct source although i wasn’t able to find the image on that site. i love the video that shows the movement of the lights and “one dallas” pop up on the omni hotel.}
the shootings happened 2.5 miles away from my home, and the shooter fled into a building on the very campus where i go to culinary school and was eventually killed by police with a bomb attached to a robot – the first time U.S. law enforcement has used a robot to kill a suspect. this happened at my school. i have to say it out loud to believe it. it’s completely unreal. [i watched this video of a walk-through of the crime scene and it was so weird to recognize it all.] and yes, i haven’t had class for two weeks, but the school finally opened up again. this is all way close to home, guys. i’m very thankful that my class this summer is on mondays and not on thursdays because i can’t imagine having been at school when everything went down.
it’s hard to have a whole lot of faith in people right now. with everything going on with ISIS and all the terrible things that have happened overseas, plus the political state of our nation and everything happening here, it’s rough. in truth, i don’t have a whole lot of trust in/respect for our presidential candidates [but then again, when have i ever trusted politicians?!]. i saw a quote recently [before the most recent shootings] that’s been floating around on social media: what if nobody is president and everybody just promises to be cool? i thought this was funny, but the sad reality is that everything that’s been going on here just further proves why we need a good leader to guide us through some difficult times and try to set things right as much as possible. i don’t know who that leader should be or who it will be, but all i know is we need someone. i’m thinking that God is by far our best bet! i say that jokingly, but also seriously. our world needs prayers – lots of them.
we need to take responsibility for our actions and to be the change – not only protest for it. while i’m 100% in support with the black lives matter campaign and the peaceful protests that gain awareness, a part of me feels that the best way to do something about it is to live it. support our officers, make friends with them. prejudices are broken when people realize that the people whom they are prejudiced against are people who have hopes and dreams and emotions and fears just like them. all of us should be teaching our children not to be prejudiced, no matter what our race. all of us should be teaching our children to be respectful to police officers, no matter what our race nor the race of the officer. we should be setting an example for them by being unbiased and respectful. police officers should be unbiased and respectful, people interacting with police officers should be unbiased and respectful, everyone should be unbiased and respectful, towards everyone. respect and equality – that’s some powerful stuff, and showing it in our daily lives is even more powerful than protesting about it. we need to get rid of the hate in our hearts! we are all people, and so many of us want the same thing – safety for ourselves and our children [i keep saying “our children” – and no, i don’t have any, but you know what i mean. if i did…], no prejudices or racial discrimination, goodness in this world instead of evil. but it’s strange because we’re fighting for the same things, yet we’re all doing it via separate agendas. i want to see us come together!
on a positive note, i have to say that i really did see dallas do just that – come together – after the shootings. our city has gotten a lot of positive press for its efforts after the event, and i must say that it made me proud to be from dallas. like i always say, let’s spread goodness and love wherever we go!
i’m continuing to pray for the families of the fallen officers and for those who were wounded, as well as for our entire world. praying for love and goodness and peace, all the time. xoxo