Because I don't know how to share a FB status on Twitter - and this message is equally important to me that I want to share it with my Twitter friends, I've copied and pasted it into a blog post.
As I sit here this morning beyond thankful and relieved to feel my children's hugs and hear their voices, I am saddened not only by the events of yesterday but to where the discussion about it has turned.
Please remember who your friends are as you are spouting off your perfect solutions. Remember, MY children live with a mental illness/impairment. My children do NOT belong in an institution, lock
ed away from society.
There is an important lesson on mental illness and the lack of support for those who live with it and their families here and the real crisis it is. But right now is not the time for that discussion.
Right now, we all need to grieve. We all need to support. We all need to hold our loved ones and be thankful we can.
Over the next few days, our TVs and SM feeds will be filled with the images of brave school staff and innocent children who won't be held by their families today. We need to take this time to pay our respects to them and their families and do what we can, from wherever we are to help their community in this devastating time.
When time has passed and our emotions are a bit more under control and we work together passionately to change our world - we need to do so with respect for each other. We need to understand that just because someone's mind doesn't work perfectly, that doesn't make them dangerous or mean they should be locked away. Of the many tragic things that will unfold from this horrific event don't let the unnecessary fear of people who are "different", instead of befriending someone special, understanding them and seeing their gifts, pushing them away be one.
For now, please, PLEASE, PLEASE spend that energy loving on your family and paying respects to the lives that were taken and helping those who survived continue to live.
There is an important lesson on mental illness and the lack of support for those who live with it and their families here and the real crisis it is. But right now is not the time for that discussion.
Right now, we all need to grieve. We all need to support. We all need to hold our loved ones and be thankful we can.
Over the next few days, our TVs and SM feeds will be filled with the images of brave school staff and innocent children who won't be held by their families today. We need to take this time to pay our respects to them and their families and do what we can, from wherever we are to help their community in this devastating time.
When time has passed and our emotions are a bit more under control and we work together passionately to change our world - we need to do so with respect for each other. We need to understand that just because someone's mind doesn't work perfectly, that doesn't make them dangerous or mean they should be locked away. Of the many tragic things that will unfold from this horrific event don't let the unnecessary fear of people who are "different", instead of befriending someone special, understanding them and seeing their gifts, pushing them away be one.
For now, please, PLEASE, PLEASE spend that energy loving on your family and paying respects to the lives that were taken and helping those who survived continue to live.
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