Mourners hold
candles during a vigil at a makeshift memorial to mark
the weekend mass
shooting at a gay bar, late Monday, Nov. 21, 2022,
in Colorado
Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The Shooter
There is a shooter among
us.
He steps in unexpectedly
to disrupt our
equilibrium.
We create safe places
for ourselves –
schools
churches
community bars.
We make a circle of
belonging
where we can find the
security
to be ourselves.
Then comes the shooter.
What discord does he
bring?
(It's always a
"he" isn't it?)
Why is he so off-kilter
that he cannot tolerate
someone else's circle of
belonging?
Can he not recognize the
sacredness
of a safe place
to learn
to pray
to play
to celebrate ourselves?
For the sake of the
fallen,
For the sake of
humanity,
For the sake of our
longing for safe places,
We will never stop
offering
our circles of
belonging,
even if that circle (for
now)
is the best place to
weep.
~ Charles Kinnaird
