Jonathan Blunk, 26, a Navy sailor who served three tours in the Middle East and had high hopes of re-enlisting and trying to earn the honor of becoming a Navy SEAL.
Alexander J. Boik, 18, who had just graduated from high school and was looking forward to starting college in the fall and studying to become an art teacher.
Jesse Childress, 29, who was an Air Force cyber-systems operator.
Gordon Cowden, 51, who loved his family and protected them until his last breath.
Jessica Ghawi, 24, a gutsy sports journalist with a bright future.
John Larimer, 27, a Navy sailor based at Buckley Air Force Base, where he was a cryptologic technician.
Matt McQuinn, 27, who dove in front of his girlfriend and her older brother and saved their lives as bullets started to fly in the dark theater.
Micayla Medek, 23, who was paying her way through college by working at a local Subway.
Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6, the bright and energetic little girl whose mom keeps asking about her as she drifts in and out of consciousness after life-threatening gunshot wounds to the abdomen and neck.
Alex Sullivan, 27, was celebrating his 27th birthday. Two days later, he would have celebrated his first anniversary with the woman who is now widowed.
Alexander C. Teves, 24, who has just earned his master’s degree in counseling psychology.
Rebecca Wingo, 32, a single mom struggling through school while trying to raise two kids.
These are the people the nation is mourning, cut down all too soon by bullets fired by a madman during a midnight premiere of “Batman: The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colo. They had no reason to believe that going to their local movie theater would be anything less than entertaining.
Yet, sometime during the screening, during a battle scene filled with the sounds of gunfire, an actual gunman appeared in front of the screen. James Holmes, 24, is charged in the deaths of 12 and injuring 58 in the July 20 mass shooting. No one knows why the man, who called himself by the name of one of Batman’s archrivals The Joker, decided to take the four guns he legally purchased and go on a murderous rampage after booby-traping his apartment and dyeing his hair flame red.
But we hurt. We see ourselves in the victims. We see our loved ones. We feel a little scared in public places, a little jumpier when someone looks or behaves a little odd.
How do you deal with it? Anger. Sadness. Panic. Prayer.
We want to do something. We want to make sure that the next time we go into a movie theater or shopping mall or grocery store that we feel safe and we can protect our families. Should we strengthen gun laws? Should we extend the time it takes to get a weapons permit? Should it include a mental evaluation?
Should we stop eating up violence as a society and then cry foul when someone does something violent?
These are hard questions to answer, but we posed them to our readers at www.timeswv.com on our weekly online poll. Last week, we asked, “In the aftermath of a mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., that left 12 dead and dozens critically injured, how should we respond as a nation?”
And here’s how you responded:
• We need to look at personal safety and better security in public areas — 4.31 percent.
• We need to figure out how someone can amass such a personal arsenal capable of causing so much death and destruction — and stop it — 23.28 percent.
• We need to stop glorifying violence, like the movie being screened at the time of the shooting — 30.17 percent.
• We need to stop allowing ourselves to define this nation based on the acts of a very sick individual — 42.24 percent.
We don’t know all the answers, as it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. Perhaps we need to give it up to the one who sees the beginning and the end of the river, and not the ones standing along the riverbank.
This week, let’s talk about the Olympics, or rather Congress, by placing them into an Olympic event that suits them best.
Log on. Vote. Email me or respond directly online.
Misty Poe
Managing Editor
mpoe@timeswv.com
@MistyPoeTWV
Opinion
How should we react to Colorado tragedy?
- Opinion
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Seizure of AP phone records is an insult to an independent press
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We change — at least a little — after each attack
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Sound policy would give coal a chance, not erase challenges
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Each and every day should be Mother’s Day
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Teens need co-pilots to navigate social media
It’s tough to be the parent of a teen.
Heck, it’s tough to be the parent of a preteen. Ten is the new 15 these days. Fifteen is the new 21. Kids grow up so fast, and we have to fight them every step of the way to make sure they’re not growing up too fast. It’s a constant question of whether something is age-appropriate and the constant response of “all of my other friends are doing it.” -
Proposed bill levels playing field for local businesses
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Move past baloney and continue quest to ensure students get meals they need
It’s time to move past the baloney ... or bologna ... or lack of same at school lunch.
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‘Relentless efforts’ made by teachers are appreciated
Each weekday in classrooms across the country, men and women stand in front of young minds that are waiting to be molded, looking to be inspired, craving the lessons that will help shape their futures.
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Seizure of AP phone records is an insult to an independent press
