#LafayetteStrong.
Friday morning, having fallen asleep early the night before I was fresh and ready for the day. As, I drove my son from Jersey City to Hoboken for his day camp, listening to the radio, when the announcers started to discuss the tragedy… it went something like this.
Announcer 1: “Did you hear about this theatre shooting?”
Announcer 2: “Yea, it’s crazy… this time it’s in a remote town… there are some real crazies out there”
Announcer 3: “Yea, it’s a town in Louisiana… Lafayette, Louisiana.”
As soon as those words were uttered my foot hit the brake and my heart sank. It was a good thing that I had pulled into the parking lot when I abruptly stopped. My 4 year old son, asks “what’s wrong mama?” I can barely get the words out and say “A bad person did something to hurt other people, and it happened in mommies hometown.”
I dropped him off and returned to the car and started to frantically dial my family and friends to be sure they were alright. One by one, I went down the list and all of them were fine. Thank god. Now I just felt angry.
As the news channels got more information on the victims and what some of them did I was humbled. Teachers raised the alarm, strangers picked up injured people carried them out and many others escorted people out of harms way before the police reached. In the two minute window, civilians who were out to enjoy their night became heroes, victims, and will carry a physical and emotional scar from the events that night forever.
Like Ryan Baniewicz said “Sadness picked the wrong city to visit because there’s too much love for it ever to survive.” Lafayette wasn’t picked to be the happiest city in the US for no reason. People here are the essence of what it means to be a community, they are welcoming, caring, loving, supporting, helpful and most of all strong no matter your creed, background, culture, or color.
My friend Katie, a teacher in Lafayette, called me back later in the day to inform me that she was alright. She told me that the teacher who pulled the alarm was our high-school classmates’ wife, Ali Viator Martin and that many people who were injured during the shooting was because many were running towards the gunman to make him stop. How much of this is true, I am not sure but, from my years of living in Lafayette I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it is a very high possibility.
I find it disturbing, that a religious organization tweeted “God sent the shooter.” I have read the Bible, Quran, Jain scriptures and Bhagavad Gita… and in all of them it says God is compassionate, understanding, loving, and supports you in ways that are miraculous. I saw none of these qualities in the person or the act of Thursday night. My city and the people in it are an embodiment of these qualities. Not saying they are without flaws, we all have flaws. However, I can say with out a shred of doubt that the town is filled with people that act with compassion, love, honor, support, and most of all kinship. I am not sure what the shooter thought or why he conducted this act but, I can say, that the city I know will come together for each other. This organization, who I choose not to name so I don’t help spread their word of hate indirectly, can try their best but, when we as a community commit to one another and create the human wall to protect the families of the victims you can bet nothing is getting through it. #LafayetteStrong is not just a hashtag, it’s a force to be reckoned with.
This is my request to the media, don’t show any clips or news about this hateful ‘religious’ organization. None. No coverage = Support Lafayette. Take a stand with us and help shut out people who wish to take away the time and energy of those who have lost so much.
