Newtown, Conn, Portland, OR and China

This week alone has seen 3 attacks, 2 on schoolchildren. On Tuesday, a man shot and killed two people, then took his own life at a mall in Portland, Oregon. The gun used was stolen from a friend. When his ex-girlfriend was interviewed, she said that the last time she had talked to him, Jacob Roberts had sold all of his property and bought a one way ticket to Hawaii. She went to his house to spend the night and found him depressed and unresponsive when she tried to talk to him. His everyday attitude, according to the woman, was a sunny disposition. 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/13/friends-man-accused-in-ore-mall-shooting-express-shock-disbelief-over-rampage/

In Newtown, Connecticut a 20 year old man named Adam Lanza, entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed almost 30 people, 2/3 of whom were children. He reportedly killed his mother at the house before going to the school. All the news websites, Twitter, Facebook, and search engines have been reporting the latest on the shooting all day. I've heard reports that Adam Lanza had anywhere from two to four guns. His brother said that he was slightly autistic, and had some other mental difficulties.  Lanza's older brother, Ryan, was misrepresented as the shooter earlier in the day, but later news showed that he was at work in New Jersey, an entirely different state.

http://gma.yahoo.com/breaking-conn-school-district-locked-down-shooting-report-151955384--abc-news-topstories.html

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONNECTICUT_SCHOOL_SHOOTING_SUSPECT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-14-18-40-31

http://gma.yahoo.com/connecticut-shooter-adam-lanza-obviously-not-well-182011729--abc-news-topstories.html

In China, a man described as 'deranged' attacked an old lady with a knife and then crossed the street and attacked primary school children, 20 at last count. The children are now at a State Hospital recovering from their wounds. No deaths have been reported. Thank goodness! In China primary school is roughly analogous to elementary school, with children ages 6 to 11 attending the schools. The culprit is now in police custody. 

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-attacks-22-kids-knife-china-school-article-1.1220230

First off, I'd like to express my condolences to the victims, alive and dead. I won't ever know what it would ever be like to be a child who witnessed a shooting. I hope to never witness one as an adult. Because places involved with violent and horrific events can trigger PTSD flashbacks, part of the school in Connecticut will have to be rebuilt so that children do not have panic attacks if they repeatedly remember a man with guns blazing stepping around a corner of the building. Even that thought is hair raising. Construction should be redone on the Portland mall and the Chinese school as well. Of course physical building construction won't be enough. Counseling centers and psychology centers have stepped forward and offered mental health counseling to the survivors. 

I want to get this discussion over as fast as possible. On Twitter I saw several tweets from individuals calling for strict gun control, or even banishment of all firearms. I can't say I blame anyone for asking for that. Even though I enjoy target shooting in the desert if the banishment of guns meant the banishment of murder I would gladly find something else to do with friends on the weekend. But no guns doesn't mean no murders. http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcgvinco.html

This was also evidenced by the less discussed, but just as tragic attack in China. Chinese citizens are not allowed to have guns. So this guy found a knife. Attacks on all people, let alone little children will not lessen, let alone cease. 

All three of the attackers have been reported as having some degree of mental incapacity. This is in no way meant to attach the stigma of 'dangerous individuals' to those with some form of mental illness. I have diagnosed depression and anxiety. I can't imagine hurting a child. In mental health cases, these events are an exception rather than the rule. But the fact that all three attackers, as well as the Dark Knight Rises shooter from earlier this year, showed symptoms of mental illness should not be ignored. I don't mean the 'mental illness' of, "What kind of *expletive* guy would shoot kids?" that I have heard today. I mean the kind of mental illness that someone we know has: Depression, Anxiety, ADD/ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia etc. These are treatable, but for some reason were not. I don't know about China, but here in the United States there are counseling facilities, treatment centers, prescription drugs, and doctors who know how to treat these illnesses. Unless an individual has good health insurance or is at a university that offers free counseling, the cost of mental health care is quite high. This is not the time to debate the pros and cons of individual health care, Obamacare, socialized medicine, or other options. I will say that since the CEOs of several top Health Insurance and pharmaceutical companies received on average $9.2 million in pay it is pretty safe to say that they could live on a lower budget and drop their prices a bit.(http://www.healthreformwatch.com/2009/05/20/health-insurance-ceos-total-compensation-in-2008/) On economic issues I am usually rather libertarian, and I don't think that the government should go charging in and forcefully take their money. But, the heads of these companies, and those that work with them should have some common decency towards the average citizen. If these CEOs only think about money then we have an even bigger issue. Assuming that they are still human, the lowered prices would allow care to those who need it most, and hopefully incidents like these in recent months and today would lessen.

Even if there are ways to make these events happen less, they did happen today. Now we need to come together and restart the healing process. We were able to do this after 9/11. Today is no different. I saw several posts filled with anger, a legitimate emotion. After the anger fades, and it will, what are we to do? I suggest we follow the teachings of Jesus given during the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4) and through his prophet Abinadi in The Book of Mormon, "Yea, and are ^awilling to mourn with those that ^bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort . . . " (Mosiah 18:9). Pray for the families in Connecticut, Oregon, and China. Certainly not all of them are Christian, but that does not matter. Put politics and any unkind feelings we have, and pray for them to be comforted and for them to be healed. We should also remember that there is another family that lost their mother and brother in Connecticut today. The mother was killed, the brother was the killer and then was killed. That family also deserves our prayer and help just as much as any of the other victims. It may be natural for us to be angry, but as the natural man is an enemy to God we would do well to remember these words, "But I say unto you, ^aLove your ^benemies, ^cbless them that^dcurse you, do ^egood to them that ^fhate you, and ^gpray for them which despitefully use you, and ^hpersecute you." (Matthew 5:44)
Some may ask, where was God this day? He could have given the shooter in Connecticut a heart attack before he got to the school. Yes, that could have happened. And I don't know why it didn't. 

Heroes of the day:

As I can't possibly put this experience into words of my own, here are the news stories:

A teacher that put her life in danger to keep her students safe

http://gma.yahoo.com/childrens-terror-newtown-massacre-192100426--abc-news-topstories.html

The President's words

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-statement-newtown-shooting-3-15-p-m-195212145--politics.html

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20656617,00.html

170-130=40

For perhaps the last year to 18 months I have gained weight. Well, at least in that amount of time it became noticeable. At the beginning when I began I probably didn't notice, or if I did, I denied it would continue. After all, my whole life I was called "skinny punk" by my stepdad, and in a more congenial manner was told I could "eat anything" and that I had a fast metabolism. In high school I averaged 130 pounds. It seemed that no matter what I shoved in my mouth that didn't change. Now at 27 (almost 28) I am almost 170 pounds (166 last time I was on a scale). That's 40 pounds extra. I may not want to be a "skinny punk" again, but I don't want to be chubby like I am. And I don't think I should wait until I am 300 pounds before I get up and try and solve the problem. 40 founds is going to suck to get off, but it is infinitely better than having to lose170 pounds.
I'll admit it. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what people will say. I'm afraid of what they will think when they see me starting to exercise. Heck, I'm afraid of exercising. I've never really done it, so I'm not sure I know how to start on a program. Plus, I'm not sure it will work if I don't know how to do things correctly. I can't really ask for help since most health and athletic trainers need to be paid since it is their job. But I don't have a job or any money, so I can't do that.
What I do know is I have to do something! Yesterday I went to the Los Angeles Auto Show at the LA Convention Center. Walking around the show shouldn't have been very strenuous, the air conditioning was on, and it wasn't a hot day. Even Southern California cools down in December. But by 3:00 I was sweating and out of breath. I had a large breakfast with my dad, sister, and brother-in-law. At around 2:30 we stopped to have lunch before going to see more cars. I still wasn't very hungry, but I ordered a full meal and even tried to eat it. I ate about half of it, then felt like crap for about the next half hour. It went so far that I had to clamp my mouth shut so I didn't throw up, although I felt nauseous.
I went on Jillian Michael's website and took the free health assessment. I got some free tips, but, like other trainers, she needs to be paid as well. It isn't much, but it is more than I have right now. I did keep the email with the health link on it.
I need to reverse the last few decades of belief that I cant succeed in being healthy. I need myself to be my own incentive. I've thought, "Well if I had a girlfriend that I'd want to look good for, then I'd exercise." or, "If I had a job, then I could pay for help." It's true I should try and look my best, and a trainer or gym membership would help, but if I can't get off my behind by myself then nothing is going to work. After all I have known several attractive young women in the last 18 months and when I was in college there were free gyms at the University, so I can't use those excuses.
Now to figure out how to start and motivate myself. Anyone need an exercise buddy?