For victims of Jewish center shooting, massacre renews their pain

[ellisonz]

Joshua Stepakoff and Mindy Finkelstein were shot at the Granada Hills center in 1999. When news of the Sandy Hook shooting broke, they reached out to one another.
By Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times

December 16, 2012, 9:25 p.m.

Joshua Stepakoff and Mindy Finkelstein belong to a unique club. A fraternity, Stepakoff considers it, and they are called together every time another mass shooting takes place.

Virginia Tech. Ft. Hood. Tucson. Seal Beach. Aurora. Clackamas Town Center.

So when they saw the pictures of the children, rushing hand in hand, led by parents and police through the parking lot of Sandy Hook Elementary School, they knew that once again they had to reach out to one another.

"You hear about Connecticut?" he texted her Friday, 10:48 a.m.

"Ya. I'm beyond words. Had to leave work. How are U?"

More: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jewish-center-20121217,0,7195160.story

Ms. Finkelstein says it so well, "The second we give up hope...is the moment that we live in a war zone."

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Personally, I have lost hope.

Not just what I see there, but what I see elsewhere. Good for them for being supportive of one another and extending it to others.

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2. I don't know what I would do without hope...

...I wouldn't be very joyful in life, and that's important. I took great hope and joy from the service in Newtown tonight, people of all faiths, coming together in recognition.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. I have it on a personal level, but at this level, it is all but gone.

I see people trying to help, only to get slapped down. I see people trying to relate to others, only to see it ridiculed. I see people trying to promote peace, by using war and hate. For me, I stick closer to home. I never thought agoraphobia would have a positive side. I guess that is somewhat hopeful.

[ellisonz]

4. Hey you found it!