Absolutely heartbroken.

[TDale313]

Spent much of the day alternating between feeling shocked, crying uncontrollably, being absolutely furious, feeling fairly helpless. I don't have a personal connection to this story, but the events in Newtown touched me deeply.

My thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones today, for those (adults and children) who were at the school and who, while not physically injured, will be emotionally effected for the rest of their lives. I am heartbroken and horrified by the lives and potential lost in those classrooms, especially so many young children who had barely had a chance to live. I think of those who live in Newtown whose sense of small town security has been shattered. And all those around the world who, like myself, took this loss to heart even though it wasn't their town or loved one.

There will be plenty of threads (rightly so) for analysis, for asking why, and how we try to prevent "the next one". This thread was mostly started because I felt the need to share my feelings and to offer a because I think we could all use it right now.

[Suich]

1. I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around it.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

2. I'd like to ditto everything you said. That's the part I've been

dwelling on: WHY? Why after killing his mother did he go to the school and slaughter those little children? I just can't wrap my head around anything that could explain why those babies were taken from us.

Thanks for your post, TDale.

[TDale313]

3. I've been asking why all day...

Knowing full well we'll probably never have an answer that makes any kind of sense. Somehow the detail that the mother was killed elsewhere and then the gunman went to the school to target the children made it even more senseless to me (which seemed impossible)