Tragedy: Bringing Out The Good in Humanity
I was on Facebook when I read the tragic news: 2 bombs went off at the Boston Marathon killing a few and wounding over one hundred people on Monday, April 15th. The feeling of numb shock I felt as I turned on the news and watched the horrifying and chaotic coverage is a feeling I won’t soon forget. I cried; I didn’t understand how there could be so much hate in the world that people would relish in performing such horrific acts. I didn’t even know anyone who was involved in the marathon yet I still felt hopelessly lost and alone. However, I firmly believe that from the ashes of tragedy rise resilient compassion, which manifested in many forms on Monday.
The first thing that began to restore a piece of my hope was a quote that began to circulate Facebook from Mr. Rogers telling people to look for the helpers in the midst of bad situations; they are always there. Upon seeing this I decided to refine the lens through which I observed the Boston Marathon tragedy and was truly touched by what I realized. Many people ran towards the blasts after it happened to see what they could do to help; The American Red Cross received so many donations that they issued a tweet saying they had enough blood to meet demands and on their Facebook they apologized for lines that would be much longer and encouraged people to make appointments. Twitter handles such as #PrayForBoston, #BostonMarathon and #OneBoston have been trending for the last two days as people have come together for encouragement and support. Even Google tried to help as they created a Personal Finder site where people could seek information on a loved one in Boston and other people could share any information they knew on the victims. Many Americans came together, regardless of race, religion and creed, in order to assist in whatever way they could and express their support and condolences for both victims and family members that were affected by this act of terror.
This is not to say that every American joined in the support and consolation; the Westboro Baptist Church in its classic bigotous style tweeted that they would picket the Boston Marathon funerals and praised God for the attacks. This of course sparked outrage and was immediately responded with this petition as well as a lot of angry reply tweets. Even if the WBC does attempt to picket the funerals though, I have confidence that good and kind citizens will respond as they have before and volunteer to create a human wall in order to protect the victims.
Some people in the world, like the people who planned the attack and some members of the Westboro Baptist Church, seem to be truly cruel and enjoy the pain and suffering of innocent people. However, we have to realize that overall more people were disgusted, shocked and saddened by what had happened. The fact that people are still outraged by acts like this shows that people still care for each other. As expressed in the inspirational words of Patton Oswalt, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.” Obviously the world is a far cry from perfect and it’s hard to see life in a positive light when innocent people are being murdered and families are being ripped apart. But I’m still here and you’re still here, and together we can stand side by side in order to defend a better tomorrow and reinstate the qualities of compassion and hope for generations to come.