Who Do We Blame?

Those of us awake earlier today, in the San Fernando Valley, first heard of the Pittsburgh shootings shortly after 7:00am Saturday. Then shortly after 2:00pm we would simultaneously receive alerts on our phones, indicating an AmberAlert for Aranza Ochoa Lopez. Those living in the West San Fernando Valley, and subscribing to “NextDoor” alerts, received a message at 9:16pm “Neighbor Altercation – racial slurs and screaming. Calling it in. On Hatteras Street.” Then shortly after 10:00pm another AmberAlert was issued this time for Xavier Alexander.

While both AmberAlerts were resolved within an hour of each other, shortly after midnight Sunday morning, the death toll in Pittsburgh had climbed to eleven people. The only updates on the incident “on Hatteras Street” is that police and helicopters were called and involved.

However, within two hours of the Pittsburgh shooting, religious and political leaders were pointing fingers and making suggestions. Religious leaders blamed the political climate, and many pointed at the President as the source of all violence against fellow-Americans in any gathering. Conversely, other political leaders hid from any responsibility for recent comments from elected officials and called for an immediate return to discussions on weapons and limitations of ownership, with no parameters or guidelines of how far would be justifiable or even legal.

Clearly some religious leaders were addressing the need to calm those who would be attending worship later that day or Sunday; while political leaders were grabbing a platform, without identifying it as a campaign speech. So, who is to blame? Violence, anger between families and neighbors, abductions, shootings have always existed. Maybe what has accelerated is the need to publicize every detail of violence, immediately. And for perpetrators, the need to be a headline, or to garner the most attention by creating an event with the most impact.

News reports have sprinkled so much commentary in their submissions, they are calling more people guilty of an incident based on their opinion than could ever be legally prosecuted. Is it possible because we have no down-time or quiet time anymore, we have lost the value of reflection, the reality of consequences, or even an understanding of reality?

So, who is to blame? Why are parents abducting children? Why would anyone put for public notice a neighbor altercation, and while correctly calling authorities, still choosing to escalate it to quite frankly unretractable gossip. Why did the shooter in Pittsburgh, who had posted regularly on social media his anger, not have the ability to vent otherwise? Why did no one catch up with him and calm him down?

As a Christian, whether following Catholic, Protestant, or Evangelical traditions, we are called to pray for others. Our own trials and conflicts we either “offer it up” or “leave it at the Cross” or “give it to God”. Why are so many Christians neglecting what should be their first instinct, prayer, and instead are buying into continuing social-media gossip and endless discussions? Why do we find need to judge and point a finger, to dismiss or delay our responsibility to pray?

Maybe, Maxine Waters and others are to blame for the violence, or President Trump opened pandora’s box to unfiltered commentary and bantering which may if left unchecked become anger, or late-night comedians perpetuated crassness packaged as humor, or the press and social media have validated our human need to have an opinion, gossip, and judge.

Nevertheless, for those of us in the San Fernando Valley we were inundated with reality today, but if we chose to pray for our neighbors, our community, our country, and those who had a platform; we could at least be assured that we were making an impact. And we were not perpetuating the ill-will and anger others were opting to vent publicly and on social-media.