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Post by flossieskid on May 28, 2022 12:57:46 GMT -5
I don’t think I have any tears left. Along with a hurtful nation, it seemed I watched every news station’s coverage of the horrific tragedy in Uvalde,Texas. It literally hurt my heart to watch all the coverage, so after a while I just had to turn it off. It seems all I could do was cry and ask why this keeps happening? My daughter Nikki writes the news for a L.A. radio station and she said the sadness is absolutely palpable in the newsroom and everyone working the story has had to try and put aside their emotions and somehow write about this unspeakable act that took the lives of 19 children and 2 teachers. But, how do you write about insanity?!?
I am aware The Waltons Forum is not a platform for political rhetoric or personal agendas, and of course I will respect those guidelines. But I think every American who heard or watched the drama unfold had one thought: “Those poor families!” The families who lost their precious children, the families of those injured students still in the hospital and the families of the two teachers who died, especially the family whose father died of “a broken heart” just a few days after their mother. Truly heartbreaking!
It is very interesting (and a bit confusing to me) that one of my first thoughts after I shut off the news was thinking about The Waltons and Earl Hamner and I’m not really sure why. Of course, Earl came from a large, loving family, but none of them died prematurely or from guns. In the series, he shared the struggles his family faced as he was growing up, but never were there any stories of gun violence or anything even the least bit similar to what transpired in Texas. So, it is utterly surprising that Earl and the show came into my thoughts.
Perhaps, I was thinking how Earl would view this whole thing? I don’t know if his family collected guns or even kept them for protection. But, I assume most everyone in Virginia, during that era, had guns for hunting and, maybe, kept them at home to defend their property. I really do wonder what Earl would say? The Waltons, as far as I recall, did not present strong “message” episodes with the possible exception of “The Firestorm”.
I even asked my husband, the psychiatrist, to put on his “white coat” and give me his take on why I thought of the series and Earl after the horrible carnage at Uvalde. He suggested that my emotional reaction for the tragedy was impacted by my empathy for what “all the families” lost. My “connection” to the large family of The Waltons may have triggered my own thought processes to equate everything the families in Uvalde suffered with a desire for the absolute opposite condition: The Walton family loved each other (just like each and every family in Uvalde did) and they worked together to deal with all the challenges of life in a successful way. Plus, nothing of this nature was ever explored on the show. Or am I wrong about that?
Maybe, I just wished all families could be like The Waltons. I realize we can all fantasize about “familial perfection” in own families, but it doesn’t really exist. I think the reason the Waltons have so many fans is what Earl attributed the success of the series to: “Everyone has a family and people can relate to the love and struggles all families face.” But, I still wonder what Earl would say?
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Post by Easton on May 28, 2022 13:32:25 GMT -5
I don't know what Earl would have thought of it. Such events were virtually unheard of until 1966 when Charles Whitman climbed the Main Building tower of the University of Texas in Austin. He carried rifles and various other weapons to the observation deck and opened fire killing 14 people. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting by a single individual in US history.
Over a half-century later, we're still asking 'Why?'
I believe Earl would have asked that same question and would still be asking that question today.
It scares me that I am becoming numbed to it.
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Post by Brenda on May 28, 2022 14:28:55 GMT -5
The Season 1 episode The Hunt comes to mind. If Earl was anything like John Boy, then he was too tenderhearted to shoot a turkey to help feed his family. Yet, when he saw a bear attacking his father in that same episode, he was able to use a gun to shoot the bear to protect his father’s life. I feel sure that the Hamner family and most other rural families had guns for hunting and for protecting their families, but I think Earl would have the same reaction to this that most of us are having. His heart would be broken. I was an elementary school teacher for 35 years. I have 10 grandchildren and a little baby great grandson. I can’t imagine the horror those children and teachers experienced or the pain their families are feeling now.
These are obviously sick deranged individuals who are committing these horrible deeds, and I think many of them are copycat reactions.
After watching several hours of the news coverage, I had to change the channel and watch a few episodes of The Andy Griffith Show to try to get my mind off the horror, and since I don’t want to get political on this forum, I will say no more about what I think needs to be done. I hope the families and survivors will be able to get the help they need to get them through this.
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Post by wacokyd on May 28, 2022 17:02:17 GMT -5
In rural Virginia in the 30's I'm sure most families had guns for protection from intruders. Today the statistics are overwhelming. More children by far die in homes from someone in the family finding an unsecured gun than are killed by intruders.
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Post by flossieskid on May 29, 2022 5:39:38 GMT -5
Easton brings up the instance of the first mass shooter. But my husband reminded me that Charles Whitman AKA “the Texas Tower Shooter” had a brain tumor pressing on the part of his brain that handles impulse control and knowing right from wrong. There have been many articles exploring whether any murderer who has any mental impairment or disease should be held accountable for their crimes or does their condition remove all free will and consent?
It doesn’t really matter, though, does it? People died and, somehow, I think the families left behind could care less if the person with the rifle had a brain tumor. I agree with Easton - I think we SHOULD be scared that we are becoming numb to all of it. I imagine how wonderful Brenda’s years of teaching were, without the daily fear of an active shooter on campus. But the world we have created for her grandchildren and great grandson must be of utmost concern to all of us.
Thanks for pointing out the episode where John Boy protects his father without hesitation, using a rifle. That is exactly the type of subtle, yet powerful life lessons Earl and the producers always wanted to convey to the audience. I think they achieved great success in doing that and I do think Earl might have simply said, “Well Done!!”
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Post by Easton on May 29, 2022 8:36:58 GMT -5
Easton brings up the instance of the first mass shooter. But my husband reminded me that Charles Whitman AKA “the Texas Tower Shooter” had a brain tumor pressing on the part of his brain that handles impulse control and knowing right from wrong. I knew that and wrote it into my post but took it out again before I posted it. I didn't really want this to turn into a 'gun control' thread.
John-Boy's issue with the rifle was different. He went on the hunting trip and was actually excited about it. Hunting was part of the culture back then. If you didn't hunt, your family didn't eat. It wasn't until he actually had the target in his sights that he suddenly realised that, as soon as he pulled the trigger, the creature would no longer exist, and he simply couldn't do that. John Sr. understood as did, I believe, Charlie and Hawthorne, and they knew enough about John-Boy's character to simply let it slide.
However, when it came to the bear, it was a no-brainer. You could see the change come over his face and, indeed, his entire body, when he saw the bear's blood on his hand. And, when he finally shot the bear, his only hesitation was making sure he didn't shoot his father by mistake.
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