My earliest thought was not a new one, upon learning today's news out of Aurora, Colorado about a massacre during the midnight showing of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."
Here in New York, I was reminded that the world is an unsafe place and some points of interest are less safe than others. But the fatal shooting of a dozen people and wounding of nearly 60 others in a movie theater should have stunned me more than it did.
Violence in public places didn't begin during my lifetime, but at various times, I've been shocked and deeply affected by some of the more infamous ones that have occurred since I'm here, the first example being the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
I was a high school freshman sitting in Social Studies class that afternoon, when the principal's voice came out of the PA speaker on the wall, advising us that the president had been shot and telling us to go straight home.
Then the Social Studies teacher, standing at the front of the room, looked out at us and said quietly, "Gentlemen, you are witnessing history."
Well, I've "witnessed" (as in "lived through") a lot of history since that day. I worked as a journalist for more than 20 years and as part of that gig, I had to string words together about some terrible acts of violence.
So by the time the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001 took place here in NY and elsewhere, I already had a certain understanding that when it comes to safety, its reality is harsh and nothing is promised. And, in truth, any expectation of safety becomes a matter of wishful thinking --- in some cases, more so than others. But some people who could improve things in that respect ought to try more than they do, even if it hurts the budget.
Nowadays I find that I tend to look at things in a way that begs certain questions, such as when I'm navigating my way to a place for the first time, I'll wonder about a certain route: where will I be if I get a flat tire?
Obviously, there are public places that are less safe than others but it bothers me to see the way some operations are run when it comes to even a minimal effort to ensure safety. At any site where strangers gather, there ought to be some kind of security, if only for the confidence it might give attendees --- and not just to deter violence.
The last time I found myself in a dark room with people I didn't know was when My Wonderful Wife Peg and I went to a multiplex to see "The Avengers." Holy Crow, they didn't even have the ticket booth outside manned. We proceeded to the lobby's candy and popcorn counter to buy a ticket and even then, there was no one to ask for that ticket -- much less greet us (or give us "the once-over") -- as we walked into the room showing "The Avengers."
In keeping with a popular slogan of the day, I have to ask: even if someone in that theater did see something suspicious, who would they say it to?
Never mind a possible fistfight (I've sat through a couple in different movie theaters) or some much-worse threat of violence. Maybe it's because I've had basic training in CPR and how to use an Automated External Defibrillator, but I also wonder what would happen if some poor soul (maybe me) were stricken during the movie?
For me, the reality of patronizing that movie theater begged more questions than the idea of driving on a certain dark road at 2 a.m.
As for the tragedy that's now in the news -- the movie-theater massacre by a gunman in a gas mask -- admittedly, I know nothing of how this particular Colorado theater is operated. But learning just a little of what happened there quickly brought back some observations made close to home recently.
Was it really so long ago that if someone got up and propped open an exit door as James Holmes reportedly did before he went out to retrieve his personal weapons of mass destruction, there was someone –- a movie usher or matron -- employed by the theater to intervene?
It’s enough to make me wonder, too, if the world has become more dangerous largely because too many public places simply allow it.
Even so, my plans to see the Batman movie next week remain unchanged --- though it will be at a theater other than the one where my wife and I saw "The Avengers."
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