ATROCITY

Wednesday night I saw Spider Man at the movie theater with Mark. A nice way to escape for a bit, enjoy some time with my boy. The theater is less than 5 minutes from my home. It's a nice neighborhood theater, good part of town. Clean, familiar, safe. My son works there at the  theater, he likes his job.  

As we were leaving after the movie was over, I saw that they were putting up the ropes that create a waiting station as you wait for a premiere. Thursday night would be the midnight showing of the new Batman movie. (I am not a Batman fan, I am more a Super Man girl at heart!)

Mark worked 8pm-2am for the Batman Premiere Thursday night.

My whole team was at work early Friday morning. The hot topic around the water cooler was the events at the midnight showing. [I don't watch tv, I don't usually listen to the news, I know I should more often, however there is too much ugly out there]. As I set about starting my banking morning, I listened. 

Then I asked some questions. 

The news....

Aurora Colorado, Midnight showing, The Dark Knight Rises, packed suburban theater. One Man. Four guns, 6k rounds of ammo. Planned and plotted. 58 people wounded, 12 people dead. 

One off balance person, literally has effected millions. (His parents, his family, those whom he injured and killed, their friends and families, the police and other public services, the employees and other businesses, the people who live near him [that cant go home], the movie theaters world wide who are making changes to their employment safety, the movie makers who express sympathy)

Friday night I drove past the theater. (Mark was working, I dropped off something for him on his break.) There was a police officer parked right out front. My son said that every theater in town now has police protection. Comforting, I suppose, but so sad. He also said, that new employee and patron safety precautions have been implemented. 

Isn't the theater supposed to be a place of safety, relaxation, a place for fun? If our schools, our places of work and our homes, our theaters, are no longer considered safe havens............

what are we to do?