The Dark Knight is crying...

Yesterday when I left work, I headed to Essex Cinemas for the Dark Knight Marathon, starting at 6:30, ending with the 12:05 am premier of The Dark Knight Rises.  I met friends and had a fantastic fun time.  I got home sometime after 3:30 am and went straight to bed.  When I got up this morning, I discovered the news of the shooting in Colorado at their 12:05 am viewing of the same film.

To say that I was stunned, shocked, and saddened is an understatement.  As I was watching the news on the Denver television station, the reality of what happened began to sink in to me.  It was all too close for comfort.

We watched the entire trilogy yesterday and the arc of the story really hit me to my core.  The character of Bruce Wayne was stripped down to his base, flawed, humanity - and was in such a place of darkness.  As the movies unfold, he confronts his fears and his flaws and moves forward with his life.  He goes from darkness into light.  It hit me how similar that followed my own progression over the past year.  Not unlike the character, I was lost and needed help to find my way out of the darkness that I had allowed myself to fall into.  With the help of my wonderful counselor, I am emerging into the light and feeling connected to myself for the first time in years.  I have a clearer vision of who I am and what I want from life.  Watching the end of the final film, I was in tears, feeling the connection to my own journey. 

Then, watching the reports from Aurora this morning, I was just shaken to my foundation.  I kept going back in my mind to being in the theatre. surrounded by 450 people all excited about the film, cheering each and every thing as the movie unfolded.  The idea of a crazy person walking in and opening fire on all of us, is something that is so surreal, yet I know it could happen.  Because it did happen.

I've been reading posts on the internet and hearing reporters talking about the film and how it may have contributed to this event happening.  And apparently the man who did this claimed that he was being The Joker. 

It breaks my heart that so many people are deflecting the issue onto the film.  Society needs to look at itself and how this young man could get to the point of doing such a horrendous thing.  And how was he able to get all the stuff he had to do this?  He was wearing fully body armour; he had high power automatic weapons; he had chemical cannisters - tear gas or something.  How the hell was he able to accumulate all that?  How did he get to the point in his mind where he would actually perform this horrendous act? 

It saddens me so much to think this young man only saw the violence in the Batman movies and wanted to emulate that. Why couldn't he see the message of the films - vigilante justice doesn't work. Even Batman realized he was only creating more of what he was trying to stop. But working with people, facing your fears, and seeing the light, you can accomplish anything.

Over the past few years, we've had the Columbine shootings, the Virginia Tech shootings, the shootings at the Jewish children's school in Toulouse France, the shootings in Norway, and the shootings at the primary school in Dunblane, Scotland.  That doesn't include the myriad of "smaller" events that happen all over the place.  What is happening to our society?

I've been crying off and on all day, thinking of the terror those people felt on a night that was supposed to be such fun for everyone.  Crying, thinking of the families of those people and unable to imagine their sense of loss. 

Somehow, I also think The Dark Knight would be crying too....