A week and half ago or so there was a fatal stabbing not too far from where I live. It’s a sobering thought simply knowing that there is still a murderer running around free somewhere out there. Police have no leads, and this poor woman is receiving no justice for what happened to her at the hair salon she was working at.
What kind of world are we living in? I feel like almost on a daily basis there’s breaking news of someone getting shot or stabbed to death. From innocent hair stylists to police men to children and so on. It breaks my heart watching the news or seeing posts from local news stations pop up on my newsfeed telling of yet another fatality.
I had a sobering moment yesterday on my way to a meeting for work. I ended up driving past the salon where the woman was stabbed. It was a building I have passed countless times throughout my life, and in a neighborhood that I always viewed as safe and quiet; only this time the mood on that road seemed darker somehow. There was still kids riding bikes or walking with their friends, people were mowing their lawns and going about their daily lives as if the events of a couple weeks ago were just distant memories. Maybe it’s because I haven’t driven up that way in a few weeks, but I felt almost a heaviness in the air as I was at the red light, with the hair salon to my left.
There were balloons, cards and countless flowers spread on the front steps of the building. It broke my heart knowing that this young woman ran out of those exact doors I was looking at, begging for help from anyone who saw her bleeding. I could picture her collapsing on the sidewalk as she lost consciousness. It’s a sobering thought knowing that the community I live in and the surrounding areas of the region are not as safe as I once thought them to be.
As children we see the world through rosey glasses. We view our neighborhoods as innocent and safe, a place where nothing bad could possibly happen. So when we’re faced with tragedy so close to home, it’s a shock. Tragedy is always shocking, but when it’s so close to home and in a town that you have driven through on your way to the mall countless times throughout life, it hits a little harder.
We begin to realize that the world isn’t as safe as we once thought it to be, and we can become scared of the places we once went without a care. The world we once viewed through our childlike naïveté is tarnished by news of murders, attempted murders and violence of any sort. Our schemas are challenged, and the fear we once avoided by ignorance is brought forth.
It scares me to see all of these violent acts being committed, and it seems as if lately they are more frequent. The picture perfect world we once thought existed is shattered like glass hitting a brick wall.
Life As I Know It 