Tragedy Comes In All Sizes

Tragedy comes in all sizes - one size does not fit all. We are overwhelmed with media coverage of tragedies such as 9/11, the Columbine shootings, and the Virginia Tech massacre . A neighborhood shooting, a drunken driver fatality or a heartbreaking suicide find their way to a newspaper’s metro section or obituaries. No matter the size or the media coverage there is a common thread in all tragedies. Someone always suffers a personal loss. If its a tragedy worthy of extensive news coverage those suffering the loss will be asked to grieve in public through requests for interviews in a backdrop of endless bell tolling and candlelight vigils. If a minimum of media coverage is warranted , those suffering the loss will grieve with family in relative privacy. The hurt is no less than that resulting from those losses making headlines. In either case the hurt lives on for a lifetime. Ask anyone who has lost a loved one in a tragic event, no matter the size!