Hear all about it - the bravery of Victoria Soto

If you are like me then you too would have struggled with trying to understand some of the recent news stories; Jalcinta Saldanha's untimely, and desperately sad, death seems to be beyond comprehension. We then get the appalling  news of Sandy Hook school and the massacre of innocents. It seems to me these things are beyond words and beyond comprehension.

I am not sure whether 'blame' is really helpful either - it just doesn't undo what was done, it doesn't put any of the terrible wrongs right. Be it: gun laws, school security, prank calls, or how an employer treats its staff - all of these things are of significance but I am not sure whether understanding is really to be had here.

I think the thing that concerns me, the thing that I keep coming back to, is the role of the media in all of this and then, perhaps the bigger question, the thirst we, the general public, have for 'stories'. We could blame the newspapers for following the minutiae of Kate's pregnancy, yet it is we who buy newspapers. Perhaps when it comes to the heinous acts in Newtown, Connecticut the issue is even more insidious, the possibility that perpetrators want to make a name for themselves so that they will be remembered. As I read reports and listen to the radio there seems to be a suggestion, (and maybe nothing new), that 'news' does not just report events but acts as a catalyst to provoke them. Again I am not sure blame is helpful here but what are we to do?

I have not named the gunman, I do not want to remember his name, I will not buy newspapers going into every detail, I will not buy the book or watch the film that they may or not make about it (yes books and films are made about such things.

What can I do? I cannot remember the names of all those who died but I will remember at least one name, so I will try to remember Victoria Soto, the 27 year old teacher who hid the children, she taught,  and persuaded the gunmen to look elsewhere, thus sacrificing her own life. And I will mourn with her family and all those who mourn, and thank God that in the darkest places there are those who are willing to stand up and be counted regardless of the cost. It is this story, this news item that I want to hear about.