WATCH THAT CHILD - I remember seeing those words on a street sign as I drove through one neighborhood - a wake up call for anyone not paying attention. Perhaps we need a sign like that to be posted everywhere.
I frequently pray the rosary and each time offer it for someone who needs help. I recently asked myself, "Who should I offer this one for?" Two words flashed across my mind - words that are almost never paired together - "tomorrow's shooters". We don't want to think about that. We want to think that every shooting or act of violence is the last that we will ever hear about. We've been thinking that for decades, but it hasn't stopped them from happening, and now they are becoming more frequent.
No one wants to think about a child becoming a shooter, but every shooter was at one time a child. Resources say that they tend to have histories of trauma, abuse and bullying. Today, there is a child somewhere who is beginning to walk down the dark path that leads to destruction and death. They are beginning to think that hatred and vengeance are the only ways to solve problems. Perhaps they are being indoctrinated by misguided adults. Perhaps they are learning about the power of violence because it is happening right in front of them - to people they love. Perhaps they are learning about the power of violence because it is happening all around them - in a bad neighborhood. Perhaps they are learning about the power of violence because it is happening to them. Perhaps they think that it is the only way they can get attention. Perhaps they think that it is the only way they can get people to take them seriously.
So where is the hope in this devastating picture? The hope exists in that the shooter is still a child and the child is not yet a shooter. The path leads to death and destruction but the walk down that path is only beginning. There is still time for someone to intervene and help them find a different path. We know the signs when something is wrong and we can "watch that child". We can reach out to them. We can listen to them. We can advocate for them. We can show them a different way.
If you think that's not possible, consider the actions of a bookkeeper named Antoinette Tuff, who convinced a young man intent on committing a school shooting to surrender to police instead. She did it through caring and sharing her story and her faith. It worked to avert a tragedy, even at the last minute, but let's not wait until the last minute. We all have to work together to stop this epidemic of violence. We have to stop it at the place where it starts. Perhaps you think there's not much you can do. You may not be very good at relating to children. You may not even know any children, but you can still help.
In 1991, a pro-life initiative in my church asked everyone to "spiritually adopt" an unborn child. We were encouraged to give them a name and to pray for them everyday. Perhaps now we need to "spiritually adopt" a child starting to walk down the dark path of violence - to start praying for them, and never stop.
Jesus took a child in his arms and said, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me". Mark 9: 36-37.
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