Reaction to the Boston Marathon Explosions

The statuses and messages I've seen throughout the day regarding the tragedy at the Boston marathon has been overwhelmingly synonymous: look for the helpers. Don't think about the lowlives who did this; think of those who are pulling together to fix it. In all other tragedies I've lived through,

A popular photo currently making the rounds on social media.

Columbine, 9/11, Virginia Tech, Aurora, and Sandy Hook, to name a few, the reactions were all shock, horror and disgust in the realm of "What kind of monsters would do such a thing?" and "What kind of a world do we live in?" 

Today, most people didn't bother to ask. They ceased to ask these questions that prove to be counterproductive and instead their instinct was to help, to do something. To answer one of the questions above, we live in the real world. A world that has never been devoid of tragedy, horror and villains. And it is tempting to focus on the villains because we cannot comprehend what would possess someone to do this. We, with our golden hearts, who would rather create and heal than destroy and break. It's moot trying to rationalize the actions of such cancerous psychopaths. Some things are beyond comprehension. 

I think the most important thing is to show them that they can't so easily break us. We may bend and get shook up, but we mustn't break. No matter how far removed we are personally from these incidents, we should take the perspective that if it affects one of us, it affects us all. We need to reach out to our neighbors and help strengthen them so they feel less like victims and more like warriors. I believe that if we rally together in this way, then, and only then, will these perpetrators learn to fear us rather than us loving in constant fear of them. They will want to shake and rattle us. Let them shake and rattle us, but let us not stir or stumble.  Let us stand firmly as though our feet are nailed to the ground. Let them know that they can stand with us or against us, but it is in their best interest to stand with us because together, we are a force. Together, you really don't want to piss us off.  

Today, I heard the voices of people who have had enough. Who know there is more to come and are willing to fight and start focusing on the positive in order to make the negative feel more insignificant. Today, I saw the faces of people who did not hesitate to lend a hand in any way they could, who did not let their shock keep them on the sidelines. Today, everyone was on the front lines, and although I still feel a heaviness in my heart, I still retain faith in humanity.

We live in the real world. We can say all we want how we shouldn't have to teach our daughters how not to get raped and teach our sons how not to get themselves killed, but that's not how life works. In life, there are and will always be bad guys and good guys. Good guys are not those who refrain from delinquent behavior. They are those who risk danger to fight the good fight. Who deliberately try to restore the damage caused by the bad guys and bring them to justice. Teach your children that. This is the real world. It will get tough. You will cry. You will want to give up. But you won't. Because you're never alone in the fight. Because for every villain, there are multiple times as many helpers.