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“My mother used to say, a long time ago, whenever there would be any catastrophe that was in the movies or on the air, she would say, ‘Always look for the helpers.’” —Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers)
In a short video clip in which Rogers utters these words, he implores the media to make sure to include the helpers — medical teams, rescue teams, etc. — as a part of any story like the ones we’ve been seeing coming out El Paso and Dayton this past week. Why? “Because if you’ll look for the helpers, you’ll know that there’s hope,” Rogers says in the video. Evil tears our guts out, making everything seem random and senseless — at least momentarily. But evil never gets the final say. In El Paso, helpers arrived in droves. First responders arrived within six minutes. Glendon Oakley, a soldier in the Army, rounded up children and got them out of harm’s way after he realized what was happening. At least one hundred people stood in line to donate blood. Texas Baptist Men worked alongside the Salvation Army to collect donations and feed first responders. Local restaurants offered free meals to first responders and blood donors. On and on it goes. Look for the helpers. In Dayton, police killed the gunman within a minute of the first shots being fired. Kayla Miller, a critical care nurse, stopped running when she saw a row of bodies (some alive, some not) and began performing CPR (sadly, all four or five victims died). Robert Woodruff, a citizen of Dayton, thought he was going to die until a police officer stood over him and fired shots at the gunman. A bouncer at a nearby bar reportedly stopped the gunman from entering the bar and ended up with a shrapnel-related injury. Look for the helpers. Yes, mourn with those who mourn. In fact, please do so. They need our support right now. But find hope in the heroes who showed up and in many cases, risked their own lives. This world can be a dark place, but when you think and read about all of the people who choose to light a match to shed a little light, it can also be inspiring. Comments are closed.
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