Saffie Rose Roussos
John Atkinson
Megan Hurley
Kelly Brewster
Those are the names of the victims of the Manchester attack that have been released as of the writing of this. There are 17 more that will be released in the coming days, with a possibility of more in the future. There was one other name released, but that name will get no recognition here. I believe that that name should never be released, and I condemn all media outlets that continue to give acknowledgement to that name. That would be the, I don't even have a word for what they are other than perpetrator of this act. That perpetrator should go down as the forgotten. It is not worth knowing that name nor should you give it any of your time. Those names above, those are the names that should be acknowledged. Those are the names to remember. Those are the remembered. There journey on this planet ended because of a disgusting act. When I get more names, I will post them as I get them in my normal posts. I will post all the names of the victims and only the victims when I find them all. Read their names, find their stories, acknowledge that they existed. I will do the same as I learn who each one was.
I could get into the horror of such events, I have in the past, but I don't want to give that any time tonight. Instead I want to mention an alarming trend I witnessed since last night, and that is the growing divide in people. I'm not talking about doom and gloom in everything here. There is a bright spot that I will get to, but first I need to get into this, because I think it is something that can be changed with kindness, love and compassion. I saw several people making jokes about this before the bodies were even counted. I also saw several people trying to place blame, not on the perpetrator, but on people such as Ariana Grande, political parties, or heads of state. This is all ridiculous. Have we become so divided that we can't even see what is right in front of us? Do we place blame on someone we don't agree with just because it is convenient? This is a growing trend, but the good news is, that it is still very small, and can be overcome. I saw it in comment sections of things were these were written. Instead of calling names, commenters simply tired to reason with the people, or told them how sorry they were for them, or even tried to tell them why they were so wrong and misguided for saying what it was they were saying.
Here is the brightest spot, and that is what else happened in Manchester last night. People opened their doors to strangers, they gathered supplies to help those in need, they ran to meet the danger to help those who couldn't help themselves. There are countless stories out there that you can find of the great and remarkable things that happened in Manchester surrounding this dark act. Children without parents were ushered to safe locations where their loved ones could find them. ambulances lined up and drove into a danger zone by the dozens. People in the arena put their own lives in harms way to protect younger lives, while others helped get people out of danger. Manchester stood proud and is still standing. They didn't close their doors and hide from the world. They flung those doors open and proclaimed that this act won't stop them. That is what we all must do in the face of these horrible attempts to undermine our liberties and freedom.
Times like this are when we all come together, but it doesn't have to be like that. We shouldn't need a violent act for us to all come together. We should make an attempt to be more together all the time. We are stronger than those that would do us harm. We outnumber those that would do us harm, and if we all stood together, they wouldn't be able to do us harm. We must stand together, all of us. We are one people, we are human, we all live on this planet. Why should we not get along with one another? Because someone looks different, talks different, loves different? Those aren't good reasons, come to think of it, I can't think of one good reason, with the exception of those that would do us harm, but I already said that we are more than them. Love is and always will be stronger than hate, and I truly believe that love will overcome in the end.
At the end of every one of my posts, with a very few exceptions, I end it with "peace in and goodnight". The goodnight part is pretty self explanatory, but I'll just give a little insight anyway. I of course write this at the end of my night, so that is my farewell to you. the peace in, is a little different. I've mentioned why I write that, and it is how I end all of my Instagram Stories as well, but I'll bring it up again. I first heard "peace in" from the band Walk Off The Earth. When I heard it, it all made sense to me. I don't know why they say it, but I do know why it clicked with me. the normal phrase is "peace out", but I've never liked that. It always seems to convey that you want peace to be out. I know that isn't the implication, but that is just how it feels. I prefer to have peace in. When I say it, I am sending peace to you. I want you to have peace in your soul, and that is why I say "peace in". Yes I may be an idealist and a dreamer, but if it wasn't for dreamers and idealist, we wouldn't really accomplish much would we. There is a better world around the corner, and with kindness, love, and compassion, we will get to it. I would like you to sit back and reflect on what you do in your everyday life that gives you peace. Once you have what it is, think about it for a good 10 minutes. As soon as you are done, I want you to take a quick inventory of how you are feeling. That feeling, the is "peace in". Be in that moment as often as you can, and then find a way to make more moments like that. I promise you, that you will not regret it.
Favorite Song of the Week, is going to be a little different. I usually write a long introduction to the song with some information about the performer or performers, but I'm going to let the song pretty much speak for itself. This song was written by the legendary David Bowie, with the help of the artist who sang it. None other than the raucous Iggy Pop. "Lust For Life".
I told you it would speak for itself. Peace in and goodnight.
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