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33 vs. 32

9/25/2018

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​Today is an important day. It’s the day I turn 33. This allows for a fair amount of self-reflection. You see, these are important numbers for us Hokies, my former age and my new one. 32 people were murdered on April 16th, 2007. But 33 people died. It is a small distinction numerically with a massive psychological difference. 32 people were murdered. 32 homicides in the span of about 9 minutes. 32 victims. 32 martyrs. 32 lifelong learners who were sacrificed. But 33 people died. 33 deaths in the span of about 9 minutes. 33 sons and daughters lost. 33 brothers and sisters perished.
 
Those who hurt others usually hurt themselves. It is the past-facing version of the Golden Rule, which is not just “do onto others as you would have done onto you” but also “you do onto others as has been done onto you”. Combined, they achieve a fuller story, the future and the past-facing remarks on the nature of actions towards each other.
 
33 then, feels to me to be the number of understanding and forgiveness. If we can understand the mind of the committers of these atrocious events, we can learn to adapt. And if we forgive, we can learn to prevent. This is what this year means to me, learning to prevent, in the names of the 33.
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assignmentmasters.co.uk link
10/10/2018 08:18:20 pm

Before anything else, I just want you to know that I am so happy for you that you had reached that phase. Not all people are given the chance to grow old like you, so you must be thankful with everything that is happening in your life right now. Just like what you said, I feel sad for those people who became victims of violent actions from other people. No one deserves to suffer lie that, but that's how our stories were written. Whatever happen, I still aim to find justice for these lives that were loss.

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    Nick Luhring

    ROOT Inc. organizer writes about issues that contribute to emotional healing from gun violence.

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