It was so sad to hear of yesterday’s shooting at the Maryville, Illinois First Baptist Church.
I just don’t understand the bizarre fascination of so many reports with the explosion of the Reverend Fred Winters’ bible at the shot that would kill him. Although it reminds of me a suicide I witnessed in my young adulthood, where someone jumped from the rooftop of the building that housed the bookstore in which I was working. He landed on his head which exploded. After covering the body with a tarp while waiting for the police, I recall how I was obsessed with a large fragment of skull laying there, could not really think of anything else. Perhaps something of the same deflection of thought and emotion into, onto a symbol…
Once again, a handful of members of the congregation leapt into the fray and brought the killer down. Heroes…
At this writing no “reason” has been given for this terrible murder and the horrific disruption of many lives…
It does echo for me the terrible killings at one of our Unitarian Universalists churches earlier this year.
No smart answers.
No good analysis.
Just sorrow…
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In