I would be remiss to not talk about the horrible tragedy at the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises on July 20 in Aurora, Colorado where a gunman stormed a movie theater with tear gas and gunfire, killing twelve people and injuring dozens before being apprehended by local authorities. I can’t even imagine the sadness felt by the survivors of this incident, let alone how the family and friends of those who lost their lives.
What gets me most about this is how senseless the killings are. These were people who just really liked Batman and were excited to be the first people to see the movie so they could tell their family, friends, loved ones and co-workers how much they enjoyed it. Instead, the survivors are telling how horrific the whole night was. And they are the lucky ones; twelve people didn’t get to go home or get to tell their family they were safe.
We read comic books and watch their subsequent adaptation because of the heroism of the characters, standing up to protect people and to do the right thing. That night there were real-life heroes. Three men died protecting their girlfriends. Each day there are more accounts from survivors risked their own lives to help others in that movie theater.
These people truly are heroes, willingly putting themselves in harm’s way to help another. It reminds me of General Omar N. Bradley’s quote from World War II
Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.
And these people were all truly brave. If you want to help, Jason Boog from GalleyCat compiled a list of ways you can help organizations serving the people of Aurora, Colorado.
Ridiculously Awesome 