This one hits close to home. We are originally from California, and are familiar with the city of San Bernardino. The attack happened at the Regional Center. My boys both received services from Regional Center. When the attack first hit the news, I immediately went to our old local news website to stream their coverage. I could see the people running out of the building, and it was easy to put myself in their shoes.
The kids and I sat down and talked about the events that were unfolding. I let them know that there was another shooting, that there were people hurt and that some did not make it out alive. How do you even make sense and explain something like this? When your kids ask why, what can you even say?
My go-to method to explaining complicated issues is to tap in to the kids knowledge of comic books and movies. We talked about Star Wars, and the Dark Side that always tried to spread evil. I said that the terrorists are very much like the Dark Side. They want to spread terror and fear, and are willing to destroy anything or anyone in their way. People can start off good, but can be influenced and twisted into something evil. Like Anakin in Episode III, who eventually went to the Dark Side and ended up killing innocent young Jedi children, and even his wife. This really seemed to click with Nikolas. He actively participated in the conversation, and totally understood the comparison of the terrorists to Star Wars villains.
So the next question to tackle is why. Why would God allow something like this to happen? I explained that we are not puppets. God does not control us like puppets. We all have free will and can make the choice to lead a good life, or a bad life. Like Ultron said in Avengers Age of Ultron "I once had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me." Ultron had the choice to be good or bad. He made the choice to be bad. Ultron later told the Avengers that there was only one path to peace, and that was to destroy the Avengers. This is very much like what the terrorists feel. They want to destroy any country that does not follow their agenda.
I realize that it's a silly comparison. But when you are trying to explain something as complicated as this to a child on the spectrum, you need to be able to tap in to something totally outside the box. You need to tap in to things that your child is fixated on, to get them to understand. For my kids, it's nerdy things like Star Wars and Marvel comics.
I don't want my children to live in fear. I explained that we need to be good to each other. We need to help people and make the world a better place by being kind and loving to others. We should continue to live our lives, and be thankful for the soldiers and police who protect us,
I hate that we have to talk about these things. I wish we lived in a world where I didn't have to tell my children that there were terrorists out there. I hate the gun culture in this country. I'm angry that so many people have had to die.
So now what? Well, I'm just going to end this blog entry with something that I wrote on facebook this week.
"Here is what I prayed for last night. I prayed that the families and victims were surrounded by love and support. That they were being comforted on such a dark day. I prayed that our leaders find the strength and courage to do what is right. I prayed for the law enforcement who put their lives on the line to protect the innocent. I prayed that we can all be sources of light to brighten a world that is increasingly becoming dark and filled with hate.
Be the light today, friends. Go out into the world and be the light in darkness."
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