What do you think about how to feel in the face of tragedies?

This week was a sad one for Eastern Connectiuct. Three 16 year olds and one 15 year old were killed in a car accident. The driver only had a learner's permit and it appears was driving at a high rate of speed and hit a tree.

There is a community outpouring and charitable events being help to help raise money for among other things, the funerals of these teens.

When my father passed away, we didn't have money for a burial, so we had to have him cremated and this was a man of retirement age who worked very hard to support six kids.

There have been many community outcries such as the Buffalo plane crash in February of 2009, Columbine, Princess Diana's death (pouring out of loss) in Britain, Oklahoma City Bombing, various weather related outcries, the big one 9/11 and it is certain you have tragedies resulting in community outpourings.

I  certainly hope that those in need receive counseling.
Where do you stand? Should the community be as one in mourning this unimaginable loss? Or, should we say things such as where was the parent(s) and why were the car keys and car equally accessible? If they had been acting up under different situations not related to being in a car, they would have probably been labeled an irritant to people. And if they hadn't died in this crash, it may have been viewed as teens behaving badly and certainly criminal charges would have be levied. And what if the driver lived and no one else did? He certainly would have faced serious criminal charges.

There is no right or wrong answer and certainly no judgment - your feelings are your feelings. Please share your thoughts here or I can be reached directly at rmhelming@aol.com

Thank you and Happy Holidays,

Roberta M. Helming