Post Show Thoughts: Florida School Shooting
I want to apologize to you, the loyal WGNA listener. I tried my best this morning to stay focused and on point in light of the horrific tragedy that took place in Florida. These morning after tragedy shows have become all too common and while you'd think it would get easier over time, it doesn't. For me, it actually gets harder.
Our show works with some really talented radio consultants who offer up suggestions on how to do the show the morning after tragedy strikes. They always tell us to speak from the heart, be honest and real, make a personal connection and let the listeners express their thoughts too. hey also tell us to make sure some of the content is focused on positive stories that have unfolded; brave first responders, teachers being hailed as heroes etc. All good stuff if you can pull it off.
I've been off the air for about a few hours. My head is a little dizzy and my thoughts are kind of scrambled as I try and think back to the 4.5 hours Chrissy, Jess and I did the morning after the horrific school shooting yesterday. Did I say all of the things about the shooting that I wanted to? Were my thoughts clear and concise, compassionate and intelligent? I don't know. Probably not...I was frazzled this morning and I think it came across over the air.
Let me explain
We live in a very scary world. Crazy people have always existed, but the world we live in now gives the crazy person ideas and feeds them with things never before imagined. Our minds (and our children's minds) are infiltrated with constant corruption. It's non-stop graphic images, violence, disrespect, anger, social media bashing, 24/7 sensationalist news cycles, bombings, terror plots, senseless killings, racism, abuse, etc. The majority of this, I believe, is the result of the internet which is the greatest invention of our lifetime and the scariest damn thing we (and our children) have ever been exposed to. Naturally, all of these things have desensitized us. The sane and rational person won't shoot up a school, but what about the mentally deranged person? I think after what we've witnessed in the past 20 years since Columbine, we know the answer to that. Attempting to discuss ways to keep our schools, streets, movie theaters, malls, sporting events, etc safer, we just argue back and forth about gun law and nothing ever gets resolved. And the scary part is, we're never going backward. That 'much simpler time' doesn't exist anymore as technology, the internet, the access to violence and graphic images etc.only moves forward. Once you get an iPhone, you're never going back to a flip phone.
Perhaps I wasn't on point this morning because I wanted to say all of these things succinctly and eloquently while also remaining composed, compassionate and relatively upbeat. It's tough to do a show the morning after a tragedy, even when we've been doing it with great regularity. The worst part is, I know I'll struggle with it again as there appears to be no end to the madness.