My Time 4 Talk by Madona Cole-Lacy

Yesterday, I responded to news of a husband and wife murder-suicide and 4 innocent surviving child victims in a community where I have lived for over 20 years.

I woke up this morning to find that the North Bellmore School District had taken the lead with a public statement on how they intend to support the true victims of this seemingly senseless and selfish act that has disrupted the lives of their students. This got me thinking about ways the community can honor and embrace these children.

As updates begin to unfold the ‘facts’ of the ‘case’, there is an outpouring of sentiments expressed by community members. One such person, Laurie, commented, “there are indeed no words or donations that can help these kids”. Even as I subscribe to this thinking too, I believe there must be something else a community can do alongside other initiatives earmarked for the children that could bring about a meaningful change. Recognizing that this travesty can happen in any community around the world, I feel compelled to write this version of my post to the Bell more Patch, to address those outside the confines of the North Bellmore community.

What comes to mind in terms of a meaningful change would require us to change our way of thinking. As a community, we must do our very best to operate in the “brother’s/sister’s keeper” mode. We must resolve to refrain from turning a blind eye to dysfunctional behavior and seek help …even for our neighbors.
We are indeed our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. This, of course, will call for us to be honest with ourselves and take the proverbial moat out of our own eyes first. I cannot at the moment think of a better way to work towards ensuring that horrific happenings such as this one become a thing of the past. It is a given that education, is a necessary tool in this process. People need to know what to do, where to go, and how things work in general.
Please feel free to offer your ideas on how we can go about developing and maintaining a mentally and emotionally sound community in the name of 4 children who have some challenging times ahead…no matter what.