Eli Wiesel once wrote an answer to that question: Where was God during the Holocaust? He was with the child, and he was with the child gassed, and with the child beaten to death. And with the child who starved to death. God was with the children of Uvalde and the people trying to save them. He died with them. He has died too many times. And we His people must have hope and do better.
Damn the Uvalde documentary was amazingly done and so moving Eli. Thank you. And Killing America is so freaking sad. I Love our country and have no idea how we stop the suicidal destruction! I can only imagine if the political b.s. stopped and we kept moving forward where we would be. How can anyone go back to the hating of one another so quickly? What happens if we can’t move forward? That scares me! I will put this out there~ Love,Light and Healing Prayers to all the people. We can save America if we choose with Love and Prayers and Hope and we also need actions. ❤️🤍💙🙏🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🏻❤️🤍💙
I love your work, Eli, but this one doesn't kick into gear for me until the final moment, when you ask the only useful question: what is the human responsibility in this tragedy? I'm an atheist, so questions about where god is at any given moment and what god is doing mean nothing to me. Personal responsibility matters to me, deities not at all. If that disqualifies me from having an opinion, that's okay, I can live with that.
From a film-making standpoint, it was difficult to watch but I forced myself because I wanted to know. You were judicious in presenting the awful, graphic nature of the crime. But I wish you had focused more on the inaction of the police, which always seemed to me to be at the heart of this debacle. Or, maybe you didn't have enough footage to work with?
Obviously, the shooter was a horrifically damaged, abused, neglected child who knew he was a psychopath. That he enjoyed torturing animals tells us all we need to know about his deformed character. From my non-religious viewpoint, he did evil things because evil things had been done to him for so long that he never stood a chance. How responsible are we for other people’s children? As a society, as neighbors, as compassionate beings? I don't know.
I don't believe in the devil. But as a Jew whose mother lost all her Polish relatives in the Holocaust, I'm permanently aware of the ubiquity of human evil and the human capacity to take cruelty to new lows of depravity.
Regarding guns, as a patriot who believes in the Bill of Rights, I would not want to see the Second Amendment nullified. It would set a terrible precedent. But guns could certainly be made less available to people under a certain age. I appreciate that you presented the arguments on both sides of that issue, but left the question open. It's a difficult question, and not one I intend to discuss any further here.
The truth is that there is no answer regarding who to blame for the actions of the shooter. But for me, "Where was man?" is a much more useful question than "Where was god?” and that’s also where you landed. The police didn't do their jobs. Why didn't they? This is the heart of the story that is yet to be explained, as far as I can tell.
I understand your perspective. I've heard similar views from other atheists who have seen the film. I think what's interesting is how throughout the Uvalde story every party seemed to look for the answer outside of themselves, including me. What does that say about us?
You have a point. Catastrophic events like Uvalde evoke feelings of helplessness and despair in us, along with rage and fear. These are difficult emotions to deal with, especially when innocent people, including children, die senselessly.
I believe that this is why human beings have invented deities in every era, everywhere on earth. We need to believe in something greater than ourselves, because life is so unpredictable and cruel, filled with tragedies, not only of the natural kind, like a tornado, but the human variety, things that we should be able to control.
Our current political animosities represent desperate attempts to find solutions. Yet, all we seem to do is create more division and animosity, as we argue about who's right and who's wrong.
What does it say about us? That we're imperfect? That we have a long way to go? That we're tribal? That we're afraid to take risks? I'll stop here, because the truth is that I don't know.
But the question needs to be asked. Maybe that's the first step.
I enjoy your work. What puzzled me about Uvalde was, "Where were the police?" Dozens of them gathered outside the classroom (or perhaps two classrooms with two doors) in a hallway and many, many innocents and one bad guy inside. Did the police have no bulletproof outerwear? Did they consider a multi-man storming of the classroom(s)? Were no officers stationed with binoculars looking into the classrooms through their large windows -- maybe trucks parked outside during the many deaths? Could one well-shielded cop not have taken out the shooter inside?
I have no military or police experience, but I am a parent. I would have been willing to risk my life to stop the carnage that was under way in that school.
Eli Wiesel once wrote an answer to that question: Where was God during the Holocaust? He was with the child, and he was with the child gassed, and with the child beaten to death. And with the child who starved to death. God was with the children of Uvalde and the people trying to save them. He died with them. He has died too many times. And we His people must have hope and do better.
Amen
Damn the Uvalde documentary was amazingly done and so moving Eli. Thank you. And Killing America is so freaking sad. I Love our country and have no idea how we stop the suicidal destruction! I can only imagine if the political b.s. stopped and we kept moving forward where we would be. How can anyone go back to the hating of one another so quickly? What happens if we can’t move forward? That scares me! I will put this out there~ Love,Light and Healing Prayers to all the people. We can save America if we choose with Love and Prayers and Hope and we also need actions. ❤️🤍💙🙏🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🏻❤️🤍💙
I love your work, Eli, but this one doesn't kick into gear for me until the final moment, when you ask the only useful question: what is the human responsibility in this tragedy? I'm an atheist, so questions about where god is at any given moment and what god is doing mean nothing to me. Personal responsibility matters to me, deities not at all. If that disqualifies me from having an opinion, that's okay, I can live with that.
From a film-making standpoint, it was difficult to watch but I forced myself because I wanted to know. You were judicious in presenting the awful, graphic nature of the crime. But I wish you had focused more on the inaction of the police, which always seemed to me to be at the heart of this debacle. Or, maybe you didn't have enough footage to work with?
Obviously, the shooter was a horrifically damaged, abused, neglected child who knew he was a psychopath. That he enjoyed torturing animals tells us all we need to know about his deformed character. From my non-religious viewpoint, he did evil things because evil things had been done to him for so long that he never stood a chance. How responsible are we for other people’s children? As a society, as neighbors, as compassionate beings? I don't know.
I don't believe in the devil. But as a Jew whose mother lost all her Polish relatives in the Holocaust, I'm permanently aware of the ubiquity of human evil and the human capacity to take cruelty to new lows of depravity.
Regarding guns, as a patriot who believes in the Bill of Rights, I would not want to see the Second Amendment nullified. It would set a terrible precedent. But guns could certainly be made less available to people under a certain age. I appreciate that you presented the arguments on both sides of that issue, but left the question open. It's a difficult question, and not one I intend to discuss any further here.
The truth is that there is no answer regarding who to blame for the actions of the shooter. But for me, "Where was man?" is a much more useful question than "Where was god?” and that’s also where you landed. The police didn't do their jobs. Why didn't they? This is the heart of the story that is yet to be explained, as far as I can tell.
I understand your perspective. I've heard similar views from other atheists who have seen the film. I think what's interesting is how throughout the Uvalde story every party seemed to look for the answer outside of themselves, including me. What does that say about us?
Thank you very much for your reply, Eli.
You have a point. Catastrophic events like Uvalde evoke feelings of helplessness and despair in us, along with rage and fear. These are difficult emotions to deal with, especially when innocent people, including children, die senselessly.
I believe that this is why human beings have invented deities in every era, everywhere on earth. We need to believe in something greater than ourselves, because life is so unpredictable and cruel, filled with tragedies, not only of the natural kind, like a tornado, but the human variety, things that we should be able to control.
Our current political animosities represent desperate attempts to find solutions. Yet, all we seem to do is create more division and animosity, as we argue about who's right and who's wrong.
What does it say about us? That we're imperfect? That we have a long way to go? That we're tribal? That we're afraid to take risks? I'll stop here, because the truth is that I don't know.
But the question needs to be asked. Maybe that's the first step.
I enjoy your work. What puzzled me about Uvalde was, "Where were the police?" Dozens of them gathered outside the classroom (or perhaps two classrooms with two doors) in a hallway and many, many innocents and one bad guy inside. Did the police have no bulletproof outerwear? Did they consider a multi-man storming of the classroom(s)? Were no officers stationed with binoculars looking into the classrooms through their large windows -- maybe trucks parked outside during the many deaths? Could one well-shielded cop not have taken out the shooter inside?
I have no military or police experience, but I am a parent. I would have been willing to risk my life to stop the carnage that was under way in that school.