Today is a sad day for nerds, comic fans, and movie goers everywhere. If you have not heard of the tragedy in Colorado at the Batman: Dark Knight Rises premiere, you can get a recap here.
The scary thing for me, is like most readers on this site, I myself fit all three categories of nerd, comic fan, and movie goer. This could have happened to me, my family, or my friends. My son could be without a father, just because I wanted to engulf myself in the filmed artistic expressions of nerdom. This is a frightening thought. As I told B. J., these people were us.
I shudder to think what the families of these victims are going through. Truly, these people have the condolences of everyone here at ProfessorBeej.com and I hope they get all the support they need. And don’t think for one moment, that because you may not have been there, or have any personal ties to the people involved, that you are not allowed to be affected. Quite the opposite. Like I said, when I heard this happened, it scared me. It scared me to the point of nearly shaking. Reach out to friends, family, or professional help if this situation gets to you. There is no shame in that. But at the same note, do not let this affect your life. They say that the terrorist wins when we stop our day to day lives due to their actions. Personally, I don’t see how there are any winners in situations like this, but that does not change the fact that life goes on, and there is plenty of wonderful nerdy goodness for us to enjoy.
With that being said, I think the words of nerd legend, George Takei, sum things up, “Many victims of today’s tragedy were fans of science fiction/fantasy. They stood in line to be the first to see, to be inspired, and to escape. As a community of dreamers, we mourn this terrible tragedy and the senseless taking of innocent life.”
