Three years after the Aurora theater shooting, closure came Friday knowing that the massacre making Aurora synonymous with tragedy for much of world doesn’t define our city or those inside that cinema — with one exception: James Holmes.
The calamity doesn’t define the people who died in that Aurora theater July 20, 2012. The shooting doesn’t define people like Jon Blunk. Jon was a father, a man who brought joy and enthusiasm to everyone around him. Jon was a hero. One of the people who died at the hands of Holmes, he quickly forced his girlfriend to the ground when shooting broke out, covering her with his body. He took a lethal bullet for Jansen Young that night. That’s who he was.
The massacre in that theater doesn’t define 18-year-old Gateway High School grad AJ Boik. His endless smile and thirst for life and happiness defined another of Holmes’ victims. The murderous spree doesn’t define Air Force Reservist Jesse Childress, killed that night. Childress was a passionate citizen in every way, quick to protect his country. Quick to protect his friends in the theater that night, and losing his life for doing it.
The calamity in no way defines Jessica Ghawi, an avid sports fan and aspiring sportscaster who was well on her way to success because of her endearing love of people and all things sports. If anything defined Ghawi, it was her smile. It didn’t define Veronica, Matt, Micayla or Alex Sullivan. He was defined by his stature and his equally big heart. Alex, tall and passionate about life, was defined by how beloved he was by his family and friends. Each of the people that Holmes killed were so much more than murder victims, and they always will be.
Equally, maimed victims aren’t defined by the attack. People like Katie Medley, nine months pregnant when she and her husband, Caleb Medley, went to see Dark Night Rises, are defined by their perseverance and determination. Caleb was shot in the face, suffering brain damage. They are personified humor, love for each other, for the world and seemingly endless grace.
What Holmes unleashed that night does not in any way define any of the dozens of people who were shot and wounded or terrorized by the massacre. They are still neighbors and family members who are funny, loving, heroic, creative and passionate about a whole world of things.
The massacre doesn’t define the astounding skill and bravery Aurora police and firefighters showed when they charged into the chaos of an ongoing massacre, selflessly racing against time to save lives. Those same rescuers behave the very same way every day at work, rescuing people trapped in wrecked cars, terrorized by some other heartless thug or reach out to someone who’s freezing without a home in the middle of winter.
The Aurora theater shooting doesn’t define the tens of thousands of friends and neighbors who rose up to support those inside the theater that night. This is a community that did not want that theater razed, because we wisely knew we would move quickly beyond the tragedy. This is a community focused on protecting the world from chaos with its strategic mission at Buckley Air Force Base. It’s a city focused on helping and curing the sick at the massive world-class Fitzsimons healthcare and research campus with a top medical school and three phenomenal hospitals. Aurora is a place defined by its rich and varied cultures from all over the globe, mixed in thriving schools and businesses. Aurora is defined by astounding theater, enviable water and a passion for tolerance and the celebration of family, regardless of what that family looks like.
Aurora was merely the place that Holmes chose to commit his crime, which utterly defines him. Holmes is nothing but his murders. His childhood memories, his academic successes, his quirky humor — all of it has been obliterated by what he became, what he did, and where he will spend the rest of his life. He is the Aurora theater shooting and nothing more. But for us, the shooting created a window for the world to see who we really are. If you disagree or don’t understand that, you’re just not looking.
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Absolutely correct assessment. I thought many times as I watched this trial that despite his claim that he killed to improve his self-worth/value, he is nothing but a big, fat zero. He is a blank, a void, a nobody. His victims were real humans, full of life and purpose. He did not possess them and never will, for he will rot in jail and rot in hell, while they live forevermore in loving memory and in loving heavenly peace.
The ‘defining’ moment of the entire trail, was when one perspective juror lied during voir dire, saying they agreed with the death penalty, when they did not. They should find this person and charge he or she with lying under oath and have them spend a bit of time in prison.