After Good Friday Shooting, There’s Life – And Hope

4-9-10

Whenever things really get bad, it helps to remember that whatever happens to us, no matter how bad it may seem, has happened to many, many other human beings, and been overcome to various degrees.
The very good news about the Good Friday shootings in Cooperstown is this:  Both boys survived and both will likely go on to live happy and useful lives, if only our community – in other words, all of us – have the determination and wisdom to make it so.

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The 16-year-old who was shot was back in school the following Monday, his wounded arm in a sling.  The alleged shooter, also 16, who then shot himself, was in Bassett Hospital, but out of danger.
This incident caused many long-time residents to recall a contrasting case with a hopeless outcome:  On the evening of Saturday, Oct. 14, 1961, two 17-year-olds were shot and killed by a 16-year-old in the alley next to Key Bank.
In that case, the shooter was tracked down to his grandfather’s camp at Big Moose in the Adirondacks and shot; he lingered nine days at St. Luke’s Hospital, Utica, then passed away.
That was almost 50 years ago, and many of the close relatives who suffered most keenly have passed away.  Still, they carried the burden of what happened all their lives.
And so the good news of today:  That was an irreversible tragedy.  This is merely a problem, albeit a serious one, that must and will be sorted out and resolved.

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The rush to judgment in the latest case – that since the wounded boy happened to be black and the alleged shooter white, this had to be a “hate crime” – is unfortunate.
It catapulted the story onto front pages nationwide.  Googlenews.com even led with it for a while, and even the New York Times sent a reporter – young Arthur Sulzberger, the venerable Adolph Ochs’ great-grandson – to plumb the mysteries of America’s Most Perfect Village™.
The “hate crime” definition racheted up the potential assault charge to one that could draw a 25-year sentence.
Easy.  Easy.   Let’s just wait and see.  Whatever charges are brought, any “hate” allegations are far from being proved.
Various other scenarios have circulated that are equally plausible, or moreso.  So let’s take a collective deep breath and let the process work itself out.
Both boys and their families are suffering enough right now, from fear and dismay, as anyone who has endured the joys and challenges of raising teen-agers can imagine.
But perhaps there is some consolation in the realization that matters will sort themselves out.  Wounds will heal.  Any punishment determined and meted out will be endured. 
Life, with its delights and periodic setbacks, will go on, and the unhappy events of this Good Friday will be forgotten by many, and fade into the background even for the major players.