FireCat! The Legend of Amazon Sage©

Sage is a quirky girl who always loved wild animals, funny people, adventure and indigenous music. She still does.


What no one knows is that every night in her dreams, Sage

transforms into a woman of power and wisdom, called

Amazon Sage.

Unlimited by the confines of newtonian physics, she is fierce and full of compassion, traveling where ever she is needed to help relieve suffering in the world.

Only problem is,

Amazon Sage© only lives while Sage is dreaming.

Once Sage awakens, Amazon Sage © disappears. These blogs are written by Sage, telling what happens in this most secret life...

Thursday, March 10, 2011

“What made the boy kill his family?”

Good morning, friends. Last night, Amazon Sage dream travelled to the home of a broken family, where a stunned older brother and a distraught uncle tried to make sense of what happened.* Neither can understand how the 12 year old Colorado boy they loved, could do something so heinous as killing both his parents and shooting his 5 and 9 year old siblings.  But until and unless this boy talks, there is little anyone knows for sure about why he did it. What it brings up for me are some of the hidden reasons these crimes often occur.
Like a volatile explosion, this type of killing ignites in fiery swiftness, destroying all life as the killer has known it.  Indeed, that’s why he does it. You can be sure that a person who commits this type of act has been going through his or her own private hell for longer than anyone knows. Yet, to the casual observer, they may “seem just fine” even minutes before the shooting (Notice, I said shooting since a person who uses another form of weapon may have a different lead up to the killings). Obviously, people who kill those closest to them are not “fine” so it’s almost as if, in this final act of desperation, they are saying, “I’ll show you how fine things are for me in my life.”
The night after I first heard about these killings, Amazon Sage dream-travelled to the jail cells of young people who have committed similar types of shootings. She wanted to gather data; to find out why. She discovered that there are three factors that are often present in the life of a young multiple murderer that could provide clues that something is terribly wrong. The only thing is, you have to talk with the person to know. First, they feel as if they have no “voice,” in other words, they believe that their feelings and thoughts, sometimes, even their very existence is unimportant to others. Second, there is often some type of abuse that has or is occurring and that the victim believes will never be adequately dealt with; and third, an emotional catalyst occurs that starts the chain reaction of events leading to the person striking out in lethal ways. 
Ironically, a person most likely to commit such an egregious act is not the kid in a third world country who is struggling to stay alive or the gang banger with the big mouth. That person knows they are needed by someone, even if only for their own survival. No, the kind of killer I’m talking about is most likely middle class, white, not starving, has shelter and food... and for those reasons, nobody thinks they have anything to complain about. Yet, this kid is more likely to feel lost in life, than the most desolate refugee. 
So besides getting to know the person and offering friendship, what can be done? If you’re a teacher, really read what they write and if a classmate, look at what they surround themselves with. Often it will be images of death and violence. If you are a parent of a kid who prefers to spend most time alone, ask yourself when was the last time you let him or her know how truly important they are in your life and in the life of the family. If the young person has been abused or bullied (especially if it was by a family member), go with them to get help in dealing with their inner cauldron of rage. I’ve seen these kids. I listened to what they told me. Now it’s your turn...
*http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/03/09/colorado.boy.slayings/index.html