An Incomplete Sentence

Summary

The author reflects on the personal impact of a recent mass shooting, drawing a parallel to their childhood experience with lightning and the aftermath of 9/11, while acknowledging a current state of shock and inability to process or articulate their feelings beyond a fragmented phrase.

Abstract

The author of the article, "An Incomplete Sentence," describes a profound emotional response to a mass shooting, akin to the shock experienced when lightning struck near them as a child. This event has left them in a state of shell-shock, reminiscent of their reaction to the 9/11 attacks, despite the current event's differences. The author admits to feeling numb, unable to think or feel, and questions why this particular incident has affected them so deeply. Amidst this emotional turmoil, they share a brief moment of creativity during the night, jotting down an incomplete phrase that came to mind. The author presents this fragment, "The cleansing winds that howl within us," as the only creative output during this period of shock, highlighting the struggle to find words amidst overwhelming events.

Opinions

The author equates the personal trauma of a nearby lightning strike during childhood with the collective shock of a mass shooting, suggesting a deep and visceral response to sudden violence.
They express a sense of being overwhelmed by the frequency of mass shootings, indicating that constant exposure to such events could lead to emotional paralysis.
The author reveals a self-reflective awareness of their own emotional state, acknowledging the difficulty in understanding their intense reaction to this specific event compared to others.
There is an implied criticism of the normalization of mass shootings, as the author indicates that reacting to each event with the same intensity would be emotionally unsustainable.
The act of writing down the phrase in the middle of the night signifies a subconscious effort to process emotions and possibly find some form of solace or understanding through creativity.
The author's inability to form a complete sentence reflects the challenge of artic

Shell-shocked with nothing else to offer

I have not directly experienced war in this life but I know what being shell-shocked is like thanks to an experience I had when I was a child when lightning struck just a few feet away from me. I’m guessing it is similar to a bomb going off in one’s midst. I was thrown to the ground and I temporarily went deaf. Eventually, I looked up and I could see my family screaming but I could not hear a thing. Everything seemed to go into silent slow-motion. The simultaneous explosion of thunder was unimaginably loud and it was followed by frightening silence and numbness.

That is kind of how I’ve been feeling since the horrific events of this past weekend. I can’t think, I can’t feel and everything has gone silent and still. I am shell-shocked.

But mass shootings like this happen all the time now. I don’t go into this kind of reaction after each and every one of them. If I did I’d be non-functional and practically comatose on a daily basis. Why did this event elicit such a powerful reaction?

I don’t know. Like I said, I can’t think. I am still too shell-shocked to put things into perspective. The last time I was this shell-shocked was after 9–11. But this event was nothing like 9–11. Why would I react in the same way?

I don’t know. It may become apparent with time. Perhaps there is something much deeper going on that I am not aware of. I don’t know. I can’t think. I can barely feel.

So I have no delightful story to offer readers today. But I did do a tiny bit of writing in the middle of the night. It was around two-thirty. I got up to go pee and a phrase was singing out in my noggin. On my way back to bed I stopped at my desk and felt around for a piece of scrap paper and a pen. I then wrote down the phrase and went back to the comfort of Dreamland.

Right now I’m looking at that scrap of paper. My handwriting is truly atrocious when I write in pitch blackness but I am able to make it out. It’s not even a complete sentence. It’s just a phrase…

The cleansing winds that howl within us

That’s all I’ve got.