I imagine today that the one person who lives on the edge of Washington DC furthest from the violence at the Naval Yard feels far less safe than I do. Statistically speaking, I wouldn't know. I know that daily I worry about my wife and daughter. I know my wife worries about me. I'm on roofs and under heavy things. She works with chemicals and water. Our daughter is new and naive. Then there is the traffic. I'd venture to say that our occupations are fairly dangerous. We fear for one another's safety.
I cannot say who is in more danger; us or the Washingtonian. Factoring in the hurricanes, and winter storms; there is a statisticians dream. But it can be made sense of. Even lightening strikes have a haphazard statistical profile. But, there is nothing sinister in these "accidents." An accidental death highlights human frailty. The violence like today's at the Naval Yard highlights something else. Is it evil? Weakness? Both? No destruction feels worse than self destruction.
I have no insight or perspective on what happened today. I'm trying to understand my home, and its place in this world. I noticed a critical difference between here and what seems a world so far away: There is little sinister here.
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