Positive Sociology

Like many of you, I have been glued to news coverage of the Newtown shooting. While watching the memorial last night and reading news today, I was struck by a curious omission: Nancy Lanza’s murder does not “count”. Nancy Lanza's death does not "count" in the public eye. When the President, journalists, and others talk about the tragedy in Newtown, they talk about 26 victims .  Last night on CNN, Anderson Cooper had a special segment dedicated to remembering the “26 lives lost” in Newtown, CT.  The President made several references to the 26 victims in his moving speech to a small auditorium in Newtown.  An LA Times article reports that firefighters have erected 26 Christmas trees honoring the fallen in Newtown.   Nancy Lanza is the 27 th victim .  Why is her story omitted from memorials? Why is her death and story not worth mentioning when we memorialize the victims of this tragedy?  Is it because she’s the mother of the as...

The Existential Fall Out after Newtown I have a heavy heart tonight.  My thoughts and prayers are with the families of Newtown.  The Newtown shooting is a terrible tragedy. It has reminded me of lessons learned while studying the families of murder victims.  For the past 2 years, I have been researching the everyday lives of families who lose someone in a murder.  This has been difficult—and often heartbreaking—research.  I have spent many nights thinking about how much I take my family, friends, and other people in my life for granted.   I think about the mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings whose first and last thoughts of each day are of the person they loved and lost. The things that I have seen and the stories that I have collected have left a deep and permanent mark on my soul. Amongst the many thoughts swirling around in my head, I keep returning to a t...