I either didn’t know or just plain forgot that you covered that shooting. Growing up 15 minutes away and working about a mile or so down the road from that school made that whole thing so personal. Through the entirety of the coverage, my biggest worry was that the world would get the wrong impression about the Amish and Mennonite communities, their admirable lifestyles, and the distinguishing characteristics of each. Overall, I think the news media got it right.

The only problem was that the news media was there in the manner you describe. The amount of respect provided for personal privacy should be quite different between that of a girl in Aruba whose parents won’t stay away from reporters and a small, religiously observant farming community affected by such a tragedy.

With every question that was asked of an Amish or Mennonite person affected, you could see in their eyes that they just wanted to be left alone. They had no desire to bring attention to a cause, and no need to have their voices heard or to share their pain like so many people admittedly do in painful situations.

Anyway, great article. One of the most realistic ones on the shooting that I have read.