This was truly a tough read (and I read it twice). I was forced to see depravity in someone shockingly young, aiming for infamous glory. Given how often mass shootings occur in the U.S., it also was hard not to view this as another signal dropped into the noise, further desensitizing me. Instead, I sat with my discomfort, ruminating over all the possible ways to prevent this in the future. There are many partial answers, but they seem incomplete: gun control, school programs, mental health outreach, closure of online hate sites, etc. There’s something deeper here that we are missing, perhaps a lack of connection with young people. I am beginning to sense that we don’t care enough about children to give them our time and compassion. As much as American society cares about dogs and cats, it doesn’t seem to offer the same intensity toward children. Is it because deep down we think the fix is in for climate change? I don’t know. I just know that after the Sandy Hook massacre, there was a moment where we seemed poised to act, but we failed. The Annunciation Catholic Church episode is a reminder that we are still failing.

Re: ATR Court, are these hearings open to the public? Do they allow remote public access?