Issues under Fire: Do You Know the People You Know?

Issues under Fire: Do You Know the People You Know? 

Normally, nobody around here gives a damn about what's happening in the world on Fridays, but due to a slew of thought provoking incidents occurring in rapid secession, we thought we'd put the party on pause and think some stuff through.  

Last week eleven medical students and recent graduates left their presumably comfortable lives to work in hospitals controlled by ISIS. This week, a woman in Colorado is facing charges of baiting a pregnant woman to her home with the sale of baby clothing, only to lure the unsuspecting soul to a basement where she attacked the pregnant woman and cut the child from the pregnant woman's womb. Two days ago, a 28 year old co-pilot intentionally slammed a jetliner into the French Alps, killing himself, the crew and all passengers aboard. 

In the case of the eleven students, their parents are understandably shaken and upset, but to a family, none had any idea what their bright kids with bright futures were planning to do with their lives. An American, seven Brits, and two Sudanese was able to cloak their intentions until it was too late to intervene. If you talk to their friends and educators, you'll get the same response; they had no idea. 

In the case of the woman who practically eviscerated a pregnant woman for her baby, apparently no one in her life had any inkling this person had that level of mental and emotional issues swirling about her. Since it was reported, it was the crazy woman's husband who found the bloody child in the tub and rushed it to the hospital where it expired, one can reasonably speculate, he too was clueless about the severity of his wife's issues. 

In the case of the co-pilot, recovered recorded flight data revealed the 28 year old locked the captain out of the cockpit, refused to respond to pleas, cries and demands to open the door and proceeded to crash the plane into the side of a mountain. When that co-pilot showed up to fly that fateful morning, he probably smiled at people, had coffee with a colleague, and shook hands with his partner for the flight without anyone suspecting anything was wrong. Again, friends, family and co-workers who interacted with this young man, apparently had no idea what was going on in his head.  

Somehow, these stories and thousands upon thousand more, begs one to ask the question, how well does anybody really know anybody. From family members, to life long friends and associates, how can you be sure the people in your life are who they present themselves to be?

How can you be sure a laugh is genuine, an embrace is sincere or a tear is born of joy and not sorrow? How do you know when someone is hurting, lonely or afraid, if they really don't want you to know? How many people are living on the edge, but are so good at masking their issues, even those closest to them can't detect severe problems are on the horizon? 

Bottom line: In reality, when it comes to people, what you see is rarely what you get. And if we can never be completely sure of the people we know best, its amazing how often we place our lives in the hands of total strangers when hailing a cab, taking a train or getting on a plane. Many, don't even think twice about the driver's credentials or mental state when putting their kids on a school bus.

On the other hand, perhaps everybody is hiding crazy issues and its only a matter of time before any one of us does something crazy to shock the world. C-ya Monday.

BTW, as per usual, there is another cool episode of Rocky Jordan entitled Twenty Fathoms Under. Enjoy and share.