They called it Amish Grace-and a 13 year old girl named Marian

The day it happened, one of my close friends texted me, that she wanted to take the kids and get away from the ugliness of this world.  I hadn't seen the news so I didn't know the reference at that point.  How does one explain a massacre at a quiet school setting in the Amish countryside? If one has never been to the Lancaster County area of Pennsylvania, one would not know that two cultures exist- side by side.  Hustling and bustling, yet overall peaceful.

When my children were young, my family visited the area and I have driven through it many times.  I often wondered how the Amish could live side by side with the tourist areas.  Of course, part of that tourist money is their livelihood.  I like city sidewalks and the hustle and bustle of city life, but there was an appealing aspect of the quieter side.  Living simply and with family.  Possible but not tried by many these days.

So in 2006, when the international news broke that a quiet setting in Lancaster, Pa was torn apart, the news was shocking.   The linked article gives some explanation as to why the homicidal/suicidal man took the lives of young children, then his own.   It is an interesting read.

The name Marian comes up in the article.
" When the state police arrived, Roberts ordered them to leave the property or he would shoot. He told the girls, “I’m going to make you pay for my daughter.” One of the girls, 13-year old Marian, said, “Shoot me first.” Roberts began shooting each of the girls before finally shooting himself. When the police broke in to the school, two of the girls, including Marian, were dead. Naomi Rose died in the arms of a state trooper."

The teacher's response is interesting:

"When the young teacher saw his guns, she and her mother left the other adults with the children and ran to a nearby house for help. A call was made to 911."

The Amish community of Nickel Mines has been given much credit with offering forgiveness. They offered forgiveness to the man's family. But being human, they can not escape the stages of grief. The Amish also are a community who shun people in their own faith practice, so in this circumstance, the murderer was not one of their own community of believers. The murderer was a vengeful man who hated God.  He would be in jail today if he had not committed suicide.

At Nickle Mines,  the message that day per the article:
"On the blackboard was a sign with a teddy bear. The sign read “Visitors Bubble Up Our Days”. One revenge minded visitor destroyed it.

I don't agree with the white washing of history, so I have always argued the point that the school districts which have experienced the school massacres or have had any type of violence occur, then try to explain it away, are part of the problem and not part of the solution. Columbine and Parkland, Florida (the name of the high school at Parkland is conveniently not the household name that Columbine is) have been the best examples.  The schools experienced the same type of tragedy-20 years apart- of having huge problems explode on the national scene. The Columbine killers real dream was to have the school explode.

None of the families have sought vengeance. The families want answers, but they have offered forgiveness as well. Seeking the truth is not about vengeance. I do feel that grace has been shown in many, if not all, of the families which have experienced the tragedies. If grace is what we need after a tragedy, let's try to put grace into effect, in order to prevent one.  Those who march after a death and block sidewalks and roadways could learn a thing or two as well from the grace of the Amish. 

On a scale of justice, violence begets violence.. and no justice will prevail.


Amish School shooting                          YouTube video     The mother of the 32 year old killer speaks

The wife of the Nickle Mines killer   The mother took a fetal position.....

Why should you care?  Another school year has started.

Marian R. Carlino

August 11, 2018