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By Dr. Buck Blodgett
When the most heinous crimes occur â murders, mass shootings, serial killings â much of the focus understandably turns to the victims and their grieving families who struggle to make sense of senseless violence.
But the perpetrators have families, too, who often are horrified and guilt-ridden by what happened.
Even the famous are not immune. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles revealed recently how agonizing it was to process the news after her brother was charged in a triple homicide. Biles tweeted that her âheart achesâ for the victims and their families. But she also asked for respect for her familyâs privacy âas we deal with our pain.â
âItâs an understandable request because the pain of an accused perpetratorâs family can be unbearable,â says Dr. Buck Blodgett, who wrote A Message from Jessie and founded The LOVE>hate Project (www.ligth.org) after his daughter was raped and murdered by an ex-boyfriend in her own home.
Even as he mourned his daughter and sought justice, Blodgett felt empathy for the parents of the young man eventually convicted in her death.
âThey are good people,â he says. âThey unquestionably provided a loving, caring, quality home environment for their children. They had nothing to do with the choices their son made. And they have been through a hell that few can imagine.â
Blodgett has a message for those caught up in either side of a tragedy â and for anyone who struggles to understand why the world is filled with such suffering:
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âHow do you overcome something like this?â Blodgett asks. âWith love. With an open heart, an open mind, an open will. For me, the answer is refusing to let hate win; refusing to let it shape me, govern my actions, tell me who I am. Hate is not allowed in my heart.â
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About Dr. Buck Blodgett
Dr. Buck Blodgett is the author of A Message from Jessie, the Founder of The LOVE>hate Project (www.ligth.org), and was named the 2015 Resilience in Education Person of the Year. In family chiropractic practice since 1996, he is also the founder of The Chiropractic & Wellness Group, Inc. and Wellness Drs. He and his wife, Joy, were the parents of Jessie, who was murdered when she was 19. Since her death, Blodgett has worked to end violence and to educate, motivate, and inspire young minds to choose love over hate. He speaks nationally in schools, conferences, and prisons.
When Tragedy Strikes, Should Families Of The Accused Also Suffer?