No news on the mouse house front (stay tuned for an update later). Today, instead, I’m trying to remember a time in my life when the bad news wasn’t sensationalized by the media? I’m coming up with zip, zero, and zilch. I hope that the leading line doesn’t scare you by clicking off, please read on. For Lily’s sake. Actually for all children’s sake, and ours too.
Nowadays the negative news is so prevalent and often confusing, at least that’s my take on things. It’s hard to want to go back to a story to find out how the story ends. I often wonder if the news cycling is on purpose? It’s hard to discern what’s real or clickbait, so much so that I’ve resorted to not watching the main news channels available, even locally.
Until this past week – I just couldn’t ignore it.
Our hometown couldn’t ignore it either and kicked into high gear to show support for a missing, 10-year-old girl, Lily.
There was a horrific story unfolding before our eyes in our town of 16000 + people. The local stories are more real and accurate than CNN. They stopped covering after the initial sensationalism of the arrest.
The innocent life of a 10-year-old girl named Lily was taken from her, by a 14-year-old male who killed her on a path near a famous brewery. It happened on a walking path where I have even walked with a friend of mine several years ago. It’s not a path I’d ever walk alone, and definitely not at night – not the best side of town. Shame on CNN for not doing a follow-up report. The suspect admitted to the crime and is in custody – thankfully and hopefully he’ll remain there for life. It was a horrific crime.
Our local District Attorney later that week told us more details. It was hard for all those sharing the news to hold back their tears, and I’m assuming their anger too. I know I’m having a hard time with both.
When the world of news reporters moves on to the next story, do they wonder if there was closure to their initial sensationalized story? Or is it zip, zero, and zilch?
For a week steady what happened to Lily was on our minds. The purple lights, the purple ribbons, and extra hugs and prayers for our kids and their safety all flooded our news feeds. In our shock, we came together to show support.
This morning, even my Facebook feed has moved on after being previously flooded with support. One week since Lily died. One week. That was fast. I must say, though, it is quite amazing how quickly our local police responded to all the tips received via social media that lead them to the arrest. Bless them for their efforts.
As I close this solemn post, I wonder – are we humans numb to bad news fostered by the pandemic, or has it always been the media feeds we’re watching? I wonder if I am numb too? My thoughts and prayers for Lily’s family are flooded through and through – and they include the hope we all survive the news we watch. Speaking of that…this week’s hidden news about Wisconsin and other swing states is going to be another doozy – in case it is off your news radar, check out 2000mules.com for the trailers. All stories above rely on YOU to do your own investigations and research, links have purposely been omitted so words from above can be shared.
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “zip, zero, zilch.” Use one, use ’em all, bonus points if you use all three. Have fun!
PS – Do you trust the news? Have you sought out other news channels to get a different perspective?
Oh my dear Lord. How devastated your town must be. I had read her story in our news but the devastation seems so much worse when it is personalized.
You’re right, our town is devastated. It’s hard to fathom that this can happen, let alone happen so close to home. It makes my heart ache for all children who are abused like this – worldwide. 🙁
The child is pure evil. I’m so sorry this happened to the girl and her family. A life sentence is not enough for the boy.
I agree with you John. Thank you for reading.
I think we’ve become numb to news in general. I think the media only wants to carry news they can sensationalize. A missing child? We can milk that for several days. A dead child? Probably fewer days. No doubt they will return to the cycle, if they can, for the 14-yr-old’s trial. I think, in Connecticut, they would not be allowed to cover that.
Sorry to be cynical. I trust the news, with some notable exceptions, but I don’t appreciate their judgement. I do not, and never watch commentators. Regardless of network, those folks always have an agenda, and don’t even care if what they’re saying is true.
I hope you’re making progress with the mice. Have a nice week.
I agree with your comments, Dan. It’s hard to say when his trial will happen, but, unless there’s some creative way he isn’t charged with felonies the trial will be in adult court and open for coverage. The crimes he has been charged with are all adult crimes in WI.
Don’t be sorry, your comments are welcome here, I appreciate hearing your thoughts.
We’re waiting for better weather to deal with the mice – the wire splicing tool finally arrived so that when we reveal the scene where the wiring tampering happened we’ll (Mr will) be able to fix it and patch the holes in the walls so the scoundrels won’t be able to repeat the problem. 🤞🏻
This is dreadful that poor family of that little girl. Its evil what other children can do. It happens here in the UK too. There is a well known case of a 2 year old boy called Jamie Bulger killed horrifically by 2 boys in Liverpool. Personally I think children like these should get more than borstal. I think a harsher lifetime sentence. These boys went to prison from borstal. Do Google it when you have time but it was shocking to the public nationally as well as locally.
I agree. I don’t think this boy will ever see life outside of prison if convicted here in our state.
Oh, my, I did Google Jamie’s story – I think I remember hearing about that back then. My oldest was just a baby. How horrifying. I’ve never believed that any child predator could ever recover from their evil tendencies. They should never see life without restraint in whatever way that is. Human trafficking and abusing of children is a global problem. It is so sad.
On a side note, thank you for sharing your thoughts, it is nice to hear from you, I hope you are well.
Yes I’m well thank you. And busy in the Bank Holiday here.
Yes over the years one of the 2 boys was released and the legal services have had major problems with him. Giving him new identity etc. If they both could do that as children then they will always have evil tendencies. There are times when I think they should bring back death sentences for serial killers and more life sentences.
Wonderful to hear. Glad you’re busy too – it’s been a long time coming for us all to get busy doing things again.
That’s so sad – sheltering the kid with a new identity? I’m with you on the death sentences – they don’t really deserve to live after the horrific things they’ve done.
What a horrible story. And in a town that size, it probably touches pretty much everyone. I do think a gory headline grabs people nationwide, mostly because in general the populace is hooked on drama. Which really minimizes the horror of what is happening to real people and families. Those poor parents. But in the end, the local news outlet covers it in detail while the national news is looking for the next click as people move on to the next drama. Sad. Social media has changed everything so much.
We’ve been watching the hearings of the school shooter and his parents in Oxford, MI, which has also mostly disappeared from the news on a national level, generally because there is another shooting that follows soon after. 😫 We are in a world of hurt in this country.
Hi Laurel, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Yes, everyone in our town knows something about this story. And those closer to the businesses in that area and families in the neighborhood where it happened unfortunately know more. This isn’t a crime that was a whim, it was planned 🙁 which makes it even more horrible in my opinion. The local news around here tends to report better information when they are live than the national news talking points. I agree – social media has changed so much and not necessarily in a good way.
I remember hearing about that case in MI too, but it haven’t heard any updates. Guess WI news has moved on. Yes, indeed – the trajectory we’re on isn’t good. 😞
I agree with everyone who says we are just numb or flippant to bad news. Its all we see and so much of it embellished of accentuated toward one cause of the other, instead of the truth.
My heart breaks for your community and for all children across the globe. We too are seeing these horrid crimes, preformed by other children, to a rate of numbness. Last month a kid walking home from school was shot in a drive by from another child. Maybe if we started putting the parents in jail as well it will make a difference.
As a society, we in America,(in my opinion)have lost the connectiveness of caring for each other. We have forgotten how to be kind.
Hi Anita – thank you for sharing your thoughts and wishes for a society that starts our approaches to each other with kindness.
It’s so sad to me that children learn this behavior. I tend to agree that the parent’s responsibility in those teachings/modelings/encourangement or lack of looking for signs need to be investigated and processed too. In this case in particular, this is, I suspect it was a learned behavior modeled by parents.
We’re living in times that it is an informational war – definitely not focused on kindness. I pray we find our way back to that. Sooner, rather than later.
I agree about the “news.” I think it started with the 24-hour cable cycle… they had to fill all that time and what better than with sensational stories? I pretty much stick to NPR, both for content and in-depth stories (and interesting, educational shows like Hidden Brain). Anyway, I agree with Dan, stay away from commentary on all outlets.
What happened to Lilly and her family is such a tragedy and, unfortunately, not that rare. I hope the boy who did it finds the help he needs. I don’t hold out any illusions that he can be rehabilitated, but I can’t help but think he must have had a horrendous upbringing to bring him to that point. Then again, some people are just born evil.
Well said, Janis. You’ve highlighted many key points.
I don’t know that this kid will ever get out or rehabilitated. I agree, his upbringing was/is likely horrendous. Possibly born with natural evilness. 🙁 I fear that the investigation will reveal more about the upbringing. But, if that stops this from ever happening again, I’d be thankful to see that story in the news.
The murder in your town was horrific. There’s no end to human cruelty. I’m not a news junkie. TV news channels that I watch a bit are BBC News and France24. They are good sources of info, as far as I can tell.
Hi – thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree.
For the past couple of years, I’ve spent time viewing other news from across the world too – it’s enlightening to see how much they say the same things and when they deviate from our narratives in the US. We can’t really get away from a steady narrative since most of the mainstream news is owned by the same companies.
That’s a terribly sad case, I’m sure your town is shocked something like this could happen. I watched the press conference with the Police Chief and he looked devastated
Hi Alice, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, it is shocking. The town’s reaction indicated to me that we have a desire to come together to help each other more than ever. Yes, the Police Chief had a hard time getting through that press conference, he’s very professional.
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What a wretched thing to have happen in your town. I’m sorry to read about the story even though it doesn’t impact me directly. I don’t watch TV news preferring to read it. That way I can absorb the information at my own pace, easily cross check details across sources, and keep a distance between me and the emotional impact of bad news.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Ally. Yes, the story is hard to read and hard to hear. Unfortunately, the town talk is something that never makes the verbal or written news. This young man planned the horror for two years.
You have a great technique for discerning worthy news.
I clicked send on my comments on your post before I wished you well on your waiting projects – home improvements can be so fun when supplies are easy to obtain. We’re on a mouse clearing mission too – I wrote about that last post. Ew – I hate mice as much as you. UGH!
How horrific. I feel so bad for her, her family, and your entire community. We live the next town over from Oxford which had the school shooting earlier this year. I know how horrible it is to be at the place of such pain. And I also know the frustration of never hearing about the aftermath, how everyone is, what happened next. I note that most with truck crashes, you hear about the crash, but never find out the cause because the news has moved on. The cause is important, because likely there’s a pattern that needs to be seen. The cause of your terrible story is also important for the same reason. If we can recognize the pattern maybe we can make changes that will save lives. Hugs to all of you…and prayers for Lily’s family.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Dawn. Well said.
The lack of closure in the news cycle is as horrific as the crimes.
A few weeks ago, I think it was 9 semi trucks rolled in the wind in MN. No follow-up story. You’re right – the cause (in this case was likely the wind) is important.
In Lily’s family case, I suspect the cause (and learned pattern) is known but just as horrific as the crime. Until the investigation is complete, we’ll likely not hear any more about it.
Thank you for the hugs, prayers, and wishes to save lives! 🤗
God, how awful. I can’t believe the news media. Bunch of damn ghouls…
You’re right, John. And the more we hear about the story that isn’t shared in the news, the more horrific it is.
The ghouls in the news have moved on to other things to stir up their loyal followers.
How horrible – I have no words to say about such a tragedy because these days it seems like we move from one “hot potato” to the next. We had the Oxford High School shooting on November 30th last year and the school shooter, who was a classmate. The stories about those kids final moments as they were shot in cold blood were awful and the trial will be gruesome and heart-wrenching. Now the school is conflicted about the four dead students’ parents who want a permanent memorial and the school who says it is a trigger for them. What worries me is the shootings. Every. Single. Day. A toddler sitting in the front seat is taken out by a bullet intended for someone else, but he died. We had 24 freeway shootings in the Detroit area in 2021 … that is 24 too many. I cancelled my cable in 2010 so I don’t watch TV and get my news from my all-news AM radio station and on social media. I sometimes think I should step away from the news but there is that need to know, so I tap in constantly.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Linda.
Oh, my, the shooting stories are horrific as well.
You were wise to cancel your cable news – I don’t know that radio is any better – we don’t have great channels to listen to here, so I don’t listen to the radio. I’ve found alternative news stations that tell more of the truth, at least that’s what they claim. I can’t stand to listen to any news channels that constantly push fear. 😉
We also have the occasional “we were shot in a drive-by shooting” and the police and K-9 units scour the area and find nothing and it turns out it was a domestic shooting or accidental shooting and they try to pass it off as freeway shooting. We had one just this week with a four-year old who was shot, but lived. SMH
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Shelley, my heart and prayers go out to Lily’s family and the community of Chippewa Falls. I saw this on the news and on social media. What an awful thing to happen to a child. The news never really follows on the aftermath of tragedy. A friend’s brother lost four of his six children and their pets to a house fire Thursday night. It’s not on the local news because it happened near Sparta. I think how devastating this must be, but hope and pray that they have ongoing support from family, friends and community. I hope the same is true for Lily’s family.
Thank you, Mary. It has been a shocker for our little town. I didn’t hear about the Sparta fire. My prayers go out to that family, too.
See – the news is so selective. And when I just turn it off, I’m oblivious to what is the next hot tragedy to report on.
So heartbreaking–I’m sorry it hit close to home and happened at all. Terrible. I do think we’re all so bombarded by news that it’s hard to take it in. Definitely your local news is going to be more focused and probably more accurate on a lot of things. Prayers for the family and your town!
Hi Rebecca – thank you for your kind words and prayers. Even our local news has moved on from this story. I’m sure there’s a bigger investigation going on (I hope) that they’ll bring back into the news when more insight is revealed. This is such an unfortunate situation and hopefully it brings to light that this behavior is real and happening and we need to pay attention and do something to stop these criminals.