Mary's Musings

To my knowledge, Carnation, WA does not even have a single stoplight. Its population is around 1,900 and has a history going back to the Lewis & Clark expedition. The town boasts of the beauty of the Snoqualmie Valley and is home to Carnation Tree Farm, where we got our Christmas tree this year. The sleepy little "city" was not prepared for the horror of a mass slaying of some of its residents.

The Anderson family lived a secluded life in this rural town, far from the noise and chaos of the inner city and surrounding suburbs. The homestead consisted of several structures. The main house where the elder Anderson couple lived, and a mobile home, where the 29-year-old daughter resided. What we know is that three generations of Andersons are now dead, and either the daughter or her boyfriend, or both, most likely shot all six of them in a violent rage.

People are in shock and disbelief, and I'm certain will be looking for answers. But, I don't think they're going to find any. In fact, it isn't all that shocking really. Clearly the daughter has been holding on to some sort of grudge for many years. When a person tucks away bitterness and rage, allowing it to fester, that person becomes like a ticking time bomb. There are people like that living in the city, the suburbs, the country, big houses, little houses, and everything in between.

What should surprise us is that shootings like this are not more commonplace. All one has to do is visit any high school to see anger, frustration, resentment, and unhappiness. Unhappy youths become unhappy adults. Violence touches many homes, as is evidenced by the high divorce rate and large number of children put into foster care because their parents cannot control their anger.

On the night of Christmas Eve, a call went out to 911. The exact contents of the call are not released to the public, but we know that the caller was from the Anderson home. Deputies were dispatched but did not investigate further when stopped by a locked gate. A locked gate.

This fact alone tells us some things about the Andersons. They must have felt more secure, and wanted to keep "locals" off their property. I'm not implying they felt they were better than others, but they wanted to be left alone. Left in peace. Well... look what it got them.

In response to this event, one woman in the town said she would be starting to use her security system for the first time in over a decade. But she is missing the point, entirely. There was no violence from without. The violence was from within. The Andersons' worst nightmare was living right on their own property, in a mobile home. We cannot guess the reasons for the living arrangements, or why the Anderson couple was blind to the danger they were in. Because there can be no doubt that they were in significant danger.

In M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village", families trying to escape from a violent and shallow society had formed a secluded community only to find that one may be able to escape the violence from without, but not the violence from within because it is inherent in human nature. Shyamalan's inspiration came from the book "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte.

Anyone who seeks a political advantage as a result of this murder should not be elected or re-elected. The Andersons are the only ones who can answer the question of "Could this have been avoided?" It isn't an issue of gun control or police ineptitude. Sadly most families would rather hide behind a veil of complacency rather than expose a side that may lead to embarrassment later on. They worry about what friends and coworkers will think about indiscretion or lack of perfection... when what they really need to be worried about is what to do when the pipe bursts. Better yet, fix the pipe before it bursts and irreversible damage is done.