At first I was irritated and then increasingly angry about those questions reporters have been putting over and over to Newtown residents. All reporters who ask “how did you feel?” in the wake of something ghastly are bloodsuckers. It feels cloyingly pornographic. “How did you feel when you heard the horrible news?,” “What sustains you in this time of grief?,” “How do you wrap your arms around this?,” “Can you tell us about [the six year old who is now dead?] What did you love most about him/her?”

If my son or daughter had been killed, I would go right up to these guys and when they pop the question, I’d say “so you’re looking for a nice juicy grief bite, right? How’s that going? Did anyone weep when they tried to answer? No? Well, keep plugging. You’ve got a job to do. We all get that.” Or maybe I’d just say “use your imagination, Lois Lane. You want me to emotionally perform for you so others can sink into what a lot us are feeling so…what, so we can all hug each other?”