If you chose to stay at home then that means the jerks win

Want to make things different in this crazy, shoot-em-up world of ours?

Go shopping.

Yes ... at the mall.

Go to class, to church, to work. Work out.

Take a walk.

Don't let the idiots win.

Don't let them send us into hiding. Don't let them make our children cower under their desks.

Don't let them shutter a mall that's as part of this region as we each are.

Don't give in.

If we do, we give them more power.

And, if that happens, we won't need to fear terrorists from outside this country. We will have empowered domestic terrorists to tear us apart from the inside.

Be they gang members or just plain old mopes, do we really want to empower those who thrive on fear?

I don't.

Power play

If the jerk who shot a 19-year-old man outside the Spring Hill Mall Kohl's Thursday makes us stay home instead of going to the mall, we all lose.

If that mall struggles, we lose dozens of jobs that are helping feed plenty of families in the northern Fox Valley.

If we give in to the idiot who frightened Western Illinois University students and families with a shooting threat last week, six weeks after the Northern Illinois University tragedy, we lose even more.

And, if we all end up staying home, afraid to spend, afraid to learn, afraid to walk around in freedom, we're done.

'Those people'

Worse, if we all jump on the bandwagon to classify such violence as only "those people" or "that town," I think we'll have lost what this nation, made up of people from all lands, is all about.

The blogs and coffeehouse chatter were filled with fear in the aftermath of the mall shooting, just as they were in the wake of the NIU shooting and WIU threat.

Many people immediately jumped to blame the mall incident on the region's changing demographics.

Is that fair?

Be we white, black, Hispanic, Asian, or whatever, we all have people among each group who think it's OK to frighten or harm others. Ditto if we're rich, poor or in the middle.

Isn't it up to all of us to send the message that such behavior is not accepted from anyone of any color or income level?

Hiding in our homes won't cut it. Blaming one nationality or another won't, either.

Wasn't it a white suburban boy who did the harm at NIU?

Differences defined

Yes, this area is more diverse today than five years ago. Personally, I like it. I like sharing cultures and learning.

Most of our new neighbors are just trying to get by, care for their families, improve their lives, just like you and I are.

Only a very small minority of any group thinks it's OK to terrorize. Shouldn't we use caution before we color everyone by the violence of a few?

I sure don't want to be defined by the white women who have chosen to kill their children. My husband sure doesn't want to be defined by the white men who kill their families.

Why do people think it's OK to generalize about all blacks, all Hispanics, all whites? Then extend it to "everyone in Carpentersville," "all those Elgin people," or "name your town."

My husband and I went to Spring Hill Saturday. We saw all kinds of people there. My daughter is going there today. I just might join her. It's a nice place to walk around, shop and visit.

Sure, there are sometimes issues, as there would be at any place where a lot of people gather. West Dundee police Chief Dave Sawyer tells me rarely is there violence, however. And he and his family are regular mall visitors.

So is West Dundee Village Manager Joe Cavallaro who, along with his wife and daughters, won't hesitate to head to the mall.

We know several people who work at the mall and they're hoping we all keep on coming. They need those jobs and, to keep them, they need all of us to stop by and shop.

Let's not let the jerks do more harm than they've already done.