After Columbine: Purpose and Meaning Embedded in the Trauma
[mc4wp_form id="746"] After Columbine: Purpose and Meaning Embedded in the Trauma By: Joshua Browne, M.P.S. Prelude to Columbine: As a career law enforcement officer, I have accepted interaction with direct and vicarious trauma, as a component of my professional commitment. I understand I am required to run towards the sound of gun fire, even as others flea, regardless of personal risk to mind and body. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s reference to the “Wolves, Sheep and Sheep Dogs” analogy best describes the law enforcement and military ethos (Grossman, 2004; Grossman, 2006). According to Grossman (2004), the Sheep Dog confronts and neutralizes the wolf, relying on the empathy he feels for the sheep as motivation to use his gift of aggression. As a Sheep Dog, I accept the responsibility to protect the…