By: Johnny Flores, Jr.
Coachella Unincorporated

During last week’s midnight premiere of “Dark Knight Rises,” James Holmes walked into a Colorado movie theatre armed with a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun, and two handguns.

His murderous rampage left 12 people dead, 58 injured, and a nation shocked.

Are we not even safe inside movie theatres?

We pay an admission fee and buy an array of treats to enjoy throughout the movie. We enter a dark auditorium and try to find the best seat. Shortly after, the movie begins to play on the big screen.

We become immersed in a fantasy world that a movie studio has created for us. We are no longer ordinary humans. Our dreams of action, romance, and everything in between are suddenly realized. We no longer worry about bills to pay, food to buy, or clothes to wash. We sit in total darkness, next to strangers — yet we are unafraid. After the credits have rolled, we emerge from darkness of the theatre into the realities of our world.

However, this was not the case for the moviegoers in that ill-fated Aurora movie theatre. And to some degree, neither will many of us. Are we really safe sitting next to that stranger in the theatre? Is someone going to burst in through the emergency exit? Should we plan an emergency escape route just in case someone disrupts the safe havens we call movie theatres?

In 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” Alfred Pennyworth (played by Michael Caine) said the following: “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

We cannot live in constant fear of those who want to watch the world burn. Fear is what breaks us down and makes us lose our sense of hope.

We cannot control the horrors of today. We need to greet today with open arms, face our fears, and hope for the best – even in a movie theatre.