Posted on 12/06/2015 12:26:34 PM PST by lifeofgrace
I was asked to write this story by my editor at BizpacReview. Â To the victims of mass murders, whether it's terrorism like San Bernardino or a mentally ill killer like Aurora, Colorado, making these events into political theater is "insulting, insensitive and off-base," as my writing colleague Frieda Powers wrote. Â Powers lost her cousin in the San Bernardino massacre.
For one of us at BPR, the cold-blooded act of terror is more than just a storyâit's deeply personal.
Writing for a political news blog,  it's easy to get caught up in the vitriol and arguments surrounding events. Things can get reduced to a simple Internet meme, or the hot news story of the day, as investigations unfold.
A steady stream of reporting news puts anyone at risk of becoming detached, inoculated to the violence and grief suffered by people who have been injured or lost loved ones.
But every so often, a personal connection intrudes into the jaded world of the journalist, reminding us that terror has an incalculable human cost to its victims and their families.
Watching the news, BPR writer and editor Frieda Powers began to put the pieces together: "San Bernardino, health inspector," she heard.
âWait, doesn't my cousin live nearby?â Powers thought. Then, "I went numb. That is what my cousin does: a county health inspector.â The reality hit her. âAnd a holiday party? Of course she would be there."
All night, the news offered no comfort or confirmation when the mother of three didn't come home and could not be reached.
In the morning, Benneta Betbadalâs daughter messaged, "Please pray for my mom. We have no information."
Powers heard Betbadal"s son plead with God: "God please find my Mommy, she's a good Mommy and I need her."
And while this human drama played out, the pundits, President Obama, and the left-wing press tweeted about gun control. âOne thing was very clear in the hours we waited and even once we found out,â Powers said. âThe gun control debate was insulting, insensitive and off-base.â
Betbadal and her parents came to the U.S. from Iran in 1988. Her life was a struggle from the beginning. âShe was a miracle,â Frieda wrote, explaining that her parents had lost one child at birth, and tried for many years before she was born.
They didnât so much emigrate from Iranânobody simply packs up and moves to the United Statesâthey escaped. In the midst of the terrible Iran-Iraq war, Betbadalâs life was a surreal mix of daily activities like school, âpunctuated with siren blasts, seeking shelter and avoiding gunfire and bombs.â The family escaped by planning a âvacationâ to Turkey, and then sought refuge in America.
Little did they think that the Islamic extremism, war, and death they fled would find them in California. Not this way. Betbadalâs father said it was ânot fair.â Her mother still canât speak coherently about her daughterâshe just cries.
Betbadalâs husband Arlen, in an emotional interview, told Fox News what heâll remember most about her. âEverything,â he said. âShe was an angel.â Her 15-year-old daughter called her mother âamazing,â adding with a smile, âShe would have wanted me to be strong, so thatâs what Iâm going to do.â
Arlen, a veteran 20-year police officer praised his chief, partners, and fellow officers for their support. But mostly, he asked for their prayers. âPray for my family,â he said. âPray for my kids, that they would do well without their mom.â
Betbadal, 46, left behind her husband and three children, ages 15, 12, and 10. A GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for the Betbadal family has raised over $65,000 as of Saturday.
As for Powers, sheâs seen the evil face of terrorism close up, and it has changed her. âIt is profoundly clear now that each name, each victim, is a real person, with a real family and a whole story,â she said.
Watch the Fox News video below.
This story first appeared at BPR.
Great looking family and the daughter is especially beautiful.
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Liberals make everything political and conservatives do it reaction to liberals.
If conservatives did not react to politicians preying on the constitution and politically incorrect people, it would be a constitutional bloodbath in this nation.
So...it’s always going to be political because that is the way the liberal elite want it.
The left’s rush to politicize these events is offensive.
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