A few words about Corey Comperatore

A retired fire chief, loving father and husband, and all around good egg is gone.

“So much violence.”

I don’t think Kevin Costner has delivered a line any better as Elliott Ness thinking back about lost friends at the end of The Untouchables.

Our world is dominated by violence. Gun violence. Explosive device violence. The shooter at the Pennsylvania rally for Donald Trump on Saturday had both, using one of them in an attack that left Trump with a bloody ear, a couple others in critical condition, and a good man dead. That last soul was Corey Comperatore.

He was just another guy that a hundred people would pass in the street, except to his family. To his daughters and wife, he was a hero. A real one, not the one created in movies, but the one that we strive to be in our dreams. Comperatore shielded his family when those shots rang out, saving their lives by giving up his own. A tale as old as time… because people resort to violence, the most inhumane and weakest route to solve a problem or find an answer.

In a gut-wrenching Facebook post, Allyson Comperatore detailed the final moments of his father. He was a people’s person like myself, able to make friends with strangers in seconds if the topic and mood lines up. A retired fire chief, it must have been easy for him to make friends. It’s an amazing thing when you can talk to a person you just met, and find common ground and perhaps some laughter. Corey and I may not have agreed politically, but we could have shared a laugh and spoke on the greatness that is being bald.

Here’s the thing. Political affiliations don’t, and should not, deny a couple people from talking and being friendly. Voting is something we do every four years, but meeting people happens every day. While a Trump rally isn’t my jam, I could have easily struck up a conversation with Corey and others. You don’t think or look for someone’s political nametag before talking to them--at least I don’t. That’s just weak.

Allyson’s recounting isn’t easy to read, especially the part about having a day be turned upside down. That’s something that can really hit all of us. You’re never ready for the right hook coming out of nowhere towards your jaw, because a guard can’t always be up. The Comperatores were having a good time until one spineless 20-year-old with a rifle-who was somehow allowed to army crawl up a building 150 meters away from Trump’s position without being spotted-interfered with the good times.

What a fucking shame, on both counts. If the obvious has to be pointed out, violence is rarely if ever the answer to a problem. Where has that gotten us as a country? It’s like we commit the same actions each century and decade, finding ourselves once again at the beginning of the forest instead of out and free. The Secret Service being as reactionary as rent-a-cops is embarrassing.

As Tommy Gavin once told a therapist, it doesn’t make any sense that the good souls are taken while the shitheads are left behind. It’s the most cruel thing in the world, outside of children dying young or women having their rights stripped away. People like Corey should be here forever, instead of being taken by a bullet near an election rally stage. If there truly is an operational base upstairs making decisions, they really suck at their job.

Rest easy, Corey. He’s the person we should be talking about today instead of the mindless conspiracy theories or savior posts for Trump. The man got shot in the ear, and was dumb enough to fist pump the crowd in clear view of another potential shooter or sniper. Let’s keep the focus today, and remember the real heroes.

It’s something every mom, dad and parent thinks about becoming: the hero who gives his life for his family. It’s something that usually doesn’t happen in real life. It happened with Corey Comperatore. He was THE hero.

Since I started this with a movie quote, I’ll end it with another one of my favorites. Morgan Freeman as a detective in David Fincher’s Seven thinking back about the events of the film:

“Ernest Hemingway once said, ‘the world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.’ I believe in the second part.”

Have a good one,

DLB