Words of comfort?

The grief of losing a loved one is enormous. Losing a child is an unbelievable grief. Losing a child from violence by another child is an unimaginable sorrow.

People offer words of comfort, which may or may not help, but at least don't normally cause grief to be worse.

It's why Donald Trump's comments in a campaign speech after the school shooting in Iowa where an 11-year-old child was shot to death by another student were astoundingly painful. Following a sentence about support and sympathy, what pierced my heart was his conclusion, "But we have to get over it, we have to move forward."

I can't stop thinking about how those words by a former leader of our nation affected the parents of the murdered child, and parents everywhere. "Get over it" offers no comfort, only insult and pain; they are unworthy words of any leader after this horrid death.

Stephanie Brancati

Big Arm