A Question To Ponder

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (sic) is holding their gala event in New York City on Thursday, October 4th. They plan to honor B-list actors who've made public service announcements for them as well as highlight "men and women whose lives have been forever altered by gun violence."

Included in the list of those "whose lives have been forever altered" was this:

Aurora theater shooting victims Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent (who escaped without physical injury) and his friend Stephen Barton (who was shot in the neck and shoulders), who had stopped in Denver to visit a friend during their cross-country cycling trip;

How is Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent a "theater shooting victim" if he had no physical injuries? Is the Brady Center claiming the Mr. Rodriguez-Torrent has PTSD or other mental disorders other than hoplophobia, that is? Was just being in the theater enough to be able to claim victimhood?

I can understand calling the friend a victim as he was actually shot by the deranged student but I'm having a hard time accepting that Mr. Rodriguez-Torrent is a victim. By extension, if you've ever witnessed a hostile encounter, in person or on TV, then you are a shooting victim. I've watched the Zapruder film of JFK being assassinated in Dallas as well as have vague memories of watching Jack Ruby kill Lee Harvey Oswald on TV so does that make me a shooting victim?

By the dumbed-down standards of the Brady Center, I guess it does. I'm a victim, you're a victim, we're all victims now. Victim of what I'm still not sure but victims nonetheless.