Deaths, Counts, and Cultural Significance of Maine's Mass Shooting

If we literally compare of the numbers who died in the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine to the numbers of those who die in other ways in Maine every year, it's not clear why a mass shooting in Maine strikes so many as significant. This doesn't mean at all that the shooting in Maine was insignificant. Instead, it means that in order to find the event's significance we need to look beyond mere counts and toward the elements of culture -- values, beliefs, expectations, and symbols -- that form the backdrop for our reactions. What do we hold to be true and important about Maine? How does a mass shooting challenge this? These are the questions that cause us to pause.