Denise Bulger...A real hero

I often see young teenagers making football stars, movie stars and pop singers into heroes. Yes, these people have talent (well, you know, most of them) and they are good at what they do, but should they be labelled heroes?
There are many, many people in everyday jobs who are heroes. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, police officers and fire fighters to name a few. These people save lives everyday but so many people do not see them as heroes.
Then there are those who go through terrible ordeals and their strength makes them a hero. Denise Bulger is one of them.
I watched a documentary last week of the murder of James Bulger. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, James was two, with his mother at a Liverpool shopping center in Britain and disappeared when his mother took her eyes of him for a few seconds. Two ten year old boys were charged with his abduction and subsequent murder 15 years ago.
I haven't been able to get this documentary out of my head, normally I can watch true crime and it does not bother me the slightest, sure, I feel for the victims and their families, but this particular crime was different. It shocked me, it made me cry, it shook me more then most things do.
Then, James Bulger's mother Denise spoke. I was amazed and how well she has handled this terrible crime. Her son was ripped away from her, murdered at just two years old, by children. Denise is setting up a school for bullied children in James's memory. She is truly an amazing person.

The second part of this crime that was so horrifying was that it was committed by two ten year old boys. I cannot wrap my mind around CHILDREN killing. These two boys ended up locked up for 8 years of a 15 year sentence.They also got new identities when they left prison and they are protected. Now, normally I can understand why a child's identity is protected but in this case I do not. What these two boys did was horrifying. They established in the police interview that these boys knew right from wrong, they knew what they were doing was very wrong but did it anyway. Another question also comes to mind. What had these two boys seen to make them kill a two year old? Generally speaking a ten year old does not think of murdering a toddler, but these boys did. I can only imagine what they have seen or heard to make them do such an unforgivable crime.

This documentary was by far the most horrifying I have seen. My heart goes out to James Bulger's mother and family. Denise is a remarkable woman. A terrible murder would destroy most mother's. Denise has turned James's memory into something great, a school for bullied children. I wish her the best for the future.