General Discussion

There are a lot of reasons.

First, Rob Reiner and his wife were very good people - talented, kind, intelligent, generous - at a time when the opposite kind of people have taken over our country. That the Reiners would be killed feels especially awful. How could this happen to such good people?

Second, that they were killed by their son after years of trouble. Many of us have children who are struggling. Many young people are struggling now for many reasons. We worry about them and often feel helpless. We can relate to what the Reiners were going through and then this horrifying, mind boggling end. Not relatable. Jarring. Unreal feeling.

Finally, Trump's insertion of himself. I think it's a last straw for millions of us.

There's a particular age group that is most likely to be a fan of Rob Reiner and his work, and most of us on DU are in that age group. As a late-stage boomer (Generation Jones) I am right in that group.

This is a loss of a public figure that will remain memorable. People of certain ages remember when Buddy Holly was killed. I remember the plane crash that killed most of Lynyrd Skynyrd. We remember where we were when we learned that John Lennon was killed.

This has hit me hard.