I don’t pretend to be an Alec Baldwin fan, not as an actor or in general. The whole situation around the terrible shooting that happened on the set of his movie Rust didn’t help my opinions.
Like any non-self-defense shooting, the shooting shouldn’t have happened. I’ve talked about that before, though, and, so, we’re not going to rehash that here.
What I am going to talk about is something that a recent comment from Baldwin brought up that very few people address when it comes to what happens after a shooting.
Yes, people talk about what and how you should communicate with law enforcement after a shooting occurs, and they talk about the legal ramifications of a shooting, both potential criminal and civil court cases.
What many people don’t talk about, though, is the emotional trauma that you have to deal with after the shooting. And it looks like Baldwin is dealing with that issue right now. Elma Aksalic writes,
Five years following the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, actor Alec Baldwin hopes to live a quieter life with his family, as he continues to process the aftermath of the tragedy.
In an interview on “The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter” podcast on April 13, the 68-year-old gave a glimpse into the emotional impact of the incident and his plans for the future of his career.
Baldwin expressed his desire to retire from the entertainment business, while focusing on his wife Hilaria Baldwin, their seven young children, and his adult daughter, Ireland, 30, whom he shares with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
“I don’t want to work anymore,” he told host Scott Feinberg. “I don’t. I really don’t. I want to retire and stay home with my kids.”
A desire to withdraw from the world, to insulate yourself is not an uncommon response to trauma and the emotional impact of a traumatic experience.
And, yes, shooting another person, even in a justified self-defense situation, is traumatic.
Dealing with that emotional impact is something that needs to be done so that life can go on for you and your family.
So, while I may not be a Baldwin fan, I hope that he gets whatever help that he needs to work through the trauma of the situation, if for no other reason than for the sake of his children so that they can grow up without a parent dealing with those aftereffects.
