A woman named Susan Collins was hoping to get Mike Rowe’s wisdom in the aftermath of the Florida shooting that cost 17 young lives. Rowe is generally filled with thoughts that oftentimes present a common sense way of solving problems or viewing a situation with a touch of wisdom.

“Dear Mike. Where have you been? Your words are needed…” Collins asked Rowe.

Rowe responded on his Facebook page but felt he didn’t have the necessary words to put this atrocity into perspective, at least not at this time.

“Like most of you, I’m overwhelmed with pity for the victims and their families, but consumed with anger for the coward who chose to murder,” responded Rowe. “Rage and sorrow are hard things to reconcile, and the more such things occur, the more apparent it becomes that there is nothing new to say.”

Rowe did, however, remind everyone that evil exists in this world and that while there are many things we could point the finger at in terms of blame, Rowe said that there is an underlying cause as to why all these things may have influenced the shooter. Even those with horrible pasts can go on to become the world’s most loving and beloved people. According to Rowe, it’s best to find the answer below all the answers.

Should we discuss the impact of video games, accessible firearms, single-parents, no parents, powerful medications, social media, mental illness, bullying, or anything else we think might have encouraged him to choose evil over good? Without question.

But we should also stop confusing the influence of such things, with the root cause. Because nothing in this man’s past can possibly explain his decision to kill seventeen people. If you believe otherwise, ask yourself why millions of other people with a similar past, don’t make similar choices.

The past does not equal the future.

This is the most comforting thing I can tell you, Susan. It’s also the most disconcerting. Because the facts are undeniable. People from horrible backgrounds often become the epitome of kindness. And people with every imaginable advantage, often go on to squander everything.

Rowe finished by remind Collins that despite the fact that such evil exists in the world, there is also incredible good that presents itself in such situations.

“As for words, I can only repeat what others have said, and ask you to remember those who confronted evil with courage,” wrote Rowe. “People like Aaron Feis, the football coach who threw himself in front of the kids the killer was trying to murder.”

Rowe is correct, as usual. It’s better to remember that the evil of one man does not represent the general population. The real state of humanity is best represented in Feis, or the firefighters that ran back into the World Trade Center on 9/11, or the people who volunteered to risk their lives and livelihoods to help others in Houston during the hurricane.