NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Witnessing the aftermath of a tragedy takes an emotional toll on all of us.
As difficult as the images are to look at, they're important to document. Nashville historian and photojournalist Ray Di Pietro believes this too.
“It’s a lot," he said, while sitting inside the Drug Store Coffee Shop inside the Noelle Hotel in downtown Nashville.
"It’s a lot," he reiterated.
He sees tragedies and triumphs.
“You know a girl in the snow making a snowman at Centennial Park," he said.
Unfortunately, he sees the bad.
“You know the Covenant shooting wasn’t yet two years ago," Di Pietro said. “With Covenant, it’s a day I knew one day would happen but I truly hoped would not happen.”
With a camera in hand, Di Pietro is ready to snap a memory so we never forget.
“I said to myself I’m gonna document everything I possibly can in this city for good or for worse," he said.
He has witnessed pain.
“And every once in a while, worse pops up.”
Again. And again.
“None of us want to show up to a school shooting – to document it," he said. “I’m a historian then a photojournalist so what I’ve been doing is documenting the history of this city.”
Our city has now witnessed a second school shooting — in not even two years. Di Pietro has seen the aftermath of both. I met him inside this coffee shop just 24 hours after the shooting at Antioch High School.
“I woke up emotionally exhausted today," he reflected a week ago.
These disasters can bring pain and hurt in these same communities in which we live too.
“When you document a tragedy like that, you do the work and then cry at home," he said.
So why take these photos? Di Pietro has witnessed the animosity first-hand.
“The people who do get upset, perhaps they don’t understand what I’m trying to achieve," Di Pietro said. "But I find it important to have those images to show the city, the state, the country and the world what’s happening.”
What's happening is a nationwide safety issue. These photos show the truth, but also the solace and solidarity. He's human too — and he too sees and feels the pain.
As our conversation began to come to a close, I noticed his socks. He had his right leg crossed over his left. So I asked him about those socks that caught my eye.
“I buy them by the dozen," he said. “Every day I wear these heart socks."
What he said next made me realize something. Amidst all the hate he witnesses, there's nothing stronger than love.
“With everything I see, I just feel like I need some love on me," he said.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Austin.Pollack@newschannel5.com
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-Carrie Sharp
