Virginia Tech Shootings @ MindSay

As the shock and disgust washed over me, I took note of all the broadcasts and news blurbs that were constantly barraging me.  Having been at the Station fire in RI first hand, I know that the television screen can numb tragedies for those watching.  For that we should be thankful, for the true real life horror can be overwhelming in this increasingly simulated world.  Am I alone in thinking that people no longer have to experience things for themselves?  We no longer need to attend sporting events because we can see the highlights on tv or online.  We can have meaningful conversations with people hundreds of miles away without leaving our bedrooms.  Thats not living. We live in a world where anything short of earth-shattering news barely elicits a reaction from the numb masses.  So it's not a surprise that a lone student on one of the thousands of college campuses in this country acted in the only way he knew would garner attention.  He took horror to a new level.  When standing in a crowd of people you can't whisper.  You must scream to be noticed.  That is exactly what this person did.  I find his actions to be disgusting and soulless.  I find his methods of attention-getting disturbing.  I find the fact that he would mail NBC his "manifesto" unsurprising.  And the fact that the media would play it over and over again also does not surprise me.  They are giving that troubled young man what he wanted.  A voice in an anonymous society. 

First off, i'd like to offer my sympathies to the the families and friends of the victims in the shooting. 32 people down and out (no, i'm not counting the shooter who kicked the bucket afterwards), some of those dead were assets to humankind. Their potential contribution to humankind's betterment is a loss no one can really quantify.

now. the thing is, the motives maybe different between shootings (Columbine, etc), but one common fact remains - the incidents happened in the schools where the kids are supposedly safe. a lot of questions pop up with their individual sets of the proverbial can of worms.

admittedly, there are times when i've gotten the urge to do just that - grab a gun or two and go pop heads. preferably a rifle with a decent scope for zooming in that face before it becomes a bloody pulp, a handy-dandy high-capacity handgun for close quarters, a sharp K-Bar for special cases and hand-to-hand. maybe rig some cars with bombs so that people running away on their wheels will get a nasty surprise. mix some poison (cynanide or some other toxins that can be absorbed thru the eyes, skin or thru inhalation) in the water sprinklers then make a fire. those things are not that hard to do - a little know-how on chemistry and mechanics, contacts, good planning, will and determination to do the deed are all you need. heck, if you're just aiming to kill off a lot of people, you can remove the 'good planning' bit and just charge in with guns rambo-style.

call it school rage. or whatever you'd call the sudden explosion of accumulated malice, anger and [insert whatever ill emotions you want here] that you get from school. and the funny thing is, a lot of these so ill feelings come from the environment called school. weird? it makes for an interesting case study, if anything.

 “Active Shooter” is a phrase coined by law enforcement that describes an armed person who has used deadly physical force on persons and continues to do so while having unrestricted access to additional victims. The school shooting at Columbine and similar incidents have caused a paradigm-shift in law enforcement training and tactics. Instead of being taught to wait for a SWAT team to arrive, officers receive training on how to take immediate action during incidents that clearly involve suspects’ use of deadly force.

 

READ ON

http://criminal-justice-online.blogspot.com/2007/04/school-shootings-and-workplace-violence.html

Another shooting on a college campus...  So many people are comparing it to Columbine, but the first thing it reminded me of was the shootings that happened at Kent State back on May 4th 1970.  The Virginia Tech shootings also remind me of the morbid jokes my roommates used to tell about how they'd love to break out some guns and start shooting, not other students, but faculty and staff for high tuition costs.  No one took such threats seriously, they were just a way to express frustration at the university system.  I am not saying that the individual responsible for the shootings at Virginia Tech had such a grievance, but I'm surprised that more shootings like this don't happen.  It's not due to violent video games or movies, or even relationships gone sour, it is simply senseless... and perhaps that's why so many people are searching for a meaning and cause.  It's easy to blame something as superficial as the media. 

 

Today I saw so many idiot experts on TV comparing it to so many other shootings and blaming it on fake violence, that I just got sick to my stomach.  Stop with the blame game and just focus on getting the victims some help.  Better yet, in stead of universities treating their students like money making machines, faculty and staff should nurture their students as people who are seeking ways to better their lives.  When I am a student, I am their boss.  I'm there spending my money on getting an education.  I'm not there to fund their pet projects or kiss their asses. 

 

The other thing that concerns me is that every time I've turned on the radio or TV today, all I hear loudly is "the shooter is an ASIAN man" with the emphasis of the voice of reporters on "asian" which makes me think some are already considering the race issue.  But from what I've seen broadcast online and on TV, it seems like this guy's real issue was breaking up with a girl.  He was well armed -- and prepared for war.  He used a 9mm pistol and a 22 caliber, chained the doors to keep people from escaping, and it was all premeditated.  Whoever he was, my strongest feelings about him were that he wanted to die and take out and hurt as many people as possible out of hate, anger, isolation, perhaps even out of revenge.  He exploded.  For weeks previous, there were bomb threats on this campus... they had no idea they needed to be looking for a human bomb.

 

Which begs me to ask, "how can you stop a person from exploding like this?"  No one seems to have an answer for that.

 

And yet there are so many assumptions... so many people already using this tragedy to fuel their hatred for so many things...  Already there's an exploitation of this going on in the news.  Every idiot in the box wants to get you as angry as this shooter was and they want that anger directed towards idiot causes that only serve to distract you from living your life to its fullest.  Don't buy into the blame game. 

 

Perhaps there was no way for this to be prevented.  Perhaps some people's anger explodes like this as an act of nature does.  Once the flood gates open, we are all helpless in the wake of its power.  The best thing to do is to move on, survive, contribute something meaningful to society, and instead of drowning in despair, find a way to revive your love and passion for something -- something that can empower you to rise above the shit in this world.  Individuals who hold a gun to your head want you to give up and die.

 

That's what I've been struggling against these past three years -- trying to survive against the ill will of the motherfuckers who want me to roll over and die -- it's incredibly hard to live with that gun in your face, hard to face the world with even just the memory of that gun, knowing that gun could unload in your face -- so many times now I've wanted to move back to Milwaukee, but I'm still not yet ready to face that challenge.

 

The thing that chills me the most is it was a 9mm handgun that was held against the head of my father on August 2004...  That was the last gun I have seen up close and personal.  The gun was never fired, but the terror hit me as hard as a bullet.  The guy who robbed my father and I is now in jail, thank the Gods, but recovering from the terror continues.  My heart goes out to the students of Virigina Tech.  I feel like I do with every tragedy that unfolds on the television screen, helpless and wishing I could something to help...

 

And still struggling under the gun.

   

I read about the Virginia Tech shootings when I happened to check NYTimes.com this morning. Didn't know how to react. Was initially sad. Now I'm sadder.

Mortality may be the most peculiar aspect of living. With the war in Iraq, I cried for the devastation -- soldiers, with sons at home, who will never come back. Then there are the Iraqis with their children and family dying. Do we not now know what it feels like to see "33 die," or "(insert large number) killed"?

How about this:

61 dead in Iraq market bombing
March 29, 2007; BAGHDAD -- Two suicide bombers struck a market in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 61 people and wounding 40, police and security officials said.

When I think of this senseless carnage, I think of Pink Floyd The Wall, the scene where soldiers are walking, then fall, and where they lay turns into graves.

The accompanying song, "Goodbye Blue Sky," reads

Did you see the frightened ones?
Did you hear the falling bombs?
The flames are all long gone
But the pain lingers on

The scene here.

So, there's really no conclusions to be made. As don Juan of the Carlos Castaneda novels says, death is behind you, just behind your left shoulder.

We all pass on. Act accordingly.