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| Blogs > toothysmile > the bright side of the moon |
disturbing questions...
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disturbing questions... disturbing questions... During these past few days I have been discreetly watching the media reports about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. I have also read and commented on several wonderful, touching posts here in our own blogville. I have refrained from writing anything about this on my own blog, but some things hit too close to be left unspoken. When I was in college in the U.S., a student in my dormitory shot two other students dead. Just like that. Just out of the blue on an April ( coincidence? ) morning. He then calmly waited in his room to be arrested and confessed that his intention was to shoot more people but stopped when he missed one. The 'lucky' student that escaped managed to call the police. Needless to say, just like everyone else, I was shocked to learn all this. So much violence... for no apparent reason. Now that the microphones and cameras have been switched off and the respects paid to the victims and their families, perhaps it is time to pay them their dues. The dues that we really owe them. The only dues that truly matter in this case: to try and understand what happened here. To not dismiss it as 'a lunatic shooting people off'. To examine what we can all do to stop this from happening again. Even if we originally fail... Even if our minds can't find the answers yet... We owe it to these victims to at least try. Point 1. Institutionalized. The Virginia Tech gunman was apparently institutionalized at some point. Consequently some doctor concluded that he was safe enough for both himself and others to be released. Who signed his release? And how did he/she come to this conclusion? Were follow-ups for his condition ever made? Was the gunman under any form of supervision? Point 2. The Professors. I saw on TV with my own eyes one of his professors brag that she 'stood up' to him. That she kicked the gunman-to-be out of her class (a poetry class), because she found his poetry offensive... because he took photos of girls skirts with his cell phone... because he wore sunglasses and didn't participate in class... because she couldn't 'control' him. I wonder... Was this guy any different in his other classes? Or did he save his bad manners for this particular professor? Did his other professors, teaching assistants, classmates notice anything disturbing about this man? And if they did, was expelling him from the class the best option? Did anyone later read his own words of poison ("You have torched my soul", "blood on your hand" etc.)? Did it occur to anyone to the bragging professor that expelling this student from a class may fuel his rage? That rather than protect his classmates from him, it actually made them more vulnerable? Point 3. The gun shop owner. Another interview I saw on TV. The store owner said he 'followed the procedure' in order to sell the guns to the shooter-to-be. Which is to say he contacted the police. How did the Virginia Police for approve this man's application? They supplied guns to a person with a history of mental problems. While defending himself, the store owner said that 'he had no way of knowing how the shooter-to-be was going to use the weapons that were sold to him'. Wow!... In my simple mind, there is only one way a gun can be used: to shoot somebody. Point 4. Patterns. Following the terrible shooting at Columbine High School, a government-appointed committee was assigned with researching the profile of school multiple murderers. I saw on TV a member of this committee saying that 'there was no profile' that fit a mass murderer that acted at schools. That the perpetrators so far had been from all social or economic classes, every race, that some were popular or successful students while others were 'school pariahs'. Splendid! So the profile of a killer is independent of his/her race, school status and wealth. They then informed us that it was a mixture of 'pressure, depression and rage' that triggered the tragedies. Brilliant! I wonder which student hasn't felt these things during finals week... Are then all students potential murderers? And how many tax dollars were spent to come up with these pioneering conclusions? Has the work of this committee shed any real light on what happened? Isn't it obvious that these murderers all had something in common? Has the committee taken one step at preventing something similar from happening again? Don't you all have this utterly unnerving feeling that in just a few years something like this is about to hit us again? Let me make something clear. The purpose of this post is not to cast blame on anyone. What's done is done and enough people are hurt. I am not, nor do I wish to be anyone's prosecutor. The purpose is simple. To try and stop this from happening again. Clearly, the person chiefly responsible for this tragedy is the shooter. The murderer. His choices. His actions. But in order to avoid another tragedy we must first understand this one. And we must understand it deeply. As senseless as it may appear to be, we must ask questions. And we must seek the answers... vigorously. And, sadly, in order to find them we must first and foremost look within...  |
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4/23/2007 11:14 pm |
You can't stop it and it will happen again. If someone wants to take out a group of people on a college campus then that's what will happen. If someone decides to walk into a church and start poppin people it will happen. Free will is a mutha. These demented individuals who feel it necessary to start killin folk at school are being elevated to legendary status by the press. These kids are attention seekers and they know they will get it if they start poppin people. The more the news craves for the story the more future killers salivate on their turn at 15 minutes of fame at the expense of those who ignored them
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..ever wonder?even in the olden times,barbarous acts were displayed..and so sad,in this modern world,we still have that kind of barbarians...yeah!won't stop as long as there is an opposition.
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4/24/2007 5:22 am |
You cant stop it from happening..In Scotland we used to think it would never happen as it was always elsewhere..I still remember that day 11 years ago..gunman with a grudge against a village killed 16 young kids between the ages of 5-6 years old and their teacher..our gun laws are strict but still it happened.. An archive of a nation's grief, These fragile papers handle now with care. Though we forget the front page lines We will remember sixteen faces So bright in life so white with death Forever in their classroom places. We will remember you Dunblane. The petition raised across the country means we now have some of the tightest gunlaws anywhere.. ~Kittie~
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We have way too many guns here in the US Too much violence on TV and movies has desensitized an entire generation ormore of our young people. Very scary to think of our future at this rate...and these are the people who will be caring for us when we are old! Pull My Fucking Hair! 
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very well said hun !
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It absoulutely terrifies me to have to send my newly graduated daughter to college. Not only could she be senselessly gunned down while at an institution Im paying good money to take care of her, but also at the restaurant where she will work for money to buy books...because a disgruntled employee decides to shoot everyone over not getting his promised 10 cent raise, or perhaps on the walk home to her dorm where she could be caught in a crossfire of bullets in a driveby shooting. Are we safe anywhere? I mean, for Gods sake, someone held people hostage at NASA!! Shouldnt that be one of those places where we have massive security?? Scary my sweet...but its what its become, like it or not. We are safe no where. Its hard to think about it. I think Ill go hide under the covers now. Lotsa smooches u sexy thing...QueenB
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4/25/2007 3:28 pm |
I second most of what Dysgyzed said.. but you knew that already.. lol
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dolo488i agree. it will happen again. but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try our best to stop it. cancer will kill many people in the next year too, but we continue to research for more effective cures, we're still spending money trying to save lives. thank you so much for stopping by and wellcome to my blog. 
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 and what i'd like to know is how we can better react... how we could possibly prevent this new type of violence that we witness today. thank you my angel. kisses
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newyearchicabsolutely. that's definitely a big part of it... we close our eyes and our ears so often. i'm not sure that it would be enough, but it will certainly help. thank you and it's good to see you here. kisses
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amakamaria~smiles~ it's always good to see you here my dearest ama, no matter what the reason is. now... i'm not suggesting that we should forget about all the other types of violence that exist in this world. yes, we should do our best to diminish inner city violence... yes, it would be good to see a free and democratic africa... [if you'll allow me, i've lost all hope about peace in the middle east... and as crude as it sounds, all interest too!...]. but all this has a 'motive' that we hystorically can 'understand'... money, religious differences, power struggles... they have all caused violence through the centuries. this is different. it's recent. and we can't seem to make sense of it. and i'd like to know that if more innocent lives are lost again in the near future, it wasn't because we didn't try to save them. kisses +
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sian71absolutely... but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to answer them. thanks hun kisses
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OneLooking4Twoyes my dear Tink. it is tragic and it hit home with me too. our moral compass has dramatically shifted, no question about it. kisses
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insatiable69xxand yet what you just said gives me hope... we CAN make a difference. you seem to have managed. how's this? agreed, we can't stop it. but if we can prevent it just once, if we manage to stop just one shooter, haven't we saved many lives? isn't that a success already? thank you for stopping by, it's good to see you here. kisses
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playrigalyes, i agree... but we MUST try harder; all of us. kisses
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NoStrings4THabsolutely! and thank you for bringing this up... it's interesting how little we know about this gunman's family... and i'm sure they know more about what caused him to make those decisions. i certainly wouldn't want to cast the limelight on them, it wouldn't be very nice, but if a committe researches such incidents, shouldn't they be privately interviewed?... thank you and it's good to see you here. kisses
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stormyonegoodabsoluyely!... and don't forget the most violent toys of all, video games. it's truly shocking what's shown on these. kisses
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 however i can say this: many times what matters is how these guns are acquired... how these people arm themselves. kisses
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 nevertheless... i would like to see more research on such incidents, and more importantly more useful research. tall order, i know... but a 1000 mile journey starts with one step. this is a matter that concerns all of us and we must all sit down and find a way to communicate... i remember a long time ago you did a post on earthquake preparedness. well, in a way it's the same thing. we can't stop an earthquake. but we can build better, safer buildings. this is achieved through research... i remember you writing about keeping a flashlight, batteries, bottled water, a whistle... all life-saving material. thank you for your insight. kisses
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Gypsy_and_Wenchyes, my friend. i agree, even though it's only one part of the issue here. thank you for visiting
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dysgyzedhi sweetie... well, let me start by saying that even if we disagreed on an issue that wouldn't change a thing between you and me; i'd like you just as much. having said that, i can assure you that we don't disagree. [smile] now... i want to thank you for all the in-depth information you are sharing with me here. it's invaluable... and as i said, i would never want to pass judgement. it isn't my place and it certainly doesn't rhyme with my character. the reason i am asking these questions is because i think we need to understand what happened here. not in order to condemn someone. but in order to see if there is a way to prevent even one such instance in the future. i fully understand how tricky it is to take future actions without infringing on personal liberties. and i'll be the last person to advocate that. my very point is exactly that: to see what can be done within the framework of the constitution... you bring up a great point about the media. what if the media just didn't air their manifestos?... never mentioned their names. in my country we used to have a problem with terrorism; some terrorist group would plant a bomb, then send a manifesto to a newspaper explaining the reasons they did that. well, what if the newspaper didn't publish it and their efforts towards publicity were in vain?... what if someone sued nbc and claimed that by airing the gunman's photos and statements they implicitly encouraged more people to immitate him?... all i am saying is this: we have a new type of violence on our hands. we must educate ourselves on it. learn how to react to it. find ways to limit it and if possible prevent it. i'm sorry you were so close to this, i didn't know... and your comment has shed a lot of light on things i ignored. feel free to email me or IM if you wish to continue his fascinating discussion further. kisses
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His_Babygurlit may have been prevented. it is human to err, and i, for one, err only too often. my fear is that there may be more than one persons who dropped the ball here... and again: i am not here to prosecute, merely to try and understand what happened. this is how i see it. someone will ALWAYS drop the ball. it's human. the point is how do we create a system where when one guy drops the ball another picks it up. this is a new game and we must get better at it. kisses my C.
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AbiGirl4ABiGirlwow... thank you for sharing this mz lj... we probably all have more stories to tell and just aren't ready to share them yet. and i agree. it is imperative for a society to protect its young. kisses
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mrsmufflandwell, yes, i heard about the nasa incident and was quite astonished. it reminded me of the story many years ago when someone broke into queen elizabeth's bedroom at buckingham palace! apparently an admirer who wanted to give her flowers or something... one story i heard said that she actually offered him tea while calling the security guard... how very english of her, if it's true!.... lol... kisses
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