The massacre at Virginia Tech pisses me the fuck off. Excuse my language, but the sheer enormity of this is jarring. One fool was upset, and he had to take out more than two dozen people? For what? For general principal? Why? What does it accomplish to kill EVERYBODY you saw?And, what, we can't even send kids to college now? We gotta have them outfitted with bulletproof vests and shit? Whatever happened to the college campus as the "safe place," where parents from the inner city could send their kids off to get them off the streets and into a good environment?
I'm no Pollyanna, but I want to believe. I want to cling to the notion that human beings are inherently good, that when it comes down to it, we'll all help each other in a pinch. Events like this shake that belief, and makes me want to crawl under the covers and weep for the common sense of my fellow man.
Understand where I'm coming from: I was at the forefront of the Columbine High School shootings. That was almost eight years ago, and my emotions are still raw. What I witnessed has been sealed into my mind, and will likely stay there: Screaming, bloody kids running for cover, weeping parents, distraught law enforcement officials.
Who could forget that? It all came flooding back to me Monday, after seeing what Virginia Tech's campus was going through.
Many parents wanting a better life for their kids often dream of sending them to a secluded, serene college campus, where they'll get a good education and be protected from the elements of "the streets".
But what happens when a college campus becomes "the streets"?
3 comments:
I still can't believe this happened. I have to turn from the news because I can't stand to watch the coverage.
Angry mofo's like that are the most selfish of all. Can't just take themselves out. Gotta have company.
What I found disturbing was the willingness of those around this kid to close their eyes to what he was.
We have no problem reacting to a 500 lb. gorilla (Do they get that big?) in the room, but reluctant to acknowledge what everyone knew--this kid was trouble.
In this regard his family failed him, his teachers failed him, college administrators failed him, the courts failed him.
They seemed to be more concerned about his "privacy rights" than our rights to stay alive.
Was it hands off because they feared being sued, feared scarring this kid for life by telling him he had a psychological problem?
This incident, I'm afraid, reveals some disturbing things about us as a society. It seems to say that we're tolerant to point of neglecting our own well-being.
When did this trend start?
You haven't been around for awhile. Are you returning to this page soon?
You've got passion and a sense of fair play.
In the days ahead, we're going to need it.
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