It's not evil. It's not violent video games. It's not the Iraq War. It's not gun control. It's not the Administration. It's society. There is a rage that it cannot possibly relieve because of its narcissistic behavior and refusal to empathize. Virginia Tech isn't the first place to have taken this reality to heart, nor is it the last, so why does it surprise so many people that this happened?
Things like Youtube and Myspace make a mockery of what's considered to be 'life', presenting people's feelings and private lives for general perusal, showing how fickle friendships can be with the notorious 'Top 8', and in turn, causing younger generations to take relationships for granted…and to take life for granted.
Several VT students gave the typical post-trauma statement of "I knew it would happen, but I never thought it would happen to me!" How is that even rational? It happens everyday to everybody. There is no exception to that rule if you're a member of society. The kid that sits alone at lunch, the disgruntled janitor, and the ticked-off fry cook. These are all results of the same apathy which plagued Virginia Tech, just to different degrees; so why is everyone in awe? Because a gun was involved? Sure, but there's no wonder as to why this guy snapped. The gunman's classmates read his behavior and did nothing about it, which caused something that 'wasn't their problem' to plunge deeply into something that is clearly 'very much their problem'. A four-year-olds high-pitched scream pales in comparison to the effectiveness of listening.
Responsibility for this massacre lies in the hands of Apathy and her legions of suburbanite slobs, who called in sick that morning, turned on the television, watched the overweight officers raid Virginia Tech, read the headlines, and said "I'd kill myself too, if I was such an evil bastard." These are the same people who shirk off outsiders such as our lone gunman, failing to see the huge implications of their miniscule actions.
Being an outsider doesn't make someone go insane, but if you're an unwilling misfit who would much rather be with the in-crowd, then there's an issue. Society hates outcasts, yet there wouldn't be any outcasts if there weren't someone doing the casting in the first place.
The Virginia Tech Massacre was an inside job, fueled by ignorance, hate, and desperation; so there is no one person to blame. There are no evils, no laws (or the lack thereof), no wars, no public officials, or mental illnesses that can take the blame. Just society. This is why it's better on the outside, looking inward, but apparently it's not suited to everyone's taste. Times like these give outsiders a bad reputation, and on top of that, earn them dirty looks and suspicious glances…but never a simple and possibly life-saving 'hello'.
I envy your writing - style, topics, flow, ideas. I doubt I'm suited for anything along these lines - these current event, sometimes politically poignant pieces. I do, however, enjoy reading yours, Trav (that's the name right? or at least part of it?). I am quite drawn by how you tackle the subject. I'm sure you're not the first to have said something like this, but you present it well and, perhaps, make it stick in some of us.
I also am still contemplating the title.... at least the "32 + 1" bit. The "1", it seems, can represent something painfully obvious. It might also be an integer that represents a greater set of "real" numbers.
I envy your writing - style, topics, flow, ideas. I doubt I'm suited for anything along these lines - these current event, sometimes politically poignant pieces. I do, however, enjoy reading yours, Trav (that's the name right? or at least part of it?). I am quite drawn by how you tackle the subject. I'm sure you're not the first to have said something like this, but you present it well and, perhaps, make it stick in some of us.
I also am still contemplating the title.... at least the "32 + 1" bit. The "1", it seems, can represent something painfully obvious. It might also be an integer that represents a greater set of "real" numbers.
Well, the 32+1 part came from the death toll at Vtech, which was 32, but that didn't include the shooter himself, who was also a victim of society and therefore should be among the count.
Society is one of the most largely useless generalizations ever. It might be correct to say that several experiences influenced the psychological makeup of the shooter, but the critical responsibility for this massacre ultimately rests in his hands. Yeah, the world we live in is fucked up, and there are things beneath the surface that most people arent willing to address but in this scenario theres no reason to take any responsibility off the shooter. He could have just killed himself. Think about how narcissistic it is to kill in the name of your own peculiar worldview - and he acted self righteous about it.
Here's a rant I had about the ordeal the day after, since we're sharing:
First off, I can't wait for them to blame Marilyn Manson, The Hills Have Eyes, or Grand Theft Auto for this. I'm just waiting for it.
Second, this has got to be the stupidest, laziest, most incompetent security force I've ever heard of in my entire life. They put the Reno 911 crew to shame. This kid shoots two kids in a dorm room at the buttcrack of dawn, something like 7:00 in the morning, and campus security informs the rest of the school at around 9:00. Talk about taking your sweet ass time.
...and HOW do they inform the rest of the school? A fucking e-mail! What the fuck is this shit? I can only imagine how lax the message must have been with these fuckers in charge:
Monday, April 16, 2007
Campus Announcements:
The score of last night's game was 20-16.
Be sure to remember to renew your parking permits for next semester!
Fish sticks are buy one, get one free in the cafeteria today!
Lastly, a decked-out Asian Rambo wannabe blasted the heads off of two kids in a dorm this morning...try to keep an eye out for strange activity. You may want to consider not going out today.
Of course, students didn't receive their e-mail because many of them had already left for class. See? Fucking out-of-touch adults try so hard to communicate with the kids, but they always fuck it up. Everyone knows they should have used mass text-messaging and they'd have had that shit wrapped up in a minute. That wasn't the only e-mail, either. They sent repeated ones throughout the day with increasing intensity. Good work, fellas! Don't trip on all that police work you're doing.
And I can't wait to hear the racial issue about this one. The kid's Asian and happens to have single-handedly pulled off the biggest school massacre ever, bigger than four little white boys in Columbine. Well, Asians tend to be more efficient so it comes as no surprise to me, but I can see this snowballing (a-ha) into a serious controversy soon. Get ready to go to camp, my little Asian friends!
Observe how Al Sharpton's pathetic, publicity hounding ass was in his three-piece and on the air before the spit on Don Imus' microphone dried when he said the stupid shit he said, and yet he's nowhere to be found here. If I were black I'd be extremely ashamed of that no good sack of shit, but I digress.
Matter of fact, what if Don Imus hired an intern of his to do this just to get the publicity off of him? It's a little late, but still, what better way to do it. Better yet, what if it's an elaborate White House conspiracy to slip the budget for Iraq past Congress? I shudder-to-think how many people died in Iraq yesterday while everyone was worrying about flooding and dead kids in a school....
Also, I love how this fucking kid somehow had access to serious heat. I guarantee you that shit didn't come in the box with Counterstrike.
Next, I want everyone to be 100% aware that every newspaper editor and news show executive is sacrificing a goat to their big-bellied, greasy, cigar-smoking corporate scumbag God for dropping this wonderful tragedy upon them so that they may sell more papers and get higher ratings by sensationalizing the shit out of this act of violence. They are fucking frothing at the mouth for this shit. Cue the strings and the fade-in, fade-out montage of crying classmates, mourning parents, and solemn correspondents giving their "heartfelt" monologues about this "senseless tragedy" which also happens to be THE MOST DEADLY SCHOOL SHOOTING IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA!! (that's a real headline).
Fuck that stupid little piece of shit and fuck what he did. Yes, it's terrible, but everything you hear from today onward about it is cock stroking at its absolute *MUAH* 100%, grade-A, American bullshit finest. Fuck it, fuck him, and fuck every newspaper that spends more than a day on this.
Did you hear that? I think I heard something flushing down the toilet....
This has been "Bowling for Virginia Tech." Thank you.
So that's that. I'd also like to point out that the whole thing about people not seeing the warning signs and having it seem so obvious all of a sudden is a phenomenon they call "hindsight bias." It's when things seem completely obvious to you AFTER THE FACT. It happens every day.
It's not society, it's people. People are fucked and it's nobody's fault. You can blame your parents for not loving you, and that may have something to do with it, but your parents didn't put a gun in your hand and make you shoot or a noose around your neck and make you kick the chair out from under you. You did it. In the end everyone is responsible for their own actions and nobody is to blame but you for what you do.
Last edited by SlippingHalo; 04-28-2007 at 08:29 PM..
Well, the 32+1 part came from the death toll at Vtech, which was 32, but that didn't include the shooter himself, who was also a victim of society and therefore should be among the count.
yeah, I got the numbers... I just think the "+1" bit could be even more significant than just representing "the shooter".
Here's a rant I had about the ordeal the day after, since we're sharing...It's not society, it's people. People are fucked and it's nobody's fault. You can blame your parents for not loving you, and that may have something to do with it, but your parents didn't put a gun in your hand and make you shoot or a noose around your neck and make you kick the chair out from under you. You did it. In the end everyone is responsible for their own actions and nobody is to blame but you for what you do.
If this were myspace, I'd give you two kudos, but fortunately for you, this is toolnavy dawg. Bitches, go have sex with SlippingHalo!
