Thursday, April 19, 2007

i don't want to jump on the wagon, but some things must be said. you've all heard about the virgina tech shootings? if you're like me, you've read and debated on the various articles and videos that were written about it. here are a few tidbits on the many sides of the story:

(1) my friend showed me a book that theorizes communities or social environment might be to blame for ostracizing these shooters from society. said rebels were indeed loners.

(2) another article mentions the relationship with these kids to antidepressant medication. the author of said article is challenging the impact of "the potentially deadly side effects of our pill-for-every-ill culture".

(3) NYTimes writes on this article the probability on how privacy laws are making it increasingly difficult for concerned individuals/groups to take pro-active measures or the initiative to help these kids.

(4) the shocking ease of how the VTshooter bought his guns would likely spark another gun control debate. the guards in our campus are already carrying firearms, which has the campus clearly divided -- there are those frightened, and others who feel it's only right and safe that they wield them so. meanwhile, this man might be forever haunted by the fact that he was the one who sold the guns.

(5) the drive to self-sufficiency can alienate people who are incapable to assimilate themselves into a fast-paced society. so says one blogger (go here and check out the bottom box from the message board).

(6) others (you might have read them already, so i didn't post the links anymore):
- people are blaming VT officials did not respond fast enough.
- VTshooter was bullied, so he snaps
- if not blaming a sector of society, everyone is now called upon to act with benevolence to everyone to avoid incidences like this.
- he was mentally-ill
- it's a copy-cat syndrome of school shootings. unfortunately, this might not be the last.
- NBC has aired videos, then apologized for airing the videos.

the thing is, the filipino in me is a little cynical. i look at the video, and i roll my eyes and say "ooohkay". i say that not out of disrespect to people directly affected by the VT incident but on disgust at that shooter. simply said, he was a person who wanted attention. look, he even has a video. AND photoshoots (the hammer pose was actually cheesy for me). did anyone see his "script"?! he was aiming for immortality, that crazy bastard. he has his own little world in his head that he's acting out. heck, he even had 3 separate places where he shot his video.

what irritates me the most is that there were people that reached out to him. many attempted conversations, but he ultimately rejected them. boy has an attitude. now all the media are on him, when there could've been more emphasis on the men and women whose lives made differences in themselves and in other people's -- sadly, their lives were cut off shortly. not that THEIR lives were more worthy (even i can't judge that), but please do not glorify this psycho.

while we, as society, are entitled to act benevolently towards individuals, even reaching out to guys like him, i don't think he deserves special treatment beyond necessary. the REAL danger is not society isn't doing enough, but that people like virginia tech shooter (i REFUSE to name him and give him the 'recognition' he craves) and the media generated by his cruelty and insanity are empowering other individuals to act just as impulsively.


CASE IN POINT.

MY class has somebody who's like that. inviting women (even myself) to his car/place. YES, it's uncomfortable. even more so that he has threatened some of our faculty. add the VTstory, and you got some paranoid students. while he doesn't look to have the capacity to do henious crimes (though you never know), the VTstory has given him an unlikely power, strong enough even for one man. what if he decides to act FURTHER, out of spite? it may be a harmless joke for him, but unfortunately for the rest of my class (AND school), we have to take ANYTHING seriously. i mean, we even have had POLICE interview each one of us.

FEAR, my friends, is scary.
and bloody bastard has ALL our phone numbers, too.


i'm really angry.

---
on another side, i've resorted to carrying a paper that says "Mom, Dad, Mengs, Teng, Anne, Julia, Donkee, I love you". you never know.

0 comments // 6:35 PM