Thoughts on recent events...

these are just my thoughts on the recent events at VT. please feel free to comment and let me know if what i am saying is naive or misinformed.

a friend of mine recently commented on the way media handled the description of the killer. i never even thought about those comments of him being a permanent resident but now that i think about it, it is true. media always like to put a spin on things as if to target certain groups as if it had something to do with it or that we need to address that as an issue. i think those comments are based on fear and can be very detrimental. it is almost like they are saying, "if we only didn't let aliens into the country this would have never happened." you're right, it's totally unnecessary information.

as for broadcasting his "manifesto" video, i'm on the fence on that one. partially, i can understand why people would want to see what a mad man is thinking, but on the other hand, is there really anything to understand? in other words, do i really want to understand? i guess it's good to have access to this information but at the same time does he deserve this spotlight? i feel like we should focus on the victims at this point, but we should revisit perhaps in the near future some of the REAL issues that surround this incident and not just Cho himself. these incidents are like Kevin says, happening all the time at various levels.

is it really the violent movies and videogames? is it a matter of gun control? i'll go out on a limb and say i don't think so. i think that at any given time there will be a small percentage of the population that has the potential to "snap." and their environment, be it family, school, movies, videogames just pushes their manifestation into a particular action. when we were in grade school/high school, all we heard about were serial killers, who have killed as many people with a knife (in some instances cannibalized) as these recent shooters have with a gun so for me that takes out the issue of gun control. no guns? then bombs. no fertilizer? then ax... crazy is what crazy does.

now our "entertainment" has given us portrayals of mass shootings and violence. but i think it is safe to say that a normal person who views movies like the Matrix or Saw or played Halo/Grand Theft Auto will not be influenced to do these things. however, in these small percentage of "crazy" people, it gives them a view of how to act out their "craziness." the movies and videogames and guns don't make them do these things, they just get incorporated. and even if we didn't have these environmental portals, these people would act out in some other way that is equally disturbing. it's like they are intrinsically unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

bottom line is that it is too easy to blame movies, videogames, and social law when in fact i think it is more of a psychological disorder that will always be a small part of human behavior that we may never understand or even want to, yet we find so disgustingly fascinating. sick people will do sick things and in order to have normalcy, there must be a small set of people who define what is "crazy." these people need help and i think it is the job of psychologist and socialist to determine the criteria for diagnosing these individuals and not the media.

in the end, my thoughts are with the victims and their friends and families. i hope that the people who are in need of help will find what they are looking for and as for myself, i take this as a lesson to be open to the views of others and to be courteous and nice to all that are around me.

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