Tell me what you really think.
I lurk here all the time, but tonight I just had to comment. Excellent, excellent post. The whole thing was right on, and even with all the sadness and horror, I had to smile at your last line.
Mamacita, I would like it if everyone in the world could read this post. Love one another, indeed.
If you had been watching TV, you would have seen what most of the rest of us have been subjected to: a video made by the guy who did it. A terrible view into mental illness. Then you could write a post about how TV should NOT have shown those videos.
I lurk here a lot, too. Your thoughts echoed so many of my own and I am also taken aback by the horrors visited upon the Virginia Tech campus.
One thing that I've noticed is how different this feels from Columbine. From my point of view, I just don't feel the shock and horror that I did when Dylan and Klebold went on their horrible rampage. Maybe it's because I'm eight years older, maybe it's seeing example after example of this kind of terror. Maybe it's a combination of all of these things.
I think our society has become desensitized by the random acts of violence and the shock value of something like this decreases every time we're exposed to it. It may sounds simplistic but one way to counteract this trend is to do what Mamacita (and some other guy, who was it again? 
)said...love one another.
Excellent post. You said it... it's not about gun control, it's about self-control. I don't feel any sympathy towards this nut, and his "manifesto" certainly didn't help to foster any. The truth is that there is precious little that can be done when someone is willing to sacrifice their own life to take out others. Not here, not in Iraq, not in the UK, not anywhere.
Michele sent me,
Mike
Beautifully said Mamacita..And what you say is true...The saddest part is that no one realized how truly trouble this boy was---yes, a few people saw it, but no "action" was taken....I don't fault anyone. It is hard to get the 'authorities' to see what is so obvious sometimes...Perhaps, if they had listened....ALL this carnage could have been avoided...We will never know.
Another lurker here.
I agree with most of what you say, but does the fact that he was mentally ill account for his inability to control himself? I go back and forth on this myself. I've had only superficial experience with mental illness, but in some of the cases I've known, the people themselves did not realize they were ill.
Truthfully, I think everything was done as it should have been. You can second-guess yourself forever on this one, but I'm grateful to see that the gunman's former roommates are not holding themselves responsible. They tried and in fact, warned others to stay away from him. It's interesting to me that none of them were targeted. I'd like to know more about the theory behind that. I'd venture to guess that it might illustrate just how ill he was, that he was choosing random targets, instead of people he had a "reason" to kill.
Nicely done.
I couldn't have said it better myself...not by a long shot. When this happened, I thought of you and have been checking to see what you would write. You did an outstanding job (as usual).
If you had been watching TV, you would have seen what most of the rest of us have been subjected to: a video made by the guy who did it.
No, Kenju. A video made by THE NEWEST MEDIA *CELEBRITY* (TM)!
I understand the first copycats going for their 15 minutes of fame are already popping up all over the country. So far, they've been mostly verbal/phone/internet threats, though there was one news item on the Web late yesterday about a copycat somewhere in Israel.
Indeed, this is a call to notice one another and be kind. That's the best thing we can take away from it.
Here's another post on behind the scenes, that staff tried to get intervention but routes failed: http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/...around-
all.html
I've turned off the TV and changed from newsradio to golden oldies. There's too much undirected pain and rage as, once again, the reality and fraility of life bursts the disney bubble of American idealism.
Humankind is flawed and in our pain is sure proof we are alive. It is through our flaws that we are able to reach toward heaven.
Unfortunately, it also means that some will reach for, and achieve, hell.
Until that perfect day arrives when corruption puts on incorruption, there can only be awareness and vigilance. Be aware of people around, reach out to those in need. And keep an eye on those who would isolate themselves from humanity, those who relish their pain and are loathe to surrender it up.
The bell tolls, and I, too, am diminished. -cp
I definately could not have said this more eliquantly than you did.
HUGS
Wonderful message.
Let us ever strive to be kind. Everyone we meet is struggling. How true...well said, Mamacita!!!
"Let us ever strive to be kind. Everyone we meet is struggling."
How true. Of course, that includes all those people you regularly dismiss as "morons" and "idiots." But I'm sure you have some rationalization for why this striving for kindness needn't start with your own words on this blog.
You've said so well a number of thoughts I've long believed and been expressing in terms of how we interact with each other and perfect strangers we encounter.
I found myself unavoidably drawn into commenting on the Va. Tech tragedy when it coincided with recognition I wanted to give to remembering Holocaust victims.
I tend to believe this young man's ability to control his behavior was altered by chemical changes in his brain function. That, and the cultural attitudes that to seek help for mental problems is a sign of weakness for which society will punish you, certainly are issues that come into play, I think.
Even in our own culture i.e. the military, business, seeking help for mental issues often adversely affects careers. We all have much to do to help not only those who break a leg get medical care, but those who have some sort of mental break and need care, too.
I've turned off the TV and changed from newsradio to golden oldies.
-- cold pizza
Watch out for the "golden oldies" station that used to be on the PA system where I work. Total playlist of 40 songs, repeated over and over. 20 were "Dope is Groovy!", the other 20 were "GET OUT OF VIETNAAAAAM!"
Dear Mamacita:
Indeed. Imagine that: an educator speaking about the concept of personal responsibility and correct behavior. The gun didn't do it, society didn't do it, George Bush didn't make him do it, the Israelis aren't responsible, the killer--who shall forever and always remain nameless--did it. What a concept.
I appreciate your sentiment regarding charging a killer. You also seem to understand the role that distance and timing play in such matters. I would do the same, as would a great many teachers. But if distance and timing were not on your side, what would the noble gesture and brave sacrifice of your life mean? The children would die a few seconds later?
Let's all join those who live in the "what is" world rather than the "what should be" world. Only one thing offers teachers the opportunity to stop a deadly threat when and where it confronts them. Love each other? Of course. Care about others? Certainly. Identification and intervention programs? Sure. But when the worst case scenario occurs, as it has and will again, if we are not properly prepared, if we are not able to carry concealed handguns and ready to effectively employ them, the only outcome will likely be putting off the deaths of our students, whose last thoughts will be of the murder of their teacher, for a few more seconds.
I don't know that self-control has a whole lot to do with mental illness, and from what very little of the coverage I saw, he was mentally ill. The phrase that someone put "a cancer in his brain." Ummm, right there, you can pretty much tell that he was not as sane as the people around him. I think people don't like to look at mental illness and recognize it as such -- even professionals sometimes.
Now, had his time in the mental hospital been logged into the gun system, he might not have gotten his hands on the guns so easily. Still could have though, of course, at a gun show.
But, somehow if he were wielding two knives? swords? not nearly as dangerous. Though I suppose he could have tried for an explosion or fire.
Now, the copycats that will come? They could use some self control.
Have to disagree on this one. The guy was mentally ill - this was not an issue of self control. He should never have been allowed to buy a gun. We have a way of protecting the blood supply in this country from infectious disease - we exclude donors who have a history of diseases that can be transmitted by blood and have national registries that keep track of people who are not allowed to donate. Likewise, I think we should have a registry for those diagnosed with mental illness that gun sellers must check before they sell a firearm. We prevent people with medical conditions that could lead to a sudden loss of consciousness from driving for their own safety and the safety of those around them. I think similar rules should apply to lethal weapons like guns - those with the potential to harm themself or others should not be able to buy deadly weapons.
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