I watched “Bowling for Columbine” for the first time last night. No way in the world that should have won an Oscar. It was interesting, but unquestionably slanted in a way I don’t think documentaries should be, even if the documentary falls in line with my politics (simply put, I hate guns).
That said, it raised some very good points. Most notable among them was the unfortunate tendency of the media to accentuate the violent and negative aspects of society, something that contributes to the building racism and xenophobia in this country.
After watching that flick, it was fitting that I caught my man Bruce Feldman’s Insider blog, where he mentioned that we’d be better served to try to use the Virginia Tech massacre as a time to look at the good people are doing. At this point, it’s far more constructive to do that rather than to attempt to understand the insanity of the gunman, especially since it’s nearly impossible to make sense of insanity. That’s like trying to turn lead to gold.
He linked this page that profiled the victims of the shooting. Instead of thinking of them as bit players to the tragedy, we should take some time to bring them to the forefront. It’s a shame those people were lost, but the world was a better place for having a lot of them, even if just for a short time.
3 thoughts on “Remembering the Va. Tech Victims”
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Expecting the media, in this case NBC and CNN, not to air that kook’s manifesto, is like trying to tell a kid not to eat that candy bar sitting on the table in front of him.
i’m so ready for good news. there’s a segment on the news here called, “good news” and i LOVE it. it really emphasizes the humanity in society rather than the monsters in society… it’s great.
Wow, for the FIRST time since becoming a “fan” of your blogs Bo, I agree with one 99.9%. The .01% that I don’t is the “I hate guns” part and I’m NOT EVEN a Republican, but that is neither here nor there right now. Everything you said was right on point. After 5 days now of hearing the words “trying to understand the mind of a mass murderer” it is almost comical. Before anyone starts jumping the gun let me explain. When you said “it’s nearly impossible to make sense out of insanity”….THAT is why it seems comical. It’s a question that will NEVER be answered, EVER! PERIOD! It is just like someone saying EXACTLY what happens when you die. NO ONE can say for SURE. As humans we tend to believe that our minds are somehow “wired” the same way for the most part but when tragedies like this happen, that “wiring” is put into question. I don’t mean to ramble so I guess I’ll just try & sum this up. We (humans) ALL have the ability to be murderers, ALL of us. So, I am no psychiatrist BUT I believe it needs to be looked at like this. The ability is there, the option if you will, the mass majority never choose to take advantage of that “option”, so when someone DOES I believe we need to look internally (example: “What would push ME that far to take another’s life?”….”Is there ANY such scenario?”)….if we can ever answer THOSE questions then the “mystery” might be solved……………….
GOD BLESS THEM ALL! I’LL NEVER FORGET!
~Ashley Barlowe-Whitlock (Charlotte, NC)