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wApr 18, 2007 | |
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Wow. How can I have been so apathetic and hateful yesterday, and so full of things to say today? I don't know. Life is weird. Virginia Tech Shootings Where do I begin? Firstly, usually when things like this happen - when people of any age, but most especially my age, commit horrific acts, or when people die or are put in situations most people don't even have nightmares about, my first instinct is to think, "If I were them, how would I have reacted? How would I feel right now?" Well, the Internet in some ways is a wonderful thing, and it's possible to witness discourse as it happens. Namely? Through Facebook. One discussion focuses on the shooter, and provides lots of commentary from students who knew Cho Seung-Hui in high school, etc. Some comments are thoughtful, but the conversation kind of dissolves into a childish fight as to whether people should blame the individual or the society that made him. Another discussion was started by a Korean-American girl who feared that due to Cho Seung-Hui's ethnicity, there might be racism against Korean-Americans. i'm really worried because i remember when 9/11 first happened and everyone was pointing fingers and discrimminating against anyone from the south or middle east. Other Korean-Americans post messages of encouragement, saying that they have to stay positive, but some others are also afraid of the same thing. Lots of white kids leave messages saying that that's an absurd idea, and no one would ever blame an entire race for the actions of one person. One thing I find really disturbing about the situation is people picking up on Cho Seung-Hui's apparent "dark and violent" writings as an pre-indicator for violence. When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. There are links to his plays here. I really don't find them that violent. Crass, WTFery, and poorly-written, yes. (Was this kid really an English major?) But violent? Not so much. Using violent fiction as an excuse, or an indicator, seems lame to me. After Columbine, the excuse was violent video games. If either of these two things were indicators of being a future school shooter, then I myself would have already done it, being an author of a number of "violent stories." And as for video games, I have sniped, pistol-whipped, and set off bombs with the best of them (or the worst, as I'm not the greatest at first-person shooters). The last thing I found interesting was eyewitness account recorded in online instant messengers. In my opinion, technology makes the world more amazing. My Life Work was good today. Also, there was a group of Mennonites (similar to Amish) who stood in the rotunda and sang beautifully. Chad and I went to go see the U.S. director of Amnesty International. I was a little disappointed, because all that he did was talk about George W. Bush and post-9/11 stuff, really. I understand that the current administration has committed a lot of heinous acts, or allows them to be committed. But still, some people make it seem like no other president has ever violated the human rights of others through his orders. I'm hard-pressed to think of a president who hasn't. I guess I went there hoping to leave feeling inspired, but that didn't happen at all. I bought groceries, which felt good. I spent some time with Antoine, Creighton, and Carolyn, which was also good even in spite of my heinous level of tiredness. I also watched the second episode of Romeo x Juliet, which was great. I didn't go in to either of the first two episodes thinking, "I should take notes," but that's what happened both times. Thoughts on episode two of Romeo x Juliet are over in the LiveJournal. Spoilers abound! Labels: anime, anime: romeo x juliet, social commentary scribbled mystickeeper at 9:08 AM 
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