the personal is political

Apr 16, 2007 18:20

What happened at Virginia Tech today was an absolute tragedy. That obviously goes without saying.

As I was watching news of the shooting on TV today, part of the coverage cut to US Senator John Warner (R-Virginia). As he talked about his thoughts on the massacre, Warner noted, without a trace of irony, that many of the "exemplary" students at Virginia Tech have gone on to become members of the US armed forces.

The same US armed forces that have torn Iraq asunder, killing tens of thousands in the process.

Over the next few days, the media will devote a lot more attention to the sheer tragedy of the Virginia Tech shootings. When the shooter's identity is revealed, the media will condemn his actions, even as they wrestle with the question of what could possibly lead him to commit such a dastardly deed. If only they did the same when the killing is taking place several thousand miles away, across borders...

It is easy to condemn the War in Blacksburg, VA. If only our media could do the same about the War in Baghdad, Iraq.
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