Spinning a Tragedy
My first thought about the disaster that befell Virgina Tech was initially shock and horror (since I am currently going to college on an unfamiliar campus), but as the days progressed, the media grew raucous and unhinged. I have never seen a story so immediately turned on its heels and made a spectacle out of misery like this one... wait, that's not true, they did the same with Columbine.
What am I getting at? If you watch the news as religiously as I do, you'd have noticed that on the second day of coverage, the talking heads at Fox and NBC started to probe the possibilities of why this happened. Theories surfaced such as too many violent computer games (Counterstrike being the most talked about) or emulating the movies that he watched (like Oldboy). See, I don't know which action these agencies took was more retarded... the fact that violence on screen does NOT make you crazy, or the fact that the poor people killed in this tragedy weren't even cold yet. I mean, my god, people! I seem to recall pro-gun and anti-gun groups going at it online within hours (yes, HOURS!) of the shootings.
I like to think that I have very little shame, but when I am shown how other people go much further beyond the line of acceptability and morality, my jaw drops. I wanted to talk about this issue five days ago, but it wasn't right. There is a time and place for debating the merits and lessons of a tragedy, but for crying out loud, give the families a chance to bury their dead.
I don't quite understand just yet how this idiot (my language to describe him during the week was much more colorful) got ahold of not one, but two semi-auto pistols. I was under the impression that people arrested or detained and found to have mental health concerns were not allowed to purchase firearms. Case in point, a boss I had a few years back at Wal-Mart was telling me how a woman came in to purchase a gun one day at his store in Missouri. She was able to pick it up that day for some reason, and after buying some bullets, walked out into the parking lot, got in her car, loaded it and blew her brains out. It turned out the woman had a history of mental illness that did not come up on the background check. What gives? I would think that would be the catalyst of background checks... to make sure that people who own guns aren't going to use them violently.
As for the motives behind this idiot doing this... does it really matter? It has already been established that the guy had mental health issues (established, not just accused of), so even his taped confession of motive doesn't matter. If we buy into his stupid tape, then we might as well legitimize every Twinkie Defense out there. Crazy is crazy, and there isn't a whole lot of room to negotiate.
I'll probably talk some more about this some other time, but the library is closing. BTW, I imagine "Hot Fuzz" won't do so well this weekend...
What am I getting at? If you watch the news as religiously as I do, you'd have noticed that on the second day of coverage, the talking heads at Fox and NBC started to probe the possibilities of why this happened. Theories surfaced such as too many violent computer games (Counterstrike being the most talked about) or emulating the movies that he watched (like Oldboy). See, I don't know which action these agencies took was more retarded... the fact that violence on screen does NOT make you crazy, or the fact that the poor people killed in this tragedy weren't even cold yet. I mean, my god, people! I seem to recall pro-gun and anti-gun groups going at it online within hours (yes, HOURS!) of the shootings.
I like to think that I have very little shame, but when I am shown how other people go much further beyond the line of acceptability and morality, my jaw drops. I wanted to talk about this issue five days ago, but it wasn't right. There is a time and place for debating the merits and lessons of a tragedy, but for crying out loud, give the families a chance to bury their dead.
I don't quite understand just yet how this idiot (my language to describe him during the week was much more colorful) got ahold of not one, but two semi-auto pistols. I was under the impression that people arrested or detained and found to have mental health concerns were not allowed to purchase firearms. Case in point, a boss I had a few years back at Wal-Mart was telling me how a woman came in to purchase a gun one day at his store in Missouri. She was able to pick it up that day for some reason, and after buying some bullets, walked out into the parking lot, got in her car, loaded it and blew her brains out. It turned out the woman had a history of mental illness that did not come up on the background check. What gives? I would think that would be the catalyst of background checks... to make sure that people who own guns aren't going to use them violently.
As for the motives behind this idiot doing this... does it really matter? It has already been established that the guy had mental health issues (established, not just accused of), so even his taped confession of motive doesn't matter. If we buy into his stupid tape, then we might as well legitimize every Twinkie Defense out there. Crazy is crazy, and there isn't a whole lot of room to negotiate.
I'll probably talk some more about this some other time, but the library is closing. BTW, I imagine "Hot Fuzz" won't do so well this weekend...