What to say, what to say...
By now, everyone knows of the horrible events at Virginia Tech. beegirl_01 told me that she knew someone on the campus, and we both wonder whether she's all right. And yes, da_zhuang and sinspired, it immediately brought to mind the time at PSU. The strange thing is, it also set in motion a rather depressing train of thought.
It led me to the Columbine High School shooting eight years ago. That reminded me of how things have changed at high schools; during my own high school years, I never worried that someone I knew (or didn't, for that matter) would bring in a gun, let alone put it to use. Then I got to thinking about the fallout from that tragedy, how everyone was looking to blame someone, from The Matrix to Marilyn Manson. It's only natural to ask why something like this happens, but it's a barbaric mob mentality that drives us to pick up our torches and pitchforks to rage against the first possible cause, just so we're doing something.
Another thing it led me to is the stereotypical American "Blow 'Em Up" mentality. We've got a reputation for solving a problem by destroying it utterly. I often joke, "If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer." But that's what I see so many people do because they don't take the time to think their problems through to come up with a good solution.
This led me to another observation on the stereotypical American mindset: we want - no, expect - everything to be handed to us. Heaven forbid we be inconvenienced in our pursuit of happiness by such obstacles as work or other people. We want it now, the end.
I know it's a negative mindset. I know it's not how I'm supposed to look at my own country, my own people. But so often, that's what the rest of the world sees. Maybe I notice it because I'm self-conscious of my own behavior. Either way, if more people looked inward like this, maybe we could become the high-class, noble people that we claim to be.
Thanks for listening; I'll put away my soapbox now.
It led me to the Columbine High School shooting eight years ago. That reminded me of how things have changed at high schools; during my own high school years, I never worried that someone I knew (or didn't, for that matter) would bring in a gun, let alone put it to use. Then I got to thinking about the fallout from that tragedy, how everyone was looking to blame someone, from The Matrix to Marilyn Manson. It's only natural to ask why something like this happens, but it's a barbaric mob mentality that drives us to pick up our torches and pitchforks to rage against the first possible cause, just so we're doing something.
Another thing it led me to is the stereotypical American "Blow 'Em Up" mentality. We've got a reputation for solving a problem by destroying it utterly. I often joke, "If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer." But that's what I see so many people do because they don't take the time to think their problems through to come up with a good solution.
This led me to another observation on the stereotypical American mindset: we want - no, expect - everything to be handed to us. Heaven forbid we be inconvenienced in our pursuit of happiness by such obstacles as work or other people. We want it now, the end.
I know it's a negative mindset. I know it's not how I'm supposed to look at my own country, my own people. But so often, that's what the rest of the world sees. Maybe I notice it because I'm self-conscious of my own behavior. Either way, if more people looked inward like this, maybe we could become the high-class, noble people that we claim to be.
Thanks for listening; I'll put away my soapbox now.