At first I didn't want to give this kid anymore "free publicity" and decided I would not discuss it here. But lets face it- if we don't talk about it, it's like saying it never happened. This rug we keep sweeping shit under is lumpy enough as is. So lets talk about it. Leave a comment or email me; tell me your thoughts. I really want to know.
But lets not turn the discussion into a debate about the NRA and Gun Laws, etc. That's an animal of a different color. I want to focus on us, the U.S. in particular, as an aggressive and materialistic society.
This morning, a friend replied to my email that poked fun at my cousin's adoration of Gary Null with the following:
I have a couple of thoughts about this last Virginia event. It shows clearly that something wrong is going on in society. Things like that are going to happen more often. Same situation like in Paris suburbs, Austria "Turkish" neighborhoods etc. This Korean boy, the killer clearly realised that his chances to drive Mercedes etc. are next to nothing, so why bother?? Don't you think I might be on the ball here?
To which I responded:
Capitalism is not without its casualties, for sure, but you and I are inundated with the same bullshit as everyone else but don't shoot up a school or office. Someone who takes this extreme action has something wrong with them.
All we can do as a society, in my opinion, is:
1. Allow for competition- all this whiny-assed "everybody's a winner" talk only harms. Because not everybody is a winner. Some people lose and that's a fact. But you fill a kid's head with that bullshit and it will fuck him up.
2. hmmm...I thought I would have a number two but I don't. That's all I got- my solution to the world's problems: "The world needs ditch-diggers, too."
And they responded with:
As usual you are right, I agree. He was fucked up, i was just trying to explore other side of the coin.
But I don't just want to be right. I like to offer a fair assessment of situations. So with my Gemini mind I sat for a minute and thought about the other side of the coin and then replied with:
The other side holds validity- we are a very materialistic world- only it has always been this way. Only difference is that before you didn't have it shoved down your throat. But with today's "wired" world, MTV Cribs, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous...well we created a nation and a world of "covetors." (Is that even a word???)
Acts of aggression like this are part of the ramifications.
But we can never steer away from the fact that the individual is ultimately the one who makes the decision as to what path to take-kill a bunch of people because I can't afford a BMW, or be happy with my Honda Accord because there are starving children in Africa who don't even have shoes to walk with?
It's the pro and con of free will...which fork in the road holds your destiny?
As a mom, of course I want my children to take this world by storm. Plans for my Girl Army to bring about The Revolution are definitely underway.
But I also paint a realistic picture of the world for my girls. N. knows that she is mommy's princess, but she also knows that when we play Uno somebody has to lose. And it will probably be her. Not because she is worthless and I'm an Uno champion, but because I've been playing longer and am able to use a more sophisticated thinking process in order to strategize my moves.
Letting her win is not going to help her realize that being on top is something that is earned. She needs to lose those games so that when she wins one she will realize that she practiced and concentrated and worked really hard at paying attention to how the game is played- and won.
I let her throw her little tantrums and express her anger. But I explain that stomping around the apartment and throwing her cards in my face are not going to help her win. Maybe she doesn't get it right now. She's only six. But she will, and that will hopefully keep her from shooting up a classroom in the future because she didn't get the grades/friends/achievements as the person in the next dorm room.
*smooches...so done with this whole situation*
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the sun is setting on the century
and we are armed to the teeth
we're all working together now
to make our lives mercifully brief
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