Keep the memories of the fallen alive by not thinking of Virginia Tech as “that place where that crazy guy killed all of those people,” but by remembering the beauty that those people chose to surround themselves with when they decided to attend that University.
Breaking news! At least 22 32 Virginia Tech students gunned down. Cable news channels are wild with activity as they pump up the coverage a focus on the latest “crisis”. The media is commenting that this shooting is overwhelming the local medical facilities. Crisis is in the air. Well, at least it ain’t Iraq.
Okay. Big deep breath. This is horrible and this is tragic and this gives us an idea of what it is like to live just one day in Iraq. Consider the following:
Let’s total the score: at least 65 Iraqis dead in four attacks vs. 22 Americans shot at Virginia Tech. Whoops, forgot the 20 kidnapped policemen. Can you imagine?
The next time you hear Dick Cheney or George Bush blame the public attitude regarding Iraq on the media’s failure to report “good news”, examine carefully our reaction to the shooting at Viginia Tech. Look at our collective shock. Our horrified reaction. The public sorrow. Yet, in truth, this is an exceptional, unusual day in America. It is not our common experience. But we cannot say the same about Iraq.
The people of Iraq are living in a Marquis de Sade version of Groundhog Day. It is like the Bill Murray movie–the same horrible day repeated with some new, bizarre twists–only not funny. Multiple body counts and explosions and shootings are the daily experience of the people of Iraq. They have been living this hell for four years. Just keep that fact in mind as you mourn the deaths of 22 32 American students slain in Blacksburg, Viginia.
One of the things I noticed was how the media framed it as a gun-control issue, a psychological issue, a school safety issue, etc. As a result, pundits and experts went down the same old path giving us the same old answers most of us already knew about. One of the most underdiscussed issues relating to the shootings is gender. How does gender, more specifically masculinity, play into what went wrong? Why are the majority of homicides and/or school shootings committed by boys and young men? Why isn’t this a men’s health crisis and why aren’t men talking to other men about this?
The following speech was given by one of my heroes, Jackson Katz. This speech was given shortly after last year’s tragedy. I recommend everyone listen to it. Hope this adds some meaningful perspective to what happened.
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areas I have ever been.
Keep the memories of the fallen alive by not thinking of Virginia Tech as “that place where that crazy guy killed all of those people,” but by remembering the beauty that those people chose to surround themselves with when they decided to attend that University.
♥~
Larry Johnson writing at No Quarter made some very perceptive points about the shootings at Virginia Polytechnical Institute.
Now Do You Understand?
*my edits and emphasis added
One of the things I noticed was how the media framed it as a gun-control issue, a psychological issue, a school safety issue, etc. As a result, pundits and experts went down the same old path giving us the same old answers most of us already knew about. One of the most underdiscussed issues relating to the shootings is gender. How does gender, more specifically masculinity, play into what went wrong? Why are the majority of homicides and/or school shootings committed by boys and young men? Why isn’t this a men’s health crisis and why aren’t men talking to other men about this?
The following speech was given by one of my heroes, Jackson Katz. This speech was given shortly after last year’s tragedy. I recommend everyone listen to it. Hope this adds some meaningful perspective to what happened.