Please understand that what follows is in no way condoning the actions of anyone who decides, or has decided, to channel their depression and rage in violent ways. In no way am I discounting what has happened in Virginia. My thoughts and prayers are with them. - JD
Earlier this week the campus of Virginia Tech was the site of a violent and deadly attack carried out by a 23 year old student named Cho Seung-Hui. He killed 32 people and then himself in what has become the deadliest shooting incident in American history.
The victims at VT died tragically and did not deserve to die in the manner in which they did. I do feel that it is wrong for the media to act as though these are the first people in the history of anything to die tragically. Is it newsworthy? Yes. However, to date, 3,155 soldiers have died in Iraq. The news doesn’t seem to cover that at all. Who decides whose death is more tragic? The family of a dead soldier is suffering just as much as the family of a slain college student. The suffering of the bereaved is indiscernible between those who lost someone in war or in class.
Aside from the media’s exploitation of the situation, there is little being said about the shooter. Sure we know he killed 32 people and he was a vengeful soul, but what made him that way? Whenever someone does something like this, everyone seems to be searching for answers and they act as though what happened is an unsolvable mystery. They try to blame it on an album or a movie or a book. Whether it was the guys at Columbine or a serial killer or anyone else who does something like this no one ever seems to zero in on the one thing tying all of these cases together. If you look, and you don’t have to look hard, you will find these individuals were picked on and ostracized in some way shape or form. Whether it was their looks or taste in music or race or any number of other things people make fun of, something made people pick on them.
Cho was referred to by classmates as “The Question Mark Kid” because he didn’t sign his name on a sign in sheet in one of the classes. In grade school he was singled out for talking different and in return, people made fun of him and pushed him around. A lot of people are bullied in school and a lot of people have outlets but sometimes there isn’t anywhere for people like Cho to go. Sometimes people just snap, but it is rarely without cause.
I remember kids were mean to me in kindergarten and grade school. Michael Thomas and Alex Vargas were a couple of real bullies and to this day I remember things they said or did to me over twenty years ago. Thankfully I had a compassionate family and as I grew I gained more friends and had a support system in place if I ever got depressed or angry or any of the other things everyone on the planet experiences. For one reason or another Cho got the short end of the societal stick so he killed a bunch of people. Some people paint, others write, he decided to exact revenge on the society and the people he felt had done him wrong. He was wrong to do what he did but I empathize. I’m not saying what he did was right in any way but maybe if someone was nice to this guy, or took the time to listen to him without trying to commit him or convert him maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
It’s unfair to assume had certain things taken place, then other things wouldn’t have happened. I do not think he would have had much of a reason to hate as much as he did if he wasn’t hated. You can only push someone so far and for so long before something in a person snaps. The biggest lesson we can all gain from this is to take the time to be a little nicer. I’m a comedian and I know that I am as guilty of being mean as anyone else. I’m working on it. If we were all a little nicer and a little more willing to help others, we’d be happier and who knows what kind of an impact your kindness can have on others. I’m just talking about unadulterated kindness. I don’t mean kindness as an “in” to try to convert someone to your fun little God club either. Just be nice. It’s the people with ulterior motives that are most untrustworthy.
I am sorry for what happened, but not surprised. No one should be. We live in an unkind world but if everyone were just a little nicer, we can change that. All I’m asking for is niceness and who knows whose life you could be saving down the road.
- Joel David