who were raised having to kill animals – sometimes with their bare hands?” Is how my 19 year old son responded to my statement that kids these days are ruled by violence because of the lack of boundaries growing up and the de-sensitivity to violence in all they see on television and the realistic, no consequence, just for fun, video games that they play.
We were driving to the train station this morning talking about the unspeakable tragedy that occurred at NIU in DeKalb yesterday.
Northern Illinois University is just 20 minutes down the road from us and many of my son’s friends attend there. So far no one that he knows was involved – directly.
My next question to him was “Why do YOU think it is so prevalent these days?”
“Because we are frustrated and feel powerless in the ability to change anything..." he responded.
“Give me a break – every generation, mine, my parents, my grandparents – we all felt that way in our late teen’s, early twenties – but we didn’t go on shooting rampages.”
“But it is different now.” he claims.
Yes, it is different now but I am not sure of exactly why.
The only thing at this point that I am sure of - is that yesterday a lone gunman performed the cowardly act of not only ending his own life…but ending the lives of many, young, beautiful adults, who were in the midst of trying to better themselves;
and to compound the tragedy and pay it forward –
he also ended the lives, as they had known them to be, of countless extended families – who now suffer for the rest of their lifetimes with "Knows-No-Boundaries" grief.
no relief
5 comments:
This NIU thing was not a suicidal act. Resentment, belligerency, compulsion, and superiority are the ingredients.
If he was Muslim, we will tell ourselves we understand it. If he wasn't, we will swiftly put it our of our minds because we do not want to understand it.
Children that HAVE to kill an animal on a farm, be it for food or for mercy (due to injury), are in no way comparable to children that torture animals for their enjoyment. One is a job (and a fairly serious one for a child), and the other is a sick act of amusement.
As for things being different now compared to way back when... yeah? No shit? That "things are different" crap is commonly used as an excuse for not meeting a standard, or for failure. It's crap. Things are always going to be different, but as living, breathing, THINKING beings, we are adaptive. It's not like NOW they give kids a partial lobotomy and amputate two limbs (your choice!), and then tell them to prove the theory of relativity while running a 5 minute mile! The basics are still the same.
Why did the shooter do it? My guess would be because he was a self-centered, self-righteous, entitled-feeling ass-crack that didn't have a grasp of boundaries or respect. He also probably didn't want to take responsibility for his actions. Maybe he felt that he didn't have a future, and - blaming everyone else - went out in a blaze.
Whatever it was... he was a sick bastard.
Phatdoggy....well put.
Your comments are reminiscent of my grandpa..in the 1960's he would sit at our kitchen table and talk about the decline of morality, the family structure, etc. Most, if not all, of what he talked about has, and is, taking place.
human race
Personally, I think a lot of it has to do with the media hype and the 24 hour news cycle. Some loser decides to off himself, but wants to take some people with him in order to become "famous."
Too bad you can't just leave his name out of every newscast and story about it. Maybe if it became apparent that people who commit atrocities like this weren't going to get 24 hour news coverage for 3 weeks, followed by another month of talking heads having a circle jerk discussing gun control and the breakdown of social mores, then the sick bastards would just kill themselves and be done with it.
JV -
Great point.
How messed up is our society when we won't show a guy running onto the field of a sporting event, so as not to promote it - but the guy who takes out innocent people in a barrage of gunfire gets put a 1,000 times a day in our sight.
not right
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