Senseless

Let me prelude this post with the fact that I am very sorry for those friends and families that lost loved ones due to the senseless violence that took place at Virginia Tech.

I can understand the media's obligation to report such an incident that happened at Virginia Tech, but I am floored how they turn tragedy into such a huge production.  I often wonder if society as a whole is to blame for this, because I think it's true that the majority of the public wants to watch things unfold in front of them.  Is that just human nature or is it because there is 24 hour news programming that is over the top, in your face, with the crawl at the bottom of the screen (because one story at a time isn't enough)?

In my life I've seen my share of violence, from domestic violence at a very young age, having a close friend gunned down and left for dead in the streets of New Orleans, LA, to I can turn on C.S.I. Wherever on any given night and see the crime de jour. 

So it goes without saying that I'm a pessimist when it comes to most things, but I'm not going to let that scare me into how I live my life. 

I am always amazed that with the way things are going in the world nowadays, that there is not more senseless, selfish acts of violence in America.  I really am.  Sure you can always be looking over your shoulder, not go out of your home after dark, not take a certain route because it might go through a 'bad' part of town, but really what's to stop some idiot from shooting you in the produce section as you are picking out an apple?  Nothing.  Nothing, but I can't worry about stuff like that.  I have to continue on with my day, shopping for produce.

When we were just in London there was a sign on the corner of Abbey Road and Grove End Road, yeah that crosswalk, stating that a woman and her child in a stroller were beaten and robbed at five o'clock on a previous afternoon and the police were looking for witnesses.  That neighborhood, St. John's Wood, could be one of the nicest neighborhoods I've been in, but there you have it, woman and child getting mugged at 5pm.  I didn't know what was worse, the incident taking place or there were no witnesses on a corner that is known to often have people on it.  I don't know why this stuck with me, just another case of senseless violence.  All be this was not on the scale to that of what took place at Virginia Tech, it just goes to show, it doesn't matter where you are something can happen.

I can only hope that the Hokies of Virginia Tech put this violence and any other things that they are warned to be afraid of on a consistent basis in the back of their minds in time, if not forget about it all together, and just live their lives. 

In my opinion, being afraid or scared to live and do things is only giving satisfaction to those violators that try to alarm and harm us.

Comments

[Brad]

I agree that in general we need to move on and go about our lives, but it would also be ignorant not to try to learn something from these events as well. You don't have to be scared in order to learn something. For instance, is there any reason why an individual needs access to semi-automatic weapons that can fire off rounds as fast as he/she can pull the trigger? The result is one or a few individuals with the ability to cause exponential damage.