In The Wake Of This Tragedy

[kujo]

I cannot begin to articulate the deep feelings of loss and despair that I am currently feeling in the aftermath of what has happened in Newton, Connecticut. This truly has to be the worst thing that I have ever seen or heard of. That there are individuals in this world who would actually devise, plan and execute such a deplorable, depraved act of violence against innocent children...it goes beyond my ability to comprehend.

 

If you've been on your Facebook or Twitter, or have turned on the television, you will have surely witnessed or participated in discussions about this tragedy. Some of these discussions might have been of the political variety, with partisans on either side of the aisle using this awful day as proof positive of the existence and need for their pet issue--the need for gun control; the need for prayer in school; the need for a re-moralizing of America, etc. And while I happen to have opinions on these topics, I tend to agree with what Mark Shea had to say following the news of the day: "if your first response to today's horrors is political, you are part of the problem. Children are dead, dammit." Still, as I went through my day at work, and tried desperately not to watch the images and coverage trickle across the screens of the dozen or so TVs in my restaurant, I couldn't help but ask myself, and God, how the hell we are supposed to make sense of this atrocity. Specifically, I found myself wondering how our society has gotten to the point where the phrase "school shooting" or "mass shooting" is not the most offensive set of words ever uttered.

This thought led to a mental tangent about the incredible amount of conflict and violence that permeates our every single waking breath. Just thinking about myself here, I read a lot of violent comic books, play some (but not a lot) of violent video games, and listen to a decreasing amount of angry, aggressive music. But where I really feel the presence of this violent culture is in the types of TV shows that I watch. Currently, I watch a television show about alcohol and drug-abusing motorcycle gang members who are involved with Mexican drug cartels, black market gun sales and even terrorist organizations in the Middle East. I also watch a show about a former public school teacher who has become a kingpin in the southwestern corridor of the United States because of how excellent his meth cook is; a post-apocalyptic zombie show; a show about a serial killing forensic investigator; a show about catching and surveiling domestic terrorists; and a science fiction caper about looping between timelines and planes of existence to prevent hypothetical futures involving totalitarian overlords. In every single one of these television programs, the protagonist, the "good guy," or at least the mildly sympathetic main character, is the person committing or complicit in the commission of the death, torture, and violence towards other human beings, some or most of whom are innocent men, women and children. Nevertheless, I am supposed to identify with, and even cheer for, these characters, despite the awful things they do. Television critics and film students call this compelling television, while P.C. and religious types decry this material as being harmful for the mind, body and spirit. After the events of yesterday, and really the last few weeks, which seems like a more accurate description of our mass media consumption?

To be sure, I am not placing blame at the feet of TV and movie executives, or comic book writers and video game designers. I am simply shining light on a particular trend that I've noticed, at least in my own life. This is why "gun control"--a nebuluus and oft-erroneous term thrown about in these situations-- is only part of the issue here. There is this sense of normalizing violence, to the point where acts of true depravity, such as the ones we saw today, are such outliers that they shock us into a sense of helplessness. But when some gangbanger shoots up another gangbanger, or a platoon of soldiers gets blown up in Afghanistan, or a genocide is quietly occurring in Syria, we just don't feel that same moral indignation, at least not at the level we are feeling this now. What does that say about our culture, who we are as individuals and as a nation? And more importantly, are we to accept this shift in social paradigms? If not, how do we change it, and to what? 

 

These are large questions, and truthfully, I believe that they lie at the pit of our stomach as we watch these tragedies unfold. I know, for myself, I felt a great deal of frustration today, both with the perpetrator, our society, and even God for allowing this to happen. And when people react to this sort of thing by wanting to make more laws, they are also acting out of that very same frustration; however, if you fail to recognize the role culture has in this miasma, you're not going to make much of a difference.

[PhuturePriest]

I wasn't watching the news until eight this evening. I'm pretty well speechless. It's just so terrible. These innocent young children killed at what should be one of the most joyous seasons of their lives, these parents who will have to bear the scars of this for as long as they live, whom will truly never be the same and will never completely rid themselves of the pain, the children that survived but are traumatized and will have to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder for a few months to even a year, it's just tragic. I didn't know how bad it was until I actually started watching the news. It all set in when I saw a person there that looked a lot like someone I care about crying in front of the school, and I thought "What if that was actually her?" Now I'm not sure what to think, to be honest. I know God has a plan and I'm not doubting Him, I'm just unable to gather a coherent statement right now. I wish there was something I could do, but pretty much all I can do is pray.

[r2Dtoo]

I honestly don't think this guy had any motive for what he did.  As rather horrifying as it sounds you could not possibly have any rationale to kill your parents, and then go massacre a kindergarden class.  There's no reason for it.  It's the equivalent of calling Hitler mentally disturbed.  The guy just had no morality whatsoever.

Edited December 15, 2012 by r2Dtoo

[Vincent Vega]

But when some gangbanger shoots up another gangbanger, or a platoon of soldiers gets blown up in Afghanistan, or a genocide is quietly occurring in Syria, we just don't feel that same moral indignation, at least not at the level we are feeling this now.

 

This is my biggest qualm. I find it hard to believe the maudlin showmanship of media and individuals alike (not aimed at either of you in particular) while the same number of children who died in Massachusetts today also died of malaria in Africa in less than the span of an American sitcom. I wish someone would explain to me why those children, dying equally or more terrible deaths, are less valuable. Is it because they're far away? Because they're poor? Because they don't look like us?

[Basilisa Marie]

This is my biggest qualm. I find it hard to believe the maudlin showmanship of media and individuals alike (not aimed at either of you in particular) while the same number of children who died in Massachusetts today also died of malaria in Africa in less than the span of an American sitcom. I wish someone would explain to me why those children, dying equally or more terrible deaths, are less valuable. Is it because they're far away? Because they're poor? Because they don't look like us?

 

Yes. 

[kujo]

This is my biggest qualm. I find it hard to believe the maudlin showmanship of media and individuals alike (not aimed at either of you in particular) while the same number of children who died in Massachusetts today also died of malaria in Africa in less than the span of an American sitcom. I wish someone would explain to me why those children, dying equally or more terrible deaths, are less valuable. Is it because they're far away? Because they're poor? Because they don't look like us?

 

 

Who said anything about this? No one. So why are you bringing it up? 

[theculturewarrior]

I honestly don't think this guy had any motive for what he did.  As rather horrifying as it sounds you could not possibly have any rationale to kill your parents, and then go massacre a kindergarden class.  There's no reason for it.  It's the equivalent of calling Hitler mentally disturbed.  The guy just had no morality whatsoever.

 

The fact that he had no possible motive is evidence that he was mentally ill, and that the disease had taken him.  It is sad, and I grieve for those children, as I am a father too.  But today I lost one of my own in a very painful way, and I will grieve for him if no one else will.

[r2Dtoo]

This is my biggest qualm. I find it hard to believe the maudlin showmanship of media and individuals alike (not aimed at either of you in particular) while the same number of children who died in Massachusetts today also died of malaria in Africa in less than the span of an American sitcom. I wish someone would explain to me why those children, dying equally or more terrible deaths, are less valuable. Is it because they're far away? Because they're poor? Because they don't look like us?

 

Are you trying to guilt trip the most charitable nation on the planet?  What else do you want us to do about it? 

[kujo]

The fact that he had no possible motive is evidence that he was mentally ill, and that the disease had taken him.  It is sad, and I grieve for those children, as I am a father too.  But today I lost one of my own in a very painful way, and I will grieve for him if no one else will.

 

 

The bastard who shot these children and school teachers doesn't deserve the dirt they'll pile on his head. 

[Vincent Vega]

Who said anything about this? No one. So why are you bringing it up? 

 

I didn't know you intended this thread as a Kujo Monologue hour. I thought maybe others could chime in with their reactions and thoughts on the event as well. My mistake.

[theculturewarrior]

The bastard who shot these children and school teachers doesn't deserve the dirt they'll pile on his head. 

 

 

God is merciful, and not because any of us deserve it.

[Vincent Vega]

Are you trying to guilt trip the most charitable nation on the planet?  What else do you want us to do about it? 

 

1. Nations are not charitable. 

2. I don't know who "us" is, and I don't necessarily want "us" to do anything differently at all, I just want to understand why people don't seem care that, this very day, a group of children 50 times as vast died in Africa from a single disease as in this particular event in Massachusetts.

[kujo]

I didn't know you intended this thread as a Kujo Monologue hour. I thought maybe others could chime in with their reactions and thoughts on the event as well. My mistake.

 

 

I asked you a question--who brought up the point you were railing against? You want to vent, go ahead. I was simply seeking information about why you felt that our outrage wasn't commensurate to the stuff you feel we should be outraged by.

[r2Dtoo]

God is merciful, and not because any of us deserve it.

 

I'm sure the parents of all those kindergarders are really grateful for your God's mercy right now.

[kujo]

Connecticut.

 

Not Massachusetts