Ever since becoming a parent, devastations like the whole Virginia tech killings make me even more anxious about raising a kid and troubled about those who might be among us equally “ready-to-explode” as we go on with our lives. But what frustrates me even more is the way the media reacts to tragedy.
I don’t exactly know if crimes and tragedies are the same as they were 100 years ago, but in this age of instant-information the news just can’t help but to make us think this is all new. I also can’t help but to think the news has complete disrespect for the victims, families, students, and survivors by tossing them up in front of a camera solely to exploit them. And not to mention NBC’s decision to show those sick videos of the kid – why? (By playing it and over again the media is playing into what he wanted – to be immortalized.) It has to be for ratings and for those equally disturbed voyeurs around us, not for any real news.
My mind can’t even comprehend what the victim’s families, friends, survivors, and fellow students are going through. They, like us, go about living and by pure arbitrary chance some sick, evil kid, who wants to blame the world for his inability to deal with the world - decides to target them.
After listening to so many stories on NPR, news shows, talking heads, etc. it all leaves me confused of how to even look for signs that might prevent anything like this from happening in my own life, let alone understand it. It all just makes me even more frustrated and mentally exhausted.
Evil people exist – that’s the reality. Everybody deals with pain, anger, frustration, and hardships in life – it’s all how you deal with it. A small minority can’t deal, but they don’t kill. This one did.
As with anything you have some politicians, talking heads, screamers, “the experts”, etc. blaming everything in the world ---school, guns, teachers, psychologists, police, students, culture, video games, parents --- everything but the kid. But the one that really disturbed me was South Korea’s apology and the Korean community’s fear of a racial backlash - that one just baffles me. As if him being Korean had anything to do with it - are you kidding!?
I’ve now come to the conclusion that I’m ignoring the media on this. If I see it or hear it, I’m switching the station (or site). Yes, it was a tragedy – my heart breaks for anybody even remotely involved. The only good thing was the kid made a good choice taking his own life (I wish he would have just done that in the first place- I know that might be a horrible thing to say for some, but honestly I don’t think he wanted to be helped.) I can’t even imagine the media spectacle if he not killed himself.
Not sure if everybody feels the same way, or just me. Now excuse me, I have a wife and daughter who need me.