Welcome to the War of All Against All.
In the wake of the tragic events at Virginia Tech, there's been a lot of discussion about intentions and motivations. Ultimately it is appropriate to lay the responsibility for this tragedy on Seung-Hui Cho, the troubled young man who committed these vile acts. We don't do his innocent victims any service by fabricating justifications or excuses for Cho's acts. But there is nothing wrong with trying to understand the mental state of the killer. We certainly have enough relevant data about his life to make some informed speculations. As long as we are talking about the whys and the wherefores- I think that the present would be an ideal time to step back and think about how we, as a nation of "liberty", treat outsiders.
For a country that prides itself on its inimitable "freedoms", the United States contains an excessive amount of pressure to conform to certain "ideals". One obvious example is all those automobile accessories that popped up in the wake of 9-11. No matter what your political bent was... no matter how you felt about the US government's response to that set of tragic events... every red-blooded American was expected to show his/her sense of national pride by buying an attachable flag or ribbon magnet. Regardless if you thought that our military had no place invading a sovereign nation that had nothing to do with 9-11, you were still expected to "support the troops". Even now, after multiple failures and numerous demonstrations that the executive branch cares nothing for individual liberties, the Bush administration is still trying to paint dissentors with a broad brush. Even our congressmen, who are supposed to represent the will of their constituents, are accused of being anti-American for wanting to end the debacle in Iraq. And that's just the situation on a macro-level.
How do you think you would react if you were an immigrant from a third world country? You'd be looked at with suspicion and expected to act like a typical American- but you'd probably be a bit confused about what exactly that meant. Should you buy an SUV and a McMansion? Should you send an audition tape to American Idol? Should you buy a pair of cowboy boots, adopt a swaggering gate, and speak with a Southern drawl? What about buying a firearm? Surely that's as American as apple pie? Don't all Americans have a love affair with guns? You'd probably also do well to see everything in shades of black-and-white. You should figure out who is for you, and who is against you. And then once you identify anyone who is a threat to your identity, you should wage a pre-emptive war against them. Because they "hate your freedom".
Why are people surprised when an event like the Virginia Tech massacre happens? Don't we instill values of violence, class warfare and intolerance? How do you expect someone to respond when they are rejected, made fun of and marginalized? We are taught that being self-sufficient is American. Standing up for ourselves and our beliefs is American. Bearing arms is American. That's what we are teaching our youth. If someone picks on you, hit 'em. Even better... hit 'em before they strike at you. What are you... a liberal? A damn communist hippie?
Take someone who is unquestionably different. Bully them until they build a protective shell around themselves. Then pile the abuse on until they withdraw completely. Ignore their uncoordinated appeals for acceptance. Let them stand on their own two feet, and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. If they become delusional... well fuck 'em. That's their own problem. Everyone's responsible for their own well being. It's survival of the fittest, and that's what makes the United States the mightiest of all. But by all means, let them have easy access to firearms. Because that's the ultimate equalizer and our God-given right in the war of all against all.
I'm honestly surprised that there aren't more 4-16's, 4-20's, and 9-11's.
For a country that prides itself on its inimitable "freedoms", the United States contains an excessive amount of pressure to conform to certain "ideals". One obvious example is all those automobile accessories that popped up in the wake of 9-11. No matter what your political bent was... no matter how you felt about the US government's response to that set of tragic events... every red-blooded American was expected to show his/her sense of national pride by buying an attachable flag or ribbon magnet. Regardless if you thought that our military had no place invading a sovereign nation that had nothing to do with 9-11, you were still expected to "support the troops". Even now, after multiple failures and numerous demonstrations that the executive branch cares nothing for individual liberties, the Bush administration is still trying to paint dissentors with a broad brush. Even our congressmen, who are supposed to represent the will of their constituents, are accused of being anti-American for wanting to end the debacle in Iraq. And that's just the situation on a macro-level.
How do you think you would react if you were an immigrant from a third world country? You'd be looked at with suspicion and expected to act like a typical American- but you'd probably be a bit confused about what exactly that meant. Should you buy an SUV and a McMansion? Should you send an audition tape to American Idol? Should you buy a pair of cowboy boots, adopt a swaggering gate, and speak with a Southern drawl? What about buying a firearm? Surely that's as American as apple pie? Don't all Americans have a love affair with guns? You'd probably also do well to see everything in shades of black-and-white. You should figure out who is for you, and who is against you. And then once you identify anyone who is a threat to your identity, you should wage a pre-emptive war against them. Because they "hate your freedom".
Why are people surprised when an event like the Virginia Tech massacre happens? Don't we instill values of violence, class warfare and intolerance? How do you expect someone to respond when they are rejected, made fun of and marginalized? We are taught that being self-sufficient is American. Standing up for ourselves and our beliefs is American. Bearing arms is American. That's what we are teaching our youth. If someone picks on you, hit 'em. Even better... hit 'em before they strike at you. What are you... a liberal? A damn communist hippie?
Take someone who is unquestionably different. Bully them until they build a protective shell around themselves. Then pile the abuse on until they withdraw completely. Ignore their uncoordinated appeals for acceptance. Let them stand on their own two feet, and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. If they become delusional... well fuck 'em. That's their own problem. Everyone's responsible for their own well being. It's survival of the fittest, and that's what makes the United States the mightiest of all. But by all means, let them have easy access to firearms. Because that's the ultimate equalizer and our God-given right in the war of all against all.
I'm honestly surprised that there aren't more 4-16's, 4-20's, and 9-11's.
posted by Merge Divide at 4:33 PM
1 Comments:
The times are becomming more obvious, we create this world.
The ground,the air and the water.
All a whole of our matter.
Energy is a force in all existance,
there seems to be no care for this beautifiull connection we all share.
Soon,after distruction and all its dispare,and a population with tremendous loss, the simple joy of "good news" might be the headlines, and defining this pleasure,may be a delihgt for all.
I give my life for art,the beleaf every moment has potentall, action to benifit the whole may follow through, with grace for me too.
It is time for those that see through this holygram, each one of us holds the intire spectrum, nothing is lost, only recorded, in waves that effect the whole, I pray the lives of those who lost loved ones, in this hell tale, sing, there individual stories, of Life ,a little heavon on earth for all to here.
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