Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
“Worst ever”
On Keith Olbermann last night, an expert — a psychologist, perhaps? — cautioned against the use of hyperbole with regard to the Virginia Tech shooting. Paraphrasing: Some disturbed individuals will see this as a record to be broken.
In fact, this was no “record.” In the Bath School bombings of 1927, a disgruntled school board member inflicted a much higher death toll. But in the media’s questionable desire to make this into some sort of Guinness Book record, the Blacksburg tragedy has become “the deadliest shooting on a college campus.”
Maybe it’s the media’s fascination with homicidal madness. For them, Cho’s story, like that of all serial killers before him, will eclipse other far worse tragedies for days to come. Iraq is old news. Darfur is old news. Blacksburg is fresh — and since the victims were young, full of promise, and largely middle class, the media cares. Perhaps they’re giving the people what they want; perhaps they’re telling the people what they should want to know.
I’m pleased that some in the media, like Olbermann, have given attention to the victims. This obsession with the John Wayne Gacys and Ted Bundys of the world can’t be good. Every time I see another regurgitation of the Jeffrey Dahmer story on TV, I cringe. I think: Please, don’t do this. Let the man’s memory become a footnote. Don’t encourage the other LIVING sick bastards who want to play me-too.
Doesn’t the media realize that for some individuals the phrase “worst ever” is not a horror, but an invitation?
Fun stuff tomorrow, I promise. The new Cosmo wants to teach me and my wife how to reach orgasm together.
D.
I’m staying away from the school shootings coverage. I’ve got a School Board meeting on Thursday, and all year we’ve been spending MUCHO time on High School campus safety, and evacuation plans, and lock-down orders, and “Shelter in place” supplies, and “Intruder on campus” alerts, etc. So fucking depressing.
I can’t take the media coverage right now.
Especially since I know that at least five parents are going to show up at my school board meeting to weep and say, “What are you doing for OUR children?” And we’ll have to respond by going through our lock-down orders and “shelter in place” supplies and so forth.
(But I have to say that the story of the Hungarian holocaust survivor who held the door shut against the gunman to save his students is making me weep every time I hear it. I don’t think I can hear more about the victims this week.)
So instead I’m talking about male genetalia on my blog. 😉 [/blatant blogwhoring.]
And for some, an insult… Every time I see the phrase “Worst Massacre in American History”, I cringe: the Wounded Knee Massacre saw 150-300 Lakota Sioux gunned down, and a commenter on my site reminded me that the Tulsa Race Riots probably killed at least 300 people.
By 6th period today, I heard a student of mine discussing the fact that there are jokes on the net about this horrible massacre at VA Tech. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.
As I angrily kicked a student out of my 5th period today sending him to the Dean for being a dickwad, I thought about possible retaliation. Teachers now can’t help thinking about disciplinary action being followed by retaliation.
Suisan, I’m on my way. I could use some genitalia right now. I’d prefer female, but I’ll hold my own if I have to 🙂
Static, excellent segue into another post I’m working on regarding other “massacres” and why we focus on some and not others. I had initially lumped it in with this one, but then I realized I had two very different points.
Suffice to say, I agree with you.
Sis, you might want to read up on these cases. These kids are identifiable before the fact — quiet, sullen, often with a history of minor brushes with the law. Scary thing is, that one prof warned the police, and they didn’t listen to her.
It pisses me off that he sent all that stuff to NBC. Now we’ll be listening/looking at that crazy fuck for days to come.
The media feeding frenzy makes me sick. With no lack of compassion or respect for the lives lost and the suffering of family and friends of the victims, I can’t help but wonder why we’ll be spending hours upon hours rehashing this incident while so much death and destruction continues day after day in Iraq. It seems to me that this is a simple (if horrifying) example of the microcosm reflecting the macrocosm.
Well Doug,
It’s because it happened HERE to OUR kids. In the land of the FREE where things like this aren’t supposed to happen!
Ha!
It’s the same thing as when the media goes chasing after the disappearance of a blond middle class woman, postulating on the guilt or innocence of her husband. Because crime isn’t supposed to happen to US! Same thing.
(I’m already getting the flood of emails from concerned parents in my school district–How can we be sure that such a tragedy will not happen here? Hello! You cannot be *sure*. Random! How’s about we spend a little more money on intervention and on mental health screening, OK? Nope. Instead we’ve got an agenda item to consider a new security camera system for the High School. Fuck.)
did you stop blogging-slash-responding on your boogers blogspot?
i posted a couple of questions and just want to know if I should wait for an answer or move on.
Thanks!
Yo, I’m ready for cosmo’s orgasms, please, Doug.
I got my 13 up.
Jonathan: I left answers on the most recent post.
Kate: you got your orgasms, I trust?
Suisan: I hear ya. I liked what one psychologist said: we should try to find ways of working more caring and respect into education — and if we did, we might help MANY kids, not just the ones with murderous intentions.