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Violence in Blacksburg

Murders at Virginia Tech indicative of a violent culture

Apr 17, 2007

Reflecting upon the violent behavior choices of humans

Murder at Virginia Tech

A lone gunman enters a Virginia Tech college classroom and calmly murders young people peacefully attentive to classroom studies. We're shocked (again). We wonder why (for the umpteenth time)? We look for someone or something to blame (there are plenty of candidates).

Headlines blare the news. CNN provides non-stop coverage. Leaders offer condolences and outrage. Experts shake their heads in detached sympathy and murmur, "just a deranged young man, nothing to be upset about." And we go about our business.

Why?

Let's face it. We are violent beings. We murder, rape, rob, abuse, and dominate others of our species. And it has nothing to do with survival. It has to do with how we see ourselves, with who we are being.

It's not about guns, drugs, nor violent movies. It's not about video games, nor disrespectful, in-your-face shouting radio and TV performers (the words host or personality seem inappropriate).

Our cultural bias toward violence has nothing to do with religion, nor the lack of it. It's not about how we raise our children either.

And it is about all these things after all.

But these are not the causes, these are the symptoms. Beings that are non-peaceful display these behaviors. Problems are solved by violence. Non-peaceful beings celebrate violence and practice it frequently.

Our heroes are modeled by the characters played by John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, and Bruce Lee. Recently, in a modern, conservative, moderate-sized Midwest city in the U.S., the largest crowd to pay to watch an indoor sporting event watched near-naked men beat the daylights out of each other in an orchestrated version of a mugging in the park. This is a sport in a violent culture.

Violent Choices

We, as a species, choose to be violent. Each day we have the choice of selecting peaceful or violent behaviors. We choose violence.

Peaceful behavior is a choice. Peace is a state of mind. Gandhi said, "There is no way to peace, peace is the way."

Peace is a way of being. Until we, as a species, decide that peaceful being is more satisfying, more fulfilling, more fun, than violent being, we'll continue to get our kicks by kicking the stuff out of others.

Today's Choice

Today you have a choice. Be a being centered on peace or centered on violence. Love, support, and encourage or demean, criticize, and diminish. Which will it be? What will you choose?

Discussion

Are humans inherently violent? What do you believe lies at the foundation of mass murder such as occurred on the Virgina Tech campus? What can you, as an individual, do? Take a stand here.

The copyright of the article Violence in Blacksburg in Personal Development is owned by Jerry Lopper. Permission to republish Violence in Blacksburg in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Comments

Apr 17, 2007 9:10 AM

Jerry Lopper :

Are humans inherently violent? What do you believe lies at the foundation of mass murder such as occurred on the Virgina Tech campus? What can you, as an individual, do? Take a stand here.

Apr 18, 2007 6:01 AM

Suzanne Hill :

I appreciate your emtion but I know that I don't choose to be violent. Perhaps it's because I'm afraid of repercussion so I subvert violent feelings. But I choose to think it's because of my religious upbringing that taught me it's wrong to harm others and because of my imagination and empathy that helps me feel how others would be hurt if I were to harm them ... and so I choose to be kind instead.

Perhaps if those school kids had had a way to defend themselves they would have had a chance... perhaps. How can you possibly try to understand what goes on in the mind of a psychopath like a mass murderer?

-Suzanne

Apr 18, 2007 7:10 AM

Chris A. Carberry :

Violence in our society is nothing new. Recall the first olympic games? Barbaric. And the religion angle; come on! More people have been massacred in the name of religion than for any other reason! Man is violent and has been since time began, we live in a violent society, "joe public" lives for violence. I agree that it's sad, pathetic, shameful and the media lives to feed on sociey's massive desire for it. This needs to change, the question is how?

Apr 18, 2007 7:30 AM

Matt Finley :

The problem isn't just personal choice. I heard that, of a 35 student class, at one point only 6 showed up to class recently because they were scared. Scared of Cho. There's a lot of signs that went ignored about that kid. Who's faulty is that?

Personal choices? No. That's psychotic behavior to it's very core. It's a mental problem and it went almost completely ignored. When 3/4 of your class doesn't show up because they're afraid of that guy, and that guy is not thrown out of college, there's a problem.

And Chris, what needs to change? The media? Or the violence? Because you're not going to change the violence, and the only way to change the media is to stop watching. But when something like this happens, ratings go through the roof because more people are watching.

One more thing, I just heard he had a web site, "Dont****withme" or something of that nature on myspace. Hrmm, go figure.

4 Comments