In Virginia Tech today, they held a vigil for the fallen students from Monday's shooting. It was a terrible tradegy. As a student at a university here, it is scary to think the same thing could happen on our campus.
From the sounds of it, the man was a troubled loner. I often think about these individuals, and wonder ' would this been prevented if people tried to reach out to this person? '. I think it's easier for most of us to not think about the roles we play in other peoples lives, but sometimes our inaction can be just as powerful as our actions.
My scripture knowledge is bad.. I haven't been reading my bible as much as I should be lately.. but I believe there is a passage in Proverbs that talks about 'rescuing those who are unjustly sentenced to die..' I remember this because the Right to Life association I used to belong to quoted that all the time to explain why they were opposed to abortion.. but the quote seems more appropriate to me in this context now.. When we see someone dying inside, should our Christian compassion compel us to approach that individual and offer them our friendship, and our Christian love? I wonder if anyone tried to reach out to him..
I also happen to think that we live in a society where we are too easily comfortable with violence. Heaven help us if you see somebody in the body that God made us in, but seeing a serial killer hack up a bunch of people with blood and gore makes for good t.v.
I'm not comfortable with idea of gun control.. but I have decided to give it a second thought. If we must live in a society that will not curb violence on t.v. because censorship has become a bad word, then we must consider what other alternatives exist for us.
I am also troubled by the fact that the media seems to want to focus on the fact that he was a South Korean student, like his immigrant status would explain away the violence we are experiencing in society world wide.
None of these problems are solved with easy answers, but I think we as Christians should pray.. for those who have fallen, and for those who need our help..
Shawn
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3 comments:
Not to speak ill of the dead, but troubled loners are not born overnight and are certainly not born without cause. perhaps people have been reaching out to him all his life, just not in the way he expected, wanted or needed. But is is unfair to the victims to excuse the behavior of the assailant based on this, akin to using Black Rage as a court defence, Each of us must remain responsible for our own actions.
I agree with you on Gun Control. It is a side issue, built to reassure soccer moms of thier safety in this world. if guns were not availaible, a determined person will always find something else to use as a weapon.
Censorship is not the answer either. Television violence is a healthy thing (for most of us)It is preferable to watch a violent movie and have that release by watching fictional characters get blown to bits rather than going out and becoming violent yourself. Where we begin to get into trouble is people who cannot distinguish that what they see on television is a dramatization and not meant to be translatable to real life. It is not a matter of censorship but with the skewed epistemology of modern America.
While I agree to some extent that things like Black Rage does not excuse one from being personally responsible, I do think it is important to question and find out if he was approached because, as you've already stated 'troubled loners are not born overnight'.
The victims are still victims regardless, and need our compassion as well.
Shawn
Shawn, lost your contact info... give me a call.
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