Why another massacre? Part 1

Since no one ever reads this page anyway, I will abandon the idea of using it to publish all the humorous short stories that I have written that no one will ever publish in conventional format. Instead I will vent my impotent rage on any damn thing I feel like, regardless of how late I am to weigh in!

Web punditry demands constant monitoring of the headlines and posting immediate moronic commentary masquerading as insight. Sadly, I am far too busy lying around watching bad TV to even notice the current headlines, much less respond to them in a timely manner.Fortunately, I am just as much of a moron as the other bloggers and commentators. Possibly more so.

Why is it that whenever the latest massacre transpires (as at Virginia Tech, if your web-induced ADD permits you to remember that far back) everyone whines and wrings their hands over how this could happen? It should be obvious, but then again, this is a country where we are constantly required to pretend that we don't know what we know, in the interest of "sensitivity," or some other version of political correctness.

This is the second generation to be inculcated from kindergarten on to believe in Darwinism. The strong survive, and the weak perish, as they are preyed on by the strong. The earlier generations only gave lip service to this ideal, since they realized that living in a society governed by such a system would be very scary to live in, especially for the people who most strenuously espouse the theory, since they are generally weak. These early proselytizers relied on the Judeo-Christian moral code that governed our society to keep them safe, while they worked tirelessly to free themselves from its constraints.

Why another massacre? Part 2

Today's youth actually believe what they have been taught, and they also practice it. Is it a surprise that there is a massive increase in the severity of bullying? Is it surprising that the bullied find a way to make themselves strong, such as picking up a gun? The strong survive, and the weak perish. All is as it should be.

Yet why are there far fewer incidents of mass murder in other countries? (It isn't stricter gun laws, since the general (non school massacre) murder rate in Russia is much greater (about 9 times!) as in the U.S., despite the fact that firearms ownership has been entirely illegal there for about 9 decades.) There is no question that they are teaching the same curriculum in the schools just about everywhere.

So what is it about America that fosters shooting sprees? Simple: we are a society taught to be victims (e.g. the police tell us to "just give him your wallet; it's not worth your life"), and further, the only thing that matters is surviving, no matter what else happens. Other societies, especially in Europe, are just as keen on telling people not to resist criminals, but few are as craven about self-preservation as we Americans are. The idea that one would flee, leaving others to be slaughtered , or even using others as a screen to cover one's escape would be viewed as the basest form of cowardice.

Why another massacre? Part 3

But in the U.S. it is perfectly fine for someone to go on the evening news and describe to the cameras how he escaped from the shooting rampage because the holocaust-survivor professor blocked the door with his body, and was shot dead, giving young men time to jump out the window. Other similar tales include running away down a hallway as other students provide a screen with their bodies, absorbing the bullets fired toward the valiant survivor, or simply lying on the floor and hoping that the shooter will choose someone else to execute.

It would be impossible to shoot a classroom full of college students if the students reacted to save each other instead of themselves! No gunman can save himself from an onslaught of 20 or 30 people at once. And you would think that young adults would be aware that getting under a "desk" that typically consists of a notebook-sized plywood slab affixed to the arm of a chair does not in fact render one either invisible or invulnerable! All it does is limit one's movement, thus making one a sitting duck for the murderer to shoot in turn. But there are lots of other targets in the room, so maybe he won't kill YOU, only other people, and that is an acceptable outcome.

It is appalling that we have become a nation of helpless cowards, who only know how to lie on the floor and hope that other people are selected for death, or who run away without regard for what is happening to those nearby. Not one person even tried to disarm the vile assassin, even as he entered classroom after classroom, with clear intent established by his previous actions. Guns don't bend around corners, and any cop or soldier can tell you that the most dangerous job is entering a room full of hostiles. (It's not for nothing that one of the highest compliments from one cop to another is "I'd go through a door with you.")

I am sorry for the victims and their families. This terrible event exemplifies what happens when a society abandons its belief in a moral code beyond rational self-interest. Killers kill, and victims pin hope of survival on others' being chosen to die.