Skip to main content

Healthy Choice


How deep does a culture of violence go? Apparently deep enough that we have varied ideas when trying to sort out the rantings and ultimate assault of a psychotic young man in a Safeway (irony not lost) parking lot in Tuscon, Arizona. Yes, our airways are filled with hate speech, intolerant sound bytes, all manner of pseudo commentators with agendas as transparent as Saran wrap. Yes, actions have consequences, so that when Sarah Palin uses gun crosshairs on a map to target members of Congress we don't really believe she intended them to look like a surveyor"s view. Yes, over the top video game graphics and content desensitizes people to violence. How could it not? But other, less apparent ironies abound.
One has only to look at the smiling face turned mug shot of this troubled young man to know that his "elevator does not go to the top floor." While the media interviews former classmates and teachers, while the shooter's mother cries for days, while the detectives review everything on this disturbed young man's computer...where are the concerns about mental health? Ironic that Congressperson Giffords, who fights for her life, also fought for health care. Crucial, too that the onset of schizophrenia occurs most often between the ages of 17-25. If you look at the ages of school shooters, political terrorists, those who commit hate crimes, those fascinated by the politics of perversion, a strong correlation exists.
I wonder how many of those stone colored Arizona strip malls have those big box sporting goods stores that sell weapons of crass destruction. Could Jared Lee Loughner have purchased his gun of choice in any number of Sporting stores easily found on any number of streets in any number of cities? No doubt. There will be calls for gun control, calls for city ordinances, state laws, maybe even a Constitutional amendment. Always are. Perhaps Rep. Giffords, herself, will one day take on this issue becoming the living poster child of the cause. We've seen that before too.
But will anyone take note of this tragic incident in the context of U.S. foreign policy. The irony of homegrown terrorism. The way we parse the killing of human beings depending on place, culture, political objective, natural resources, vindication. Are the images of war from Iraq and Afghanistan really any different than a shooting in a parking lot?

Comments

Kayla Parsons said…
Your writing style kept me wanting more. and i agree with everything you said. especially the thing about video games desensitizing youngens from violence. very true words of wisdom. GOOD JOB! :) i shall probably become a frequent reader!
February 5, 2011 at 7:55 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To a Tee

 I'm a sucker for a good t-shirt.  They are the foundational garment of my life.  My day starts with selecting a t-shirt and it ends with sleeping in one.  Once thought of as under garments, t-shirts are now original art and no doubt, a billion dollar business.   You can get a t-shirt with anybody's picture displayed.  You can commemorate an event, a birthday, a death, even a specular play in any sport.  Family reunions usually have a commemorative t-shirt.  Also, any organization that solicits your support in the form of a donation is likely to offer you a t-shirt. Where once I only had the basic white t-shirt, my drawers are filled with all manner of colorful choices.  Some recognize major events in my life, some, spectacular performances or plays I have witnessed, and some unforgettable places I have been.   I say I'm a sucker for a good t-shirt because I have taken the bait on what I perceived as a must-have only to be disappointed. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Illusory

What does it take to enrage you?  That moment when your words fly on pure emotion because enough is enough.  Is it a driver that cuts you off at high speed?  What about being an eyewitness to blatant racism or on the receiving end of some obvious injustice? I know some people who never express rage.  I admire them but know full well I am not capable of such distance from that which would bring about such a strong response. Another senseless shooting and 7 people die at the hands of a mentally ill gun owner.  The father of the 20 year old college student lets it fly and somehow millions feel a new sense of relief.  He calls the politicians bastards who do nothing, he wears his pain in public.  The news media responds but we all know that nothing is going to change.  We are the gun country.  We are the place where anybody, anytime, can be cut down just for being there when somebody else snaps. Usually the perpetrators are delusional. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mr. Greene v. Mr. Brown

I want to tell you about something. Something I've carried inside myself for a number of years now. Perhaps if I were a different kind of person I wouldn't need to talk about it. I'm not. My need to tell it is stronger than your need to hear it. Because, however, there are a number of teachers and former students of mine who may read these meanderings from time to time, I need to tell this story all the more. About 7 or 8 years ago I was asked if I would allow a university PhD. candidate to observe an English class. At first I decided against it because I was scheduled to have a student teacher placed with me the second half of the semester in question. After some urging, however, at the request of a respected colleague, I agreed. Soon I was committing to extra meetings, signing documents and explaining to the class in question who the young woman who thoughtfully pounded away on a laptop in the rear of the classroom three times a week was. I knew that the topic of ...
3 comments
Read more