america : the land of moral decay?

the VA Tech shootings come as a chilling reminder of where i've currently chosen to reside. reading his manifesto, he claims 'i died like Jesus Christ' so that others like him have been taken care of. which is of course an extremely poor analogy considering he didn't die for the sins of anyone and took down 32 others with him. the killings simply reek of desperation and lunacy. while i in no way endorse his actions, i don't think american society is reacting as well as they should be. of course there is much anger and hurt on the part of the victims' families but i think much needed reflection is due. america has to ask themselves why things like these keep happening to them - 9/11, various school shootings (as well as shootings on the street), paedophilia, incredibly twisted serial killers ... these things don't happen without reason. in all these cases of school shootings i can't help but classify the killer as a victim too - i do believe that there comes a point you are pushed so far beyond the edge that you are completely unable to control yourself. who knows whether Cho is going to hell or not?because in reading his manifesto i felt like he had lost his soul. it is incredibly difficult to have sympathy for him though, but it is important to realize that there are many out there who might have been bullied and abused who will not take the same violent path, and that doesn't mean that they should not be given any attention.

the country tends to react with an agression which is steeped in vengeance and ignorance. when 9/11 first came about, many americans were becoming violent and racist towards other muslims and people of color. is that really the way to go, if you want to prevent any of these things? don't forget that it clearly doesn't take power or wealth to kill - a poor pakistani cab driver you've just verbally abused can just as easily kill others as the tanks sent into Iraq, though not of the same magnitude. because some people have been so pushed over the edge they feel they don't have anything to lose, and those people make the scariest killers since they can shoot without abandon and just kill themselves after.

the whole gun issue is a double edged sword. students from VA tech have claimed that had they been allowed guns on campus they would have felt safer. other people think if guns weren't sold in the first place, a lot of shootings could have been prevented. i think it obviously goes much deeper than the technicalities of allowing guns or not. if someone wants to kill 32 people, he WILL find a way to do so, guns legally accessible or not. they argue that only 'lunatics' are the ones breaking gun-laws, thus causing law-abiding citizens to be unsafe without their arms. i've seen extreme posters created by feminists claiming that every woman should own a gun. while the posters are extremely compelling i find (with pictures of abused women contrasted to pictures of amazonian, independent women defending themselves from rapists), i don't know if i can agree completely. my mom says, when it comes to the crunch, will you really be able to pull the trigger? i know i definitely won't be capable of killing someone, but i know if i'm about to get shot/raped, i will shoot the man's leg or something (even though this still might not prevent someone from getting shot, which is a very scary thought). i personally find these ideas a great moral indicator - it is utterly depressing and ugly to me that one feels the need to possess firearms in order to feel adequately safe in America. those feminist posters are simply a reaction to the greater picture of domestic violence and rape that's happening these days. and honestly, i think it's irreversible. America has gone so far down the path of self-destruction and decay that i don't know how they're ever going to find their way back. every country has their faults (in Singapore it's political apathy and government opression), but i think America really isn't the place to grow up in. events like these make me realize that i don't want my children growing up here, i should probably give them the childhood i had in Singapore.

but really, with the way the world is deteriorating these days ... who knows.

i think God's sending you a sign America, and i think you should listen. don't let all those victims' deaths be in vain, it isn't enough to just light candles and hold vigils ... to quote Gandhi, you have to be the change you wish for in the world.

+ posted by M @ 1:04 PM