Hobby Horse
This Virginia Tech shooting thing still tops the charts on network news shows. All this talk but really, who actually believes things will get better because of this? Instead, everyone's just using it to bolster the argument for whatever their hobby horse happens to be.
Conservatives think more people should tote guns to protect themselves and the public from armed shooters like this.
Gun control people think it should be harder to get and possess a gun.
Everyone thinks it should be harder for mentally disturbed people to own guns and ammo.
CBS is using it to program America to believe in a bigger Big Brother, more trust in and dependence on authority.
Parents who worry about their defenseless children are more worried than ever.
But really, what have we seen here that those of us with any memory at all haven't seen dozens of times before? And when has anything like this led to any kind of progress?
It's been nearly 7 days since the shooting:
How many Americans have been murdered since last Monday?
How many Iraqi and Afghan people have our soldiers killed in our effort to stabilize and secure the business climate of the Middle East?
How many women have been raped in the past week?
How many women and children have been beaten or killed by husbands and fathers or even by mothers in the past week?
How many things have we done in the past week to make people safer?
The problem won't be solved by making Big Brother bigger. The problem won't be solved by putting armed guards in every campus building in America. The problem won't be solved by putting more police on the payrolls. It won't be solved by creating bigger databases or by sharing more personal and private records with authorities. We've been doing all of these things already for decades but it isn't reducing the problem. It isn't making us any safer.
Everyone's riding around America on their hobby horses but it isn't helping us solve any problems. And the fact is, nothing that the authorities do as a result of this Virginia Tech shooting will help. Nothing!
Unless the authorities finally realize that we all need to learn how to defend ourselves, how to fight back when the next crazy one shows up at our door.
The problem with that, though, is that it makes Big Brother weaker. Iraq and Iran and Afghanistan are showing us how powerless Big Brother is when the people know how to fight back.
So we will continue making Big Brother bigger and we will continue teaching our young not to fight back and things like this Virginia Tech shooting will continue happening. And it will get worse, not better.
I think people like Cho know this too. They know how powerful people like them are in a society programmed not to resist. That's the sad reality this Virginia Tech shooting represents. We are a society programmed not to resist, not to fight back, not to defend ourselves. We are a people programmed to duck and flee in fear. The shooters know this.
Conservatives think more people should tote guns to protect themselves and the public from armed shooters like this.
Gun control people think it should be harder to get and possess a gun.
Everyone thinks it should be harder for mentally disturbed people to own guns and ammo.
CBS is using it to program America to believe in a bigger Big Brother, more trust in and dependence on authority.
Parents who worry about their defenseless children are more worried than ever.
But really, what have we seen here that those of us with any memory at all haven't seen dozens of times before? And when has anything like this led to any kind of progress?
It's been nearly 7 days since the shooting:
How many Americans have been murdered since last Monday?
How many Iraqi and Afghan people have our soldiers killed in our effort to stabilize and secure the business climate of the Middle East?
How many women have been raped in the past week?
How many women and children have been beaten or killed by husbands and fathers or even by mothers in the past week?
How many things have we done in the past week to make people safer?
The problem won't be solved by making Big Brother bigger. The problem won't be solved by putting armed guards in every campus building in America. The problem won't be solved by putting more police on the payrolls. It won't be solved by creating bigger databases or by sharing more personal and private records with authorities. We've been doing all of these things already for decades but it isn't reducing the problem. It isn't making us any safer.
Everyone's riding around America on their hobby horses but it isn't helping us solve any problems. And the fact is, nothing that the authorities do as a result of this Virginia Tech shooting will help. Nothing!
Unless the authorities finally realize that we all need to learn how to defend ourselves, how to fight back when the next crazy one shows up at our door.
The problem with that, though, is that it makes Big Brother weaker. Iraq and Iran and Afghanistan are showing us how powerless Big Brother is when the people know how to fight back.
So we will continue making Big Brother bigger and we will continue teaching our young not to fight back and things like this Virginia Tech shooting will continue happening. And it will get worse, not better.
I think people like Cho know this too. They know how powerful people like them are in a society programmed not to resist. That's the sad reality this Virginia Tech shooting represents. We are a society programmed not to resist, not to fight back, not to defend ourselves. We are a people programmed to duck and flee in fear. The shooters know this.
posted by Bill | 2:41 PM
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