A Man With Guns
I had written a post for today, I'll run it some other time. It just seems kind of futile after watching the news tonight. Everyday life- its humdrum routine- goes on for me while in another part of the country the unthinkable occurs. Again. A man with guns, killing for no reason, or the reason being the joy of killing. American has a lot of that. 30+ people killed, about a month's total of traffic fatalities in a mid-sized state. About a month's total of U.S. troops in Iraq. Something here is out of whack- a culture of weapons, a transportation system, a war. Death is inevitable, but not this kind, not this much. Part of being a man is dealing with rage. That isn't anything new. But having an arsenal of weapons, in a culture that glorifies them ("be like Rambo- a big gun makes a small man powerful"), enlarges the Man's rage into something else. Something completely out of proportion to the cause of the rage.
We have met the enemy, and he is us.
2 Comments:-
Darien Fisher-Duke said...
-
-
Professor Batty said...
-
Virginia Tech is a large institution, and practically everyone in Richmond has some connection to the campus. It was wrenching to drive to school today and see the flags at half-mast. Many of our faculty were wearing their Hokie gear in solidarity.
Each horrific event like this one raises the question: WHAT will it take to enact gun control legislation in the US?
"If not now, then when?" (with a thank you to Tracy Chapman)
... my other correspondent from Richmond, Comica, has this perspective. It is touching some of us in Minnesota as well; My Boss has the Virginia Tech Blues by Marie tells the story of another victim...
Post a Comment