The College Shooting
Media and Tragedies
What happened Monday was horrific but what went on Tuesday on the news networks was just as bad. Just switching from news network to another (CNN, MSNBC, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS) and what was being said made me just sick. From the ga-zillion profilers to Geraldo calling the gunman a coward. All of the facts are not in and already the "Blame Game" has begun. True some questions needs to be address (i.e. "why was it a two hour gap in between getting the word out about shooting?") I don't know about security…we cannot have military walking our campuses and I hope this does not single out minorities when it comes to enrollment in colleges.
Thursday night Glenn Beck said something that was profound (sometimes it's hard to get pass his "ranting" but sometimes something wise comes from his mouth). Glenn was asking do they in the media (especially television) move too fast to one event to another. He said last week it was "Don Imus & Hip Hop" now this horrific act and we haven't heard anything about the events from last week. I will say this again, to me both are intertwined…this is not a race issue, it's a morality issue and we as a nation need to wake and realize that words are very powerful; how we treat one another has a chain effect for the good or for the bad. Here in the states we live in a very "reactive" society instead of a "proactive" society. We wait for things to happen, even with all of the warning signs and then wish to point the "finger" at everyone and hire lawyers to sue one another. (Maybe Shakespeare called it right when he said, "Death To All Lawyers…okay, that was over the top…I love Congress).
Now NBC is getting flack for showing the gunman's manifesto. I'm not going to lie, I wanted to see it and I'm not going to criticize the network for airing it. Not to rub "salt" in an open wound but I was curious on how can a person spiral down so far that he feels he or she has no where to go?
One segment that got under my skin is when Harry Smith was interviewing on of the students that was shot and the student was thanking Christ for his life, for his fellow students that used their bodies as human shield to protect him and even though he had no sympathy for Cho Seung but empathy for him, Cho's family and his prayers went out to the students and faculty that were slain and to Cho Seung, Harry's response to the young man was, "You know that sounds crazy don't you?" On one hand the media portrays themselves as trying to heal and then in the same moment they want people to show, "Hate, hate, hate".
You can't have it both ways news networks.
Koreans & Korean-Americans Fearing the Scarlet Letter from this Tragedy
A segment I watched on CNN this morning and made me angry a little, just a little. Koren Americans are afraid that this tragedy may spawn hatred toward all Koreans and that the Koreans are mourning as well not only for the slain students at Virginia Tech but also for Cho Seung Hui. It made me angry for the fact that as an African American and many African Americans, we do not group one individual acts to an entire race but from what I have seen, witnessed, and experienced other races many times this act is thrown upon us (African Americans) . We have our knuckleheads that have gone into stores and done stupid things but please do not group all African Americans as "thieves" and "bums". We work hard, we pay bills and taxes, want safe neighbors as well. Maybe I was being "too sensitive" but as the Korean community weeps for the 32 slain, African Americans, Hispanics, Whites mourn as well. Whoever singles out all Korean-American and Koreans for this act has missed the whole point in this post…this was an individual who created this chaos, not a race.
When individuals like Jim Jones, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahlmer and others who have done many henouis acts, it has never crossed my mind, "all white men are evil, hateful people", it was the act of that individual. The same with Cho Seung Hui, I will not and cannot group him, his family to all "Koreans" and "Korean-Americans" to this tragedy. But what really suprises me is that Koreans that come from Korea do not feel this way about African-Americans at first, it's only when they have been state side for years that many develop this complex. Many Koreans have been oppressed so they can relate to what African Americans go through in life.
The Blame Game
By next week so much finger pointing and "so and so dropped the ball on this tragic event" will be flying across the board. Many law firms will be pounding the pavement for that all mighty dollar. Mistakes were made and some people will lose their jobs, careers will be tainted.
News has come out now that Cho Seung Hui was mentally unbalanced and that the warning signs were there but the question still remains, what do you do about this? It just seems to me now we as parents we have to really begin instilling in our youth how precious they are, life is not fair, there will be disappointments in our lives and for goodness sake we will have heartbreaks in our lives when it comes to falling in and out of love and that when we make choices, we are accountable for our own actions and we have to be men and women to face the consequences for our action…good or bad.
Now I am not saying this was his motive and as the week goes on more and more will come out (hopefully the truth) about his motive but the truth is we will never know what caused him to commit this act. But to see Geraldo go on a tyrant about the gunmen was just unbelievable. I told my wife this is it and I mean it. The Weather Channel, HGTV, TBN, The Discovery Channel and other educational programming for me (except Monk and Pysch…those are my shows.)
Will this tragedy change anything?
Now the big question…will this help our nation grow for the better or for the worse? I think the latter. Already the networks are moving on to the "Alec Baldwin's phone call to his daughter" issue (it's not really news but in a way I can see why this is news…words people…words, we have to choose how we use them toward our love ones and one another). We are headed toward the abyss of darkness and there is no way of getting off of this train folks. I'm not pessimistic…I'm just being a realist. We have had centuries to get this right in America and to be honest…we just don't care. We have to come to the realization that there is evil in the world, but there is a also plenty of good in the world as well.
If anything I hope people will take from this is do not take one another for granted; kiss your wife, husband, children. Let them (our children) know that we are not perfect and they are not perfect but we love them regardless. When we make mistakes, say "I'm sorry" and you may still pay the consequences for our action; that does not mean we as parents and as family members do not love one another but this is what builds character and accountability in people.
We must teach our children not confuse "forgiveness" and "trust" because we should forgive because when you forgive you free yourself to live life…not to miss out on life but trust is a building factor. If the person that wrongs you understands that concept, good and if they do not understand this concept it's their lost and you are still free to live your life the way God has attended us to live.
I love life, I love meeting people, I was discussing world events. We may agree with one another but I still love you so much as my brother and sister because we may have come aboard from different ships but we are all on this huge aircraft carrier called the "USS USA"…corny I know but hey, what will it take to make us realize that every action has a reaction and if this is not addressed we will be back to this same subject in a couple years.
I remember coming up as a child and I would hear older people say, "we're in the last days". I thought they were crazy but now I see where they were coming from because they have lived life, seeing the events in the world and how we as a nation is digressing but still taught me how to enjoy life, respect life, respect others. I have seen some bad in our Vox community but I have seen a hellavu lot of good being here as well and it gives me hope that hey, "Life is DARN good." ^_^
I will say this again for the last time…this is a morality issue. One upswing I am seeing is that more people are realizing that people are blaming God less and seeing the world for what it has become. Remember He (God) gave us domain over the earth and Adam and Eve gave it over to Satan. It reminds me what my pastor always says,
As for me I am loading up on as many podcasts…netcasts, listening to more Christian radio and NPR. I'm checking out of the "Conscience" business, I leave this up to the people who are good at telling like it is (RPM, SouldforChrist, Lo, Will St. Soul, Timmy, Schomer and so many others…my hat is off to you ^_^)…I am not good at this at all and to be honest…it's very draining.
Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Paul the Apostle, King Solomon and so many others (Gandi, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Professor Cornell West, Les Brown, Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein) shared so much wisdom on how life is, how people will treat you and what to do when problems come up in our lives. They were not heard then so what make me think people are learning now?
Be Blessed, Be Safe, and treat one another with Respect, Love and Kindness
P.S. I thru in Albert Einstein because he was an voice against racism as well. ^_^
Check out this segment (you can either listen to it or download it and rip it to your mp3 player) of Speaking Of Faith
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