A Response to Virginia Tech

Today is a day marked by tragedy and death. 31 individuals so far have perished and many more lay in hospital as a gun wielding person opened fire at Virginia Tech University. As I sit here at Mount Allison University preparing for an exam and writing a paper, academics seem so far away.

Death on such a scale is incomprehensible to those who have no experienced it in close proximity and there is no doubt this event will emotionally damage all who experienced it. Tragedy at the hands of humans is a difficult subject to address, as humans intuitively seek guilty parties in these situation. More specifically they seek to place blame on an individual in order to exact some sort of punishment or receive some sort of compensation or retribution.

I cannot sit here and condone actions such as this or the Oklahoma City Bombing, September 11 or the Columbine School Shooting but I do wish to present a idea which is not often covered in these situations. Individually, yes Timothy McVeigh, Dylan Klebold, Eric Harris, Osama Bin Laden et al. must take responsibility for their actions but collectively I believe as a society a degree of collective blame can be shared. Security measures can discourage these type of acts and measure such as stepping up security at airports is a important step but in the end are reactive solutions to the situations in which causes lay deeper than the surface. More police officers and more metal detectors do not address the root of these problems. Disillusioned and depressed youth and the feeling of oppression and adoption of extremist religious paradigms by Muslim groups are solved purely by troops, metal detectors and more police officers but instead can be addressed solution based problem solving.

Tragedies are tragedies and need to be addressed at their root cause. By focusing on the cause of these events, not basing our reactions upon the effect. In the end dehumanizing these individuals is problematic and does not allow for the true effect of this upon society. It allows for the true root cause to be ignored and allows for a moral pass on the situation. The problem is not resolved and shootings, bombings and terrorist attacks continue. Collective responsibility through individual acceptance of the frailty of humanity is key to responding to these tragedies and moving on in the pursuit of the removal of violence and destruction as ways in which to respond to real or perceived persecution. In tragic times, where violence or suffering occurs humanity, empathy and understanding are far more effective than responding with the emotions which caused that tragedy in the first place. My prayers are with the friends and family of those victims of this destructive act.