Victim Blaming

Okay, let's stop this. "Too many guns" didn't cause this. "Not having enough guns" didn't cause this. "Taking God out of the classroom" didn't cause this. "Videogames and violent movies" didn't cause this. You know caused it? A crazy guy who had nothing to lose and wanted leave a mark on society. Simple as that. You could go around blaming things till you're blue in the face, but, at the end of day, there's no else and nothing to blame for his actions.

You see, humans are violent. We've been violent for as long as we've walked the Earth. As Colonel Hunter Gathers from The Venture Bros. said, "Minute God crapped out the third caveman, a conspiracy was hatched against one of them." This isn't something that just popped up one day, this is something we've been dealing with throughout our whole existence. Atrocities are woven in our history. The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition, The Holocaust, 9/11, etc. That's just to name a few. We've had too many instances where a person or group of people have gotten together and said, "you know what will solve all of our problems and/or just make us feel better? Killing a bunch people. That seems logical, right?"

So, if people are naturally violent, how do we solve our crisis? How do we stop this from happening again? Now, I usually like to think of myself as somewhere between an optimist and a realist, but I'll be blunt here, I don't think we can. If someone has the will power and the resources, they'll probably do something like this again.

"What if we take away their guns?"

Unfortunately, that's not a viable option. There are way too many guns floating around at the moment. Plus, even if we were able to do this, they still have ways to kill. One man in Japan went on a rampage in his car, running over pedestrians. And of course, besides that, they could easily make an explosive device.

"What if we forced everyone to carry a gun?"

Well, this too is not a solution. Seriously, think about it for a second. Arming EVERYONE. Now tell me, have you ever come across someone who honestly has no business operating, let's say, a spoon? I have. Imagine them with a gun.

"What if we just armed the teachers?"

Again, same as above. I don't doubt that a majority of the teachers would be responsible, but I've had some that wouldn't make me feel safe if I knew they were packing heat. All it would take is a student to push them to far or for someone to steal the gun. Too many variables.

"Should we ban violent videogames and movies?"

No. There hasn't been solid link between violent media and violence in real life. Some say that it desensitizes us to the cruelties of the world, but if that were true, would we have had such a strong reaction to this most recent shooting? You see, they're like a catharsis. They give us a safe environment in which we can feel emotions they we couldn't in real without some jail time (you know, since stabbing people and chopping off their arms and legs in a videogame isn't illegal) We know it's fake and that's why we love it! Again, it's nothing new. Look at the stories the Greeks told. Violent as hell.

Look, I don't claim to have the answers. I don't who does. Maybe you agree with me on my points and maybe you don't. I just think this kind of knee jerk response to what happened is uncalled for. It feels a little like victim blaming, saying if they had done this or that that perhaps this all could've been prevented. To you, I say SHUT THE FUCK UP! Unfortunately, this is the way things unfolded, no matter how much we want to change the past or say, "if I was there, I'd have shown that guy." No, you wouldn't have. He had the element of surprise. Things, I'm sure, unfolded at lightning fast speeds and we humans aren't capable of dealing with it. As proof, here's footage from the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Bombing:

Did you notice something? Everyone in that crowd had Deer in headlights effect. No one ran away immediately. They just stood there, baffled by what just happened. Every animal does it. Something out of the norm happens and you need a little time to process it. For some, that time is faster than others, but it's still there. Putting yourself or trying to hypothetically change a situation that's already happened is futile. All you end up doing is making you self look like a cold hearted bastard while desecrating the memory of the fallen, implying they didn't do as much to survive as you would have or if the circumstances had somehow been different.

I think the point I'm trying to make is we all need a little time. More time than a day or two. We're all on edge and all of this is just a natural reaction to what happened. Even this post is reaction to all of it. What we need to do is not dwell on this. Mourn the victims. Forget the killer. Come together as a nation, no, as a species. Forget our differences and remember the things that unite us all.

Till Next Time, Space Monkeys.