The Virginia Tech massacre is messed up on several levels. Gun laws in America, violence and the media, state sanctioned killing and the authorities role, all in the context of a Liberal Capitalist democratic system of governance.
The 'right to bear arms' has drawbacks 'cos when they're in the hands of people that's when the trouble starts.
Violent films and video games seep into the unconscious mind. Minds that have already been brainwashed into a competition of consumption were not every one is a winner, a system that breeds resentment. Media images of perfection fuel the rejection.
Images of an illegal war are broadcast, there are massacres daily in Iraq. The Virginia Tech shooting now dominates the global news, while at the same time the Americans are dividing up Baghdad into 'zones' to try and bring their unlawful intervention under control, an old Vietnam tactic that failed there. I wonder where the Americans hearts and minds are now? Baghdad or Virginia?
Subjected to a high level of images of state and media violence in a time when the move to a technological society is effecting people psychologically it is no surprise that some snap and take up the tools that are their right and use them to kill the innocent. In a post modern twist Cho Seung-Hui, the 'campus killer' (who the authorities knew was a 'ticking time bomb' about a year ago) took a break after killing 2 people. The authorities used this time to do, not a lot because two hours later Cho Seung-Hui broke the US record for civilians shot in one go by killing another 30. During the break between the shootings Cho Seung-Hui went to the Post Office to post a video he had made in which he acts out his feelings like a character in a movie. The tape went to NBC who subsequently broadcasted it to a global audience. That's entertainment, makes a change from Iraq, where another record was broken in Baghdad; the most civilians killed by a car bomb. From the macro to the micro this is the 'beauty of capitalism' every tool at the disposal of the state is there for the citizen, from weapons to the media. It's just how they are used by the state and the citizen; this is the problem and there are no simple solutions in a messed up world.
Violent films and video games seep into the unconscious mind. Minds that have already been brainwashed into a competition of consumption were not every one is a winner, a system that breeds resentment. Media images of perfection fuel the rejection.
Images of an illegal war are broadcast, there are massacres daily in Iraq. The Virginia Tech shooting now dominates the global news, while at the same time the Americans are dividing up Baghdad into 'zones' to try and bring their unlawful intervention under control, an old Vietnam tactic that failed there. I wonder where the Americans hearts and minds are now? Baghdad or Virginia?
Subjected to a high level of images of state and media violence in a time when the move to a technological society is effecting people psychologically it is no surprise that some snap and take up the tools that are their right and use them to kill the innocent. In a post modern twist Cho Seung-Hui, the 'campus killer' (who the authorities knew was a 'ticking time bomb' about a year ago) took a break after killing 2 people. The authorities used this time to do, not a lot because two hours later Cho Seung-Hui broke the US record for civilians shot in one go by killing another 30. During the break between the shootings Cho Seung-Hui went to the Post Office to post a video he had made in which he acts out his feelings like a character in a movie. The tape went to NBC who subsequently broadcasted it to a global audience. That's entertainment, makes a change from Iraq, where another record was broken in Baghdad; the most civilians killed by a car bomb. From the macro to the micro this is the 'beauty of capitalism' every tool at the disposal of the state is there for the citizen, from weapons to the media. It's just how they are used by the state and the citizen; this is the problem and there are no simple solutions in a messed up world.
1 comment:
Nuzz - f*cking brilliant couple of posts with this one and 'Oil War'. You're really hitting the proverbial nail on the head with the writing at the moment. Keep up the good fight.
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