4.20.2007

Virginia Tech -

Virginia Tech suffered a tragedy this week. Total dead has reached 33. I even remember hearing something about it on the news before the second shooting.

Whatever the case, I thought I would say something in regards to this. Not so much about the shooting itself, or why the kid did it (or maybe I am), but rather I thought I would talk about the coverage of it.

Before I get started, I think it is awful what happened to these people and my condolences go to their friends and families. That said, this will likely be talked about on the news for at least a couple of weeks, in lot's and lot's of detail, I'm sure of it.

Anybody wonder why school shootings seem to be happening more and more? I'll give you my hypothesis. If you look at the scenerio behind these kids who shoot up their schools, they tend to fit the same basic profile. And if a kid is suicidal, why not go out with a real bang? Literally? It's a way to immortalize yourself, if you are the cause of some major tragedy, the whole nation will be talking about nothing but you for weeks.

That was exactly what this kid was thinking. I mean, he mailed a tape to a news station explaining himself, he was suicidal and he didn't want to go quietly. He wanted to be remembered. Immortalized in a way.

I've noticed when any major tragedy happens, the media runs it into the ground, and if you think about it, with these kinds of tragedies, that's exactly what the perpetrator wants us to do. Just dwell on every little detail of it, which makes them that much more famous, even if it is posthumous.

I would suggest, in the future, that if another shooting were to occur, sure, spend the day talking about it. Pay respects toward the dead, give the public the information they NEED to know, and then move on, recapping on certain events as they unfold. But don't spend the next month discussing it. That's exactly what encourages these kids to do something like this. Becuase they know it will get a lot of attention. If we don't give it as much attention, detailing every single detail out, I'm thinking it might help deter some of these mental cases from considering doing something like this.

But that is just a hypothesis.

Again, my thoughts and prayers go to the friends and families of the victims. But there is still other news out there. Like, what is Sanjaya doing now that he finally got the boot off American Idol? We haven't heard enough information about him!

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