Something beautiful destroyed

Yesterday i couldnt find words to describe the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech...

Today with the dust settled and more found out about the shooter, i can try to begin to make some sense of it.

Living in India you tend to grow numb about unfair death. Each day you read of terrorist strikes, maoists, insane road accident figures, people lynched, children falling into manholes, over-crowded ferries yada yada.

Let's admit it. Life is cheap in the third world.

It's a stupid thing to say but when award winning professors are shot dead and the brighest minds are killed it is i think its more of a horrible horrible tragedy. Yes, all human life is valuable. But this was the most valuable we, not just american society, but the world had.

As, K puts it, the Americans are perhaps the greatest and dumbest people on earth:

AMERICAN GREATNESS
The one thing all governments on earth should learn from americans is how to create and run universities. You cannot attain a position of global leadership without having respect for academics. American campuses are beautiful places internationally renowned for the quality of education. They pay their professors well and respect them. And they are truly international. Academics and students from all around the world flock to the american university system. The symbolise the best values that humanity believes in.

AMERICAN STUPIDITY
Please see this view on the right to bear arms. I see no difference between this and Islamic fundamentalism. It's a simple repudiation of modernity.

Guns laws in america are what reservation is like in India. Politicans are aware of the immense damage they are doing to society but cannot afford to oppose it for political convenience.

The founding fathers of america we stauchly pro-local governance and individualist. They believed that if every man, woman and child in america was trained in the art of using and keeping guns the country would be a safer place.

According to them, everyone should be armed. So when the man gunmen burst into a classroom, the classroom would whip out their guns and unleash a torrent of gunfire on him.

Like seriously? do you actually want to live in a society where arguments are going to decided on the basis of duels? Like Chandigarh?

After the Democrats were out in the cold for 12 years after passing gun control laws, it has become taboo to discuss it. Democrats now go out of their way to show they are shooting enthusiasts!

God save america!

ON CHO SEUNG HUI

Read his disturbing plays. Frankly, despite the obvious pleas for help, I quite enjoyed the second one.

There are a couple of elements that are very clear about him:
1. frustration at poverty
2. possible sexual abuse
3. his references make him sound like a very intelligent person.
4. He loves violence
5. And lets admit it, being asian, he must have copped some serious shit when he was young.

I wonder what this is going to do for the asian stereotype of good at maths and the violin. I think people should realize that asians are not mild smiley people. They are in fact as much if not more militaristic and as violent as any other human race. Do not forget that other that the anglo-saxon-caucasion (or whatever the white tribe is know as) it was Japan was a major power during the world wars. Today the second biggest army in the world in owned by China. The Koreas are in as tense a situation as India-Pakistan. People picking on asians should remember that.

Seeing a few of my frustrated gamer friends losing their ability to distinguish between reality and the virtual world i initially thought this kid had flipped out a la Leanardo Di Caprio in the Beach and thought he was in a video game. Now, its pretty apart that he's a pyscho who was allowed by the State to arm himself and go beserk.

As a very intelligent person myself (coff coff) i will tell you that if you truly and dispassionately try and analyze the human condition you will first of all, feel very very angry and secondly, possibly want to commit suicide overwhelmed by frustration. We must recognize that the edge Cho went off is very near for a lot of us.

This is the reason why guns must never be easily accesible to people. People must use modern technology to blow off steam. Like write crappy anonymous blogs.

We must fight for beautiful things.

Americans must fight for their right not to be shot by maniacs. I offer them my heart felt condolences and wish them best of luck.