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Virginia Tech Commentary
Posted by cybertoad on 04/19/2007 in commentary | ∞
This will probably be my only commentary on the Virginia Tech tragedy but I wanted to post it. Robert Siegel, an NPR host, gave this two minute commentary that completely hits the mark on an issue that has been on my mind as I have heard and read the enormous amount of articles on the subject. This aired on All Things Considered on April 18th… it really is worth a listen and I hope you find the time to click on the link.
Oh, and of course, my heart goes out to all the families and students affected.
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3 Comments
While being South Korean doesn’t seem to really be relevant in this case, the statement of: “his upbringing, and his problems, were distinctly American.” isn’t completely accurate either. I’m sure your experiences, problems, and upbringing were very different from my own. Nothing wrong with that but culture and heritage do play a part of who we are and our take on life even if we share a common day to day experience as Americans. The fact is any culture is and has produced people capable of committing horrific acts. Nothing distinctly American about it.
Paul – You make a very good point but I am curious, were you able to listen to the full commentary or are your comments based on the quote above?
Yes, I was able to listen to the commentary. It was fine, just trying to make note that this is not something that is indicative of being American but can and does happen in any culture. I’ve read plenty of international press already taking the typical it’s America’s fault attitude. The real fact of it is that for all our faults we’re one of the most generous and compassionate nations in the world. When Iran had their earthquake we gave something along the lines of 10+ million in aid. Can you imagine Iran giving us any type of aid? Not trying to get off topic just making the point that it’s not American culture per say that causes people to go shooting up a school full of innocent people. It’s life experience, mental conditional and I’d guess having somewhat of a predisposition to this sort of violence.