accepting the unthinkable
There were many discussions about our nation's gun laws in our home last night. I once considered myself a pacifist but does a pacifist protect oneself and others? Can someone who exercises self defense be a pacifist? We don't like watching violence in television or film though I love the Sopranos. My husband doesn't.
A friend who was here last night working on my computer while CNN and MSNBC blared on the tube is a libertarian of sorts and he said that a similiar situation had been averted at JMU years ago because someone in their library had a gun and shot the gunman before he could kill any more people. Only one person died as a result and JMU is the one campus in Virginia that allows guns on campus. I don't think that is the answer but its an argument that I didn't anticipate.
Mr. dd and I both have a very hard time watching and anticipating violence. We covered our eyes during much of the film Pan's Labrynth because we didn't expect it. (I don't read reviews before I see a film. They usually reveal too much.) Anticipating violence changes everything. Do we need to live our life in a way where we anticipate the unthinkable?
We have a locked gate at the entrance to our property. I know some of our neighbors probably think we aren't very neighborly but we welcome THEM... its the solicitors and the unexpected appearance of crazies or miscreants we discourage! I am one of those southern girls who has deprogrammed myself from opening my door to anyone who shows up at it. That's a lesson I learned the hard way, believe me.
Its pointless to analyze what happened at Virginia Tech until all the evidence is in... but one thing is certain in my mind - classes should have been canceled after the first two murders with the person still at large. One big problem with todays news media is that one rarely hears of disaster averted by those who take extreme precaution. Those are the stories I'd like to hear. The kids that barricaded the doors of their classrooms are the real heroes on that campus.
How do we address the unthinkable? The horror? How does one prepare for such things? I know I can't expect anyone to protect me. I learned that when I was mugged in Barcelona. There were many people around me that could have stopped the mugger I was chasing. No heroes there. No one tried to trip him or block his path. Life ain't like it is in the movies until its too late... and then its a made for TV movie.
Labels: c'est la vie, domesticity
posted by "" at 4/17/2007 10:21:00 AM
6 Comments:
i always think you write great posts, dd. but, this here post surly ranks amongst your best.
foamy... thanks. This week has been intensely quiet. For once we are all listening.
There are those of us who can't bear to witness violence, but apparently we are the minority. Prime time TV is full of it, today's movies are full of it. Guns are portrayed as protection and power, and they are available to anyone.
Virginia Tech's massacre should stun us and touch our hearts, but it shouldn't surprise us.
I guess the thing that bothers me the most is that there were so many warning signals (his teachers aren't surprised and did what they could to draw attention to his state of mind) and still, nothing could be done to prevent this from happening.
nice Goya print.
violence is so ingrained in not just our society, but all societies.
there are atrocties going on all over the world. any well informed American knows our culture is not excluded from violence. Most people don't know it but there is always violence going on in this country, but it never gets reported about unless it happens on a School campus.
Dear A.L. -
I completely agree... as a former resident of NOLA and someone who will be headed there in a few weeks I am very concerned about what I might encounter while there.
Goya's work is so timeless for me because his concerns are my concerns... when I say Pan's Labrynth lately I thought of Goya and the atrocities depicted in Spanish art. The world hasn't changed much since his day. The only real difference is the horror of 24hr news.
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