sympathy for the angst ridden

its amazing how fast the media reacts when tragedy strikes. look at the outpour of articles, comments, tabloids revolving around the Va Tech shootings for instance. How so many are expressing their hatred for the Va Tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho. Yet amidst the many who only see the surface of the problem, and whose only wish is to vent all that anger and frustration to a name, to a face ( the shooter), there are a few who are seeking to find the root of the problem, which really is the reason for such angst, the cause of such pain of the man guilty of the shootings. It must have taken such intense hatred to want to kill 33 people, not just ruining their lives but also that of their families in the process, but also to deprive yourself of your dreams, your aspirations and what could have been for you. We are after all, all selfish individuals. which is why the Va Tech shootouts, like many other suicide bombings are so saddening. It evokes grief because it is then that we realise that there are a few amongst us who are so embittered, angered, beyond redemption(?).

Peer pressure, racism, social class exclusivity, these are just some of the possible problems that could have put Seungg-Hui through so much pain. But can we ever know?

i was reading the reports, and I read some of the comments of his ex-lecturers, saying things like how he had always been a violent individual with warped ideas. There, the need to accuse, did anyone ever think what could have given rise to those 'warped" ideas? Of course not, it would be far too inconvenient anyway. Why bother to include the weird one anyway? Im not saying that its okay to go shoot and kill 33 people, but I just think more could have been done to prevent it.

From the legislation of arms to becoming a society who embraces all individuals, even the different ones. That said, I have to concede that there are some weirdos who are obssessed with the idea of seeking revenge for their pain and who are beyond any kind of help. But still, we never know unless we tried.

There is so much to do, but where do we start? I think before we point fingers and accuse, let us start with ourselves. Let us be generous with our support, kind words and motivation. Think of the weird ones in your class, your school, your community(whatever), make an effort to talk to them, reach out- for all you know they may be very different from what they seem. Who knows, you could very well have changed the fate of another embittered individual whose last resort may otherwise mirror that of Seung-Hui.