On Public Fixation of the VT Massacre

For the past week or so, I've heard something on the news about the Virginia Tech Massacre every single day. First it was about the massacre itself; What happened and who did it? News about the ongoing investigation followed, and the media, particularly MSNBC, profited from airing the clip of the killer's "hateful tirade." Now the news stations are having discussions and even arguments on the psychology and repercussions of the massacre. Meanwhile in Iraq, more than 46 people were killed and dozens more injured from suicide bombings. CNN covered news of the bombings for about 3 minutes before it returned to news about the Virginia Tech Massacre- this time about the funeral for those killed and how their families were moving on.

Forgive me if I sound crude, but I doubt the mass public cares too much about the sorrow and grief of the families affected by the massacre. And why the press should even try to ask VT students how they feel about returning to school seems ludicrous. Tragedies happen everyday. People die everyday. The public surely feels, to varying degrees, sympathy for the families affected by the massacre. But in truth, the media storm and public fascination with the incident lies in the pure chaos of it. The madness. Cho Seung-Hui took the feelings of sorrow, anger, and angst that many of us feel in our day to day lives and actually acted upon them. He is the manifestation of all of our dark sides, for he committed the ultimate act of revenge which many people only dream about but never have the cajones to carry out. In that respect, he, along with all suicide bombers in the middle east, are martyrs.

Perhaps I am being presumptuous when I say everyone has that dark side to them. I'm sure there are angels out there who have been sheltered their entire lives and have never been wronged in any way who think only innocent and happy thoughts. But for the rest of the masses out there- the frustrated, wronged, and fallen- only a fine line separates between "normalcy" and madness. The minute Cho Seung-Hui stepped across that fine line, the world was hooked. Not really because they feel pity for his victims, but because in a strange a twisted way, people empathize with this killer. Publicly everyone will say what a tragedy this whole event was and how the killer was an evil human being, but deep down inside people are downright fascinated. Press coverage on the funeral of those killed in the massacre and how the lives of VT students go on fall on deaf ears. Courageous soldiers die in combat all the time, and their funerals aren't even mentioned in local news.