Another point of view on Cho, legal prescriptions, love, and more....

Ok, well strap on your seatbelts, because this post is about to go all over the place. I will start with my current point of view on Cho, and the Virginia Tech Massacre. First off let me say that what he did is truly horrible, and there is no excuse good enough for what he said. I have spent much time trying to figure out the question that seems to be on most people's minds, and that question is "Why". First off, if you have not seen the videos he sent to NBC news, you can view them here.
Video #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaBdMiJcl2Y
Video #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7V34jIypAU
Video #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldjVrckeZFg

Ok, so a lot of the videos are really kinda hard to understand, and he seems to be talking very fast and all over the place, which I will use to make a point later, so remember this. Anyways, why would someone do something like this. Well I do agree with some of your points, Teeray, of being kind've an outcast, a minority, in a college setting with lots of stress. However, do you realize how many minorities there are in this country? Seriously the minority has become the majority in this country, and I don't believe race has anything to do with this. I think it lies more in the fact of psychological problems Cho was having. Of course all the things you mentioned, all of the predjudices that you claim Cho had issues with were probably partially there, but they do not explain why. Millions of people struggle with all of the same issues every day, however, they do not go shoot people. However, I have a few theories, which possibly both could be the cause or neither, really more of an opinion. My first theory is that Cho, is possibly a codependent person, or a love addict. Keep in mind his stalker tendecies, and that he seemed to be just trying to latch onto someone. He was looking for something outside of himself, to make him happy, because he was obviously not happy on the inside. This would also explain his need to create the video, to "justify" what he had done with excuses. Addicts are great with justification, it makes it easy to do things one would not normally do, always blaming the system or someone else. Just imagine you are Cho, a lonely introverted college student. For several years you have been looking for someone to connect to, even stalking in some cases, and you just can never connect to anyone. Now, remember all this started with a reported girlfriend that was shot first? This is where all of this ties in. Cho finally began seeing someone, and maybe the girl led him on for awhile, or maybe she didn't, but the point is I believe that Cho thought she liked him. Now imagine being in his shoes, and after looking for this person for so long, he finally believes he has found her. All his problems would seem to fade away, because now he has somewhere else to focus his attention, on the girl. Then, all of a sudden, the girl breaks things off, for whatever reason. For someone like Cho, this would be the equivalent of getting a glimpse of heaven, then shrewdly and abruptly being sucked back down into hell. Ok, so everyone goes through rejection and issues with love, but I believe there is one other factor to consider here. This is the fact that Cho was taking Legally prescribed drugs (although we don't know which ones for sure yet) for his psychological problems. Everyone knows that many times side effects of these drugs can be manic, suicidal, or even homicidal thoughts. Ok remember how I said about the video, he seemed to be in somewhat in a "manic" state. Thats where this comes into play. There is also the possibility that he could have been taking illegal drugs, although there is no evidence to support this yet. For a little discussion on legal drugs and the role they could have played read here. So I believe the "why" in this case is a mixture of psychological problems, addictive personality, as well as possibly legal drugs. Any thoughts anyone?

Hmm actually I have never read any of his stuff. Although I remember my father being a big fan of his. Yes, I am a hippy child. Anyways, maybe I should read some of his stuff. I honestly think I would have fit right in with the hippies of the 60's and 70's though. I am really all about peace and love, and cannot see any reason for any kind of fighting that could not be resolved peacefully. I wish there was some kind of organization, worldwide, that would work on peace and poverty, as they are two biggest problems facing mankind at this point, in my opinion. I think I will read sone Vonnegut though, now that you mentioned it. So much for being labeled as liberal or conservative bloggers now, haha.

Good Questions, Thomas!

Imagine, Thomas C (who is an American citizen).....asking a Canadian (Peacekeeping) gal to comment about the topic of 'War'!

Actually - combination topic - 'War,' 'Terrorism,' and 'Religion.'

How perfectly CURRENT!

Like Thomas, almost everyone is always talking about, gaining an opinion about, changing their opinions about, standing up for their opinions about, and thinking about their opinions on these three topics!

I believe that it's hard to learn from mistakes and that, as Thomas said, "...if you don't then you are destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over."

I'm aware that I'm not in the position to be able to solve the world's problems - but if I was suddenly MADE TO (BTW, I would never ask for the job - it would be an overwhelming burden) FIND A PIECE OF THE SOLUTION that would help resolve global conflicts, counter terrorism, and allow various religions to exist peaceably side-by-side, I would only be able to point out several things for people to think VERY SERIOUSLY about...

Here it is:

Laws are made for individuals (all over the globe) so that each person has a guideline for behaviors and what is lawful - and mostly what is unlawful...

People know that if they cross the line and break the law, THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES.

Individuals understand this. Most individuals remain within bounds of the law.

WHO MAKES THE GOVERNING BODIES, WORLD POLITICAL, TERRORIST, and RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS OR POWERS ADHERE TO THE SAME LAWS?

Is there anybody? Is there any organization? Is there any kind of power at all that can ensure that LAWS ARE MAINTAINED?

If there were - if there is - also then - WHAT WOULD BE THE CONSEQUENCES IF POLITICAL POWERS, TERRORISTS, AND RELIGIOUS POWERS WERE TO BREAK THE LAW?

Even if laws are made and even if a society believes they are living under a certain type of government rule, how can anyone be sure?

America is HOME OF THE FREE, but people are ENSLAVED in several realms of their existence - through jobs, families, races (segregated), status, all kinds of things (and each of these items, an unsolved issue in itself). WHERE IS THE FREEDOM? Where is the 'government elected by the people'? While America is collectively very unhappy with the way their country is run, the officials and authorities in power continue to emerge, effectively refusing and denying the will of the bulk of American population!

Canada has similar issues, a model closely resembling America's government, America's social structures, economy, and almost every other thing important in life.

In all this confusion and despite all the struggle in North America, I think that people need to STOP THINKING ABOUT who is right and who is wrong all the time. Instead, if they focus on just following the laws that are already in place, following the principles set in place within the 'code of conduct' of America and Canada, then perhaps some vast improvements would be made.

If you understand the documents that are the backbones of America and of Canada, you will see that despite a few inconsistencies, the PRINCIPLES outlined in the Constitutions of both America and Canada make SOME COMMON SENSE.

Most things written as the backbone guidelines for how Canada and how America should be governed, how the people should respect each other, how the government should enforce the law - IS MOSTLY COMMON SENSE.

The 'guidelines' have become insignificant, and have been blatantly IGNORED!

Even in this age we live in now - with its technology and scientific advances, I think that 'the guidelines' have intrinsic value, however, if they're not being followed or adhered to, they have no 'utility'! That is - they exist and are GOOD, but they're not being applied well, so the GOOD results they should offer - cannot be realized!