Again, Northern Illinois University.
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They just reported that 4 students died and 22 were shot. Unbelievable.
What on earth is wrong with us?????
My heart aches for all who are touched by another horrific and senseless act.
What on earth is wrong with us?????
My heart aches for all who are touched by another horrific and senseless act.
Why in the world are so many colleges having random mad men shoot up the schools?!?!?! Many of those crazies don't even go to school there! This is so horrible, what is going on that could make someone even think about doing such a thing?!?!?!?!
Now another student died---4 girls and 1 boy, including the teacher's assistant....The report is that 4 died at the scene, one in the hospital.
A nightmare.
May they rest in peace.
A nightmare.
May they rest in peace.
My prayers go out to the people and their families who were the victims in this senseless tragedy. Godspeed to the recovery of those who were injured and made it out without losing their lives.
Absolutely heart wrenching. My prayers for the students, families and friends.
It is so distreesing to me to try and get a a handle on this senseless killing that is happening in our country. what is going wrong with people to be killing other people like this .You send your child off to college and they get killed by some random person., I cant imagine the parents receiving those phone calls. I will lay in bed tonight and pray continuously for these families and hope we find some way to keep these young people safer .it just is breaking my heart to keep hearing this over and over.
Condolences to the families of the deceased. God bless those innocent young men and women whose lives were taken. Prayers and more prayer for those recovering and the students who witnessed this senseless, sickening act.
My son is a junior at NIU. I was fortunate to only have to wait about 15 terrifying minutes to hear he was safe.
I can't imagine the desperation of the thousands of friends and family who were wondering for hours if their loved ones were ok.
Can't begin to imagine the sorrow and anger felt by those whose loved ones were victims of this tragedy.
Why????
My son is a junior at NIU. I was fortunate to only have to wait about 15 terrifying minutes to hear he was safe.
I can't imagine the desperation of the thousands of friends and family who were wondering for hours if their loved ones were ok.
Can't begin to imagine the sorrow and anger felt by those whose loved ones were victims of this tragedy.
Why????
The tragedy of random violent deaths to young people shocks and saddens all of us.
During the early 1980s MADD took on their equally unacceptable issue, with significant success.
See the bottom of this link.
One statistic that also sticks out here is that states with the most severe restrictions of alcohol sales, demonstrate the lowest percentage of drunk driving fatalities. (UT, KY, ID) hmmmmm
Wait ! Wait! Wait ! Wait! Wait ! Wait! Wait ! Wait!
This is not a ban-all-handgun proposition!
No, America is not the most gun violent country in the world.
Yes, the vast majority of gun violence is done by convicted criminals.
I simply suggest must be legislative ways, somewhere this side of the second amendment, that can help reduce this increasing pattern of tragic, random multi-victim violence.
During the early 1980s MADD took on their equally unacceptable issue, with significant success.
See the bottom of this link.
One statistic that also sticks out here is that states with the most severe restrictions of alcohol sales, demonstrate the lowest percentage of drunk driving fatalities. (UT, KY, ID) hmmmmm
Wait ! Wait! Wait ! Wait! Wait ! Wait! Wait ! Wait!
This is not a ban-all-handgun proposition!
No, America is not the most gun violent country in the world.
Yes, the vast majority of gun violence is done by convicted criminals.
I simply suggest must be legislative ways, somewhere this side of the second amendment, that can help reduce this increasing pattern of tragic, random multi-victim violence.
maybe we should make the swift kick in the backside by parents acceptable again?
prayers go out to those affected by this nightmare.
prayers go out to those affected by this nightmare.
Denis, I'm glad to hear your son is alright.
In all of this, I ask that we all do what we can to remember those who've died and those left behind. The media is going to pick the killer apart and say that something like his puppy being run over when he was 4 led him to do this, but those whose lives have been lost will be forgotten by the media. We here are not guilty of that, but we can not let that happen.
One of those killed was an alum of the high school I worked at last year. It is very hard for me personally to know that the kids and teachers that I worked with, spent a lot of time with, and care about are hurting right now. The head coach I worked under last year was not just connected to that young man, but also to the T.A., as she was also a former student of his and spent time in his classes when she was home while she was in the military.
My point being that what I've heard about both of these people over the last two days is simply amazing. Two of the most selfless people I've heard of. Please focus on how great of people they were and take that with us as we all move forward. We can't let the good that those lost did in their lives be forgotten. Even if the media is going to forget them, as a society we need to remember the good of those lost and do what we can to keep it going.
In all of this, I ask that we all do what we can to remember those who've died and those left behind. The media is going to pick the killer apart and say that something like his puppy being run over when he was 4 led him to do this, but those whose lives have been lost will be forgotten by the media. We here are not guilty of that, but we can not let that happen.
One of those killed was an alum of the high school I worked at last year. It is very hard for me personally to know that the kids and teachers that I worked with, spent a lot of time with, and care about are hurting right now. The head coach I worked under last year was not just connected to that young man, but also to the T.A., as she was also a former student of his and spent time in his classes when she was home while she was in the military.
My point being that what I've heard about both of these people over the last two days is simply amazing. Two of the most selfless people I've heard of. Please focus on how great of people they were and take that with us as we all move forward. We can't let the good that those lost did in their lives be forgotten. Even if the media is going to forget them, as a society we need to remember the good of those lost and do what we can to keep it going.
As a parent the thought never crossed my mind that I could be sending my son or daughter off to college and something like this could occur or anything to harm them for that matter. Too much bad stuff happening on college campus' these days, I always looked at college as the "safe place".
Just a sad world we live in.
Just a sad world we live in.
I just heard about this, how tragic! MY thoughts and prayers go out to the families.
Well said CC!
Well said CC!
This is a complex issue and there are no easy answers...but for goodness sake lets not blame an inanimate object like guns which in doing so absolves the individual of personal responsibility for their actions.
I believe we are beginning to see the confluence of a triad of contributing factors beginning with permissiveness where absolutes of moral right-and-wrong are viewed as "bigotry" against an individual for their behavior & lifestyle selection. Then the melding of imagery and music being promoted by Hollywood and the Music Industry, which has such great sway and influence over the morays of our young people and how they relate to adversity. Finally the gaming experiences that our son's and daughters are being provided as part of the culture that is desensitizing them to the interrelationship between humanity and spiritual piety.
I fear for the worse as we see that the incidence of destructiveness is increasing as we continue to allow our society to become more secularized in its approach to solving human aberant behavior.
One can only have empathy for the parents of the victims of this horrific event. But we cannot absove ourselves from sharing in the responsibility for the continual conditions we are allowing to fester in our schools as Liberal ideology is been taught at the expense of sound moral absolutes dealing with whats right and whats wrong.
JMO
I believe we are beginning to see the confluence of a triad of contributing factors beginning with permissiveness where absolutes of moral right-and-wrong are viewed as "bigotry" against an individual for their behavior & lifestyle selection. Then the melding of imagery and music being promoted by Hollywood and the Music Industry, which has such great sway and influence over the morays of our young people and how they relate to adversity. Finally the gaming experiences that our son's and daughters are being provided as part of the culture that is desensitizing them to the interrelationship between humanity and spiritual piety.
I fear for the worse as we see that the incidence of destructiveness is increasing as we continue to allow our society to become more secularized in its approach to solving human aberant behavior.
One can only have empathy for the parents of the victims of this horrific event. But we cannot absove ourselves from sharing in the responsibility for the continual conditions we are allowing to fester in our schools as Liberal ideology is been taught at the expense of sound moral absolutes dealing with whats right and whats wrong.
JMO
LLorton, that might be the most intelligent post I've seen on this site...non-baseball related.
I'm tired of hearing, "he was a nice quiet young man" and "we never saw any indication this would happen."
People need to start paying attention to what's going on with the loved ones in their lives and start drawing some lines.
I'm tired of hearing, "he was a nice quiet young man" and "we never saw any indication this would happen."
People need to start paying attention to what's going on with the loved ones in their lives and start drawing some lines.
The problem is that we are all born selfish. On top of that, because we are selfish, some parents don't give their kids positive attention and treat them like dirt, and don't provide for them a safe and emotional supportive environment. Bullies at school(and teachers and teachers/principals who don't try to stop the bullying) can also have the same effect. As a result you have some kid who goes out and about with no sense of meaning in purpose, who feels the world is against him/her, and they are correct to think this, cause most people are too selfish, especially in North America, and only look out for themselves.
Or parents will not give their kids much attention at all; neglection is just as painful as rejection. As a result, you have some kid going out and about with a big empty whole in his soul, who also feels rejected and that the world is against him/her.
Combine that with the fact that we were originally designed to serve each other with our hearts through our actions. So when your heart is full of bitterness and meaninglessness and hatred because of the way you were mistreated/untreated your whole life, OF COURSE you're going to go out and kill someone!...or beat your spouse/children, commit suicide, do tons of drugs. It's kind of hard not too when you have had so many burdens put on you and you can't deal with them all. We were neither born to be treated that way, made to treat that way, nor created to deal with the injustices that happen to us.
It's not like someone woke up one day and thought "what the heck, I'll just kill someone today." People have reasons for doing these things, and they usually stem from their development where they were not given the love and support that we were meant to receive. Here's a solution: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbour.
Or parents will not give their kids much attention at all; neglection is just as painful as rejection. As a result, you have some kid going out and about with a big empty whole in his soul, who also feels rejected and that the world is against him/her.
Combine that with the fact that we were originally designed to serve each other with our hearts through our actions. So when your heart is full of bitterness and meaninglessness and hatred because of the way you were mistreated/untreated your whole life, OF COURSE you're going to go out and kill someone!...or beat your spouse/children, commit suicide, do tons of drugs. It's kind of hard not too when you have had so many burdens put on you and you can't deal with them all. We were neither born to be treated that way, made to treat that way, nor created to deal with the injustices that happen to us.
It's not like someone woke up one day and thought "what the heck, I'll just kill someone today." People have reasons for doing these things, and they usually stem from their development where they were not given the love and support that we were meant to receive. Here's a solution: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbour.
gotwood4sale said: Location:San Francisco...wow!
Born and raised here and I believe I'm the last living Christian here. All others have succumbed to the hoard of flesh eating barbarians. LOL
JMO
Born and raised here and I believe I'm the last living Christian here. All others have succumbed to the hoard of flesh eating barbarians. LOL
JMO
Teluog: I have tears in my eyes as I read what you wrote. You are absolutely right--but I will say that neglect IS rejection. My heart is aching not only for the parents of the victims and the witnesses, but for ALL of us who have children in college---and in high school---and in junior high/middle school--and for all of us who know any children-----and for all of us who shop and go to the post office and to the courthouse. And who just happen to be driving down the wrong street at the wrong time or sitting on the wrong end of the couch inside your home when a shot will ring out. We aren't safe anywhere.
What LLorton said is brilliant.
I have a 12 year old daughter who just doesn't understand why we won't let her watch R rated movies at her friend's house (or ANYWHERE, for that matter)---because, after all, her friend is allowed to watch them.....She apparently likes "horror" movies...or her friend TELLS her that she will like them.....and her father and I tell her that there is enough "horror" in this world that she doesn't need to spend her precious free time watching manufactured horror. We've told her that life really isn't like the video games that one of her older brothers likes to play....the killing is for real. Not just to get to another level or to beat the game. Game over forever.
I don't know how to make my children understand that just because something is on tv, or you can buy something to listen to or pay money to watch on a movie screen, or play on a game system, and that everyone that you know is doing so, it doesn't mean that it is acceptable or appropriate or that you should. We do need to "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbour." And pray like crazy.
What LLorton said is brilliant.
quote:I believe we are beginning to see the confluence of a triad of contributing factors beginning with permissiveness where absolutes of moral right-and-wrong are viewed as "bigotry" against an individual for their behavior & lifestyle selection. Then the melding of imagery and music being promoted by Hollywood and the Music Industry, which has such great sway and influence over the morays of our young people and how they relate to adversity. Finally the gaming experiences that our son's and daughters are being provided as part of the culture that is desensitizing them to the interrelationship between humanity and spiritual piety.
I have a 12 year old daughter who just doesn't understand why we won't let her watch R rated movies at her friend's house (or ANYWHERE, for that matter)---because, after all, her friend is allowed to watch them.....She apparently likes "horror" movies...or her friend TELLS her that she will like them.....and her father and I tell her that there is enough "horror" in this world that she doesn't need to spend her precious free time watching manufactured horror. We've told her that life really isn't like the video games that one of her older brothers likes to play....the killing is for real. Not just to get to another level or to beat the game. Game over forever.
I don't know how to make my children understand that just because something is on tv, or you can buy something to listen to or pay money to watch on a movie screen, or play on a game system, and that everyone that you know is doing so, it doesn't mean that it is acceptable or appropriate or that you should. We do need to "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbour." And pray like crazy.
I am bummed......NIU is my alma mater.....I had many classes in Cole Hall, the location of the shooting...my prayers go out to all......it appears they learned lessons from VA Tech....1st officer on scene within 4 minutes.........not sure how much more could have been done on site...................
It makes you wonder if there was no media coverage of incidents like this if they would stop? I know this is never going to happen. It seems to me that alot of this stuff is done to gain attention. What would happen if that was taken away from these troubled folks?
You sit there and you wonder what in the world is going through someones mind to do something like this? I certainly dont know what the answer is all I know is it makes you sick to your stomach everytime it happens.
You sit there and you wonder what in the world is going through someones mind to do something like this? I certainly dont know what the answer is all I know is it makes you sick to your stomach everytime it happens.
Coach May has got it. Our media needs to take responsibility for what they are giving us. Entertainment media can do a much better job of giving us good, quality, moral entertainment. When was the last time you saw a major motion picture that was rated G? The Lion King back in 1993? Our news media needs to report on the positives of the world. Why have all we heard about is the shooter at NIU? Please tell us more about the victims and the good they did in this world and how they affected people positively. I wish I knew more about any of the victims to spread some good. We need good guys in the world. You know, those people that little kids look up to and want to be like....Oh, yeah, that's Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsey Lohan...Thanks again media.
so, if its :
How many among us actually vote against "what they are giving us" with our pocketbook$? at Blockbuster and Netflix.
Or at multi-plex down at the mall? Is the avenging John Rambo really a hero?
For many impressionable minds, that basic cinematic premise represents a real life alternative to personal problems. Plenty of automatic weapons, lots of high-caliber rounds..... you win, you gain respect and right all perceived wrongs.
As most shooters, the young man at NIU had clear pre-existing problems, but the random, mass-revenge "solution" is byproduct of post WWII american gun culture.
For a sane middle-age man, Lethal Weapon is just an action film. For a 13-14-15-year old (etc), research indicates its often something very different.
CHILDHOOD EXPOSURE TO MEDIA VIOLENCE PREDICTS YOUNG ADULT AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, ACCORDING TO 15-YEAR STUDY
Does Movie Violence Increase Violent Crime?
quote:Our media needs to take responsibility for what they are giving us.
How many among us actually vote against "what they are giving us" with our pocketbook$? at Blockbuster and Netflix.
Or at multi-plex down at the mall? Is the avenging John Rambo really a hero?
For many impressionable minds, that basic cinematic premise represents a real life alternative to personal problems. Plenty of automatic weapons, lots of high-caliber rounds..... you win, you gain respect and right all perceived wrongs.
As most shooters, the young man at NIU had clear pre-existing problems, but the random, mass-revenge "solution" is byproduct of post WWII american gun culture.
For a sane middle-age man, Lethal Weapon is just an action film. For a 13-14-15-year old (etc), research indicates its often something very different.
CHILDHOOD EXPOSURE TO MEDIA VIOLENCE PREDICTS YOUNG ADULT AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, ACCORDING TO 15-YEAR STUDY
Does Movie Violence Increase Violent Crime?
how tragic & very sad, prayers to all those affected
btw - Rambo is fiction (pretend) & he only kills bad guys who are -
a) just pretending to be bad guys
b) just pretending to be dead
btw II - horror movies are also pretend
a) tho not appropriate for kids, most teenagers do (or should) understand "pretend"
btw III - 3 Stooges & Roadrunner would destroy Rambo & Chuckie in a WWF tag team match-up
btw - Rambo is fiction (pretend) & he only kills bad guys who are -
a) just pretending to be bad guys
b) just pretending to be dead
btw II - horror movies are also pretend
a) tho not appropriate for kids, most teenagers do (or should) understand "pretend"
btw III - 3 Stooges & Roadrunner would destroy Rambo & Chuckie in a WWF tag team match-up
Most teens "should" understand. But alot of them don't.
The lines are blurred by what they see on TV--not only on cable but regular broadcast shows, by the music they listen to--the rap "songs"-- kill cops, "blank" the whxrxs, and just in general total disregard for human life....(What ever happened to "I Want to Hold Her Hand"??? How risque was THAT????....) The lines are blurred much further by the video games---Beat the level by shooting, hitting, and killing your target.....Wait Mom, I just gotta beat this level....one more kill.
Although I am of the "Age of Aquarius"--with the beginnings of the disrespect and trusting no one over 30
WE at least knew what we were doing or rebelling against. We had a standard of comparison--the sugary "Brady Bunch" and "Leave It To Beaver". This current generation of kids doesn't have much to compare these shows to---sarcasm is rampant-- and grew up in an era a disrespecting everyone---"Malcolm in the Middle", for example... I LOVE "The Simpsons", but there's Bart and Homer...totally sarcastic and disrespectful.... Cartoons for these kids, once they outgrow Sesame Street, pretty much becomes "The Family Guy" and "South Park". Sure it's animated, but here the lines are blurred---animated family situations....bizarre as they are.
Our kids grew up in a world with drive by-shootings, GRADE school shootings (Laurie Dann, Winnetka IL, 1988), and car- jackings. Metal detectors before boarding airplanes and upon entering certain schools. Priests and teachers and coaches messing with kids. Parents killing their babies. And all emblazoned on the news--both network and cable news, over and over and over and over.......And did I mention tattoos and piercings?
I'm not so sure that I can differentiate between "fantasy" and "reality". Pretty much "reality" can be a nightmare.
The lines are blurred by what they see on TV--not only on cable but regular broadcast shows, by the music they listen to--the rap "songs"-- kill cops, "blank" the whxrxs, and just in general total disregard for human life....(What ever happened to "I Want to Hold Her Hand"??? How risque was THAT????....) The lines are blurred much further by the video games---Beat the level by shooting, hitting, and killing your target.....Wait Mom, I just gotta beat this level....one more kill.
Although I am of the "Age of Aquarius"--with the beginnings of the disrespect and trusting no one over 30
WE at least knew what we were doing or rebelling against. We had a standard of comparison--the sugary "Brady Bunch" and "Leave It To Beaver". This current generation of kids doesn't have much to compare these shows to---sarcasm is rampant-- and grew up in an era a disrespecting everyone---"Malcolm in the Middle", for example... I LOVE "The Simpsons", but there's Bart and Homer...totally sarcastic and disrespectful.... Cartoons for these kids, once they outgrow Sesame Street, pretty much becomes "The Family Guy" and "South Park". Sure it's animated, but here the lines are blurred---animated family situations....bizarre as they are.Our kids grew up in a world with drive by-shootings, GRADE school shootings (Laurie Dann, Winnetka IL, 1988), and car- jackings. Metal detectors before boarding airplanes and upon entering certain schools. Priests and teachers and coaches messing with kids. Parents killing their babies. And all emblazoned on the news--both network and cable news, over and over and over and over.......And did I mention tattoos and piercings?
I'm not so sure that I can differentiate between "fantasy" and "reality". Pretty much "reality" can be a nightmare.
many of the young people who are killing like this are mentally ill. Unfortunately illness often does not manifest until late teens early twenties. In the case of the NYC killing the weapon of choice was a knife, but the young man was off his medication.
I do not have a solution, but seems to me blaming an inanimate object is just as fruitless in solving the problem as blaming the "secularization" of society. This is a complex problem driven by many factors.
I'm a liberal Democrat who is often the strictest mom in the neighborhood. (I also homeschooled so I really break a lot of molds!)
Christ says how we treat the "least" of us is how we treat Him. It is a very difficult directive, but I feel our wonderful country and great people can do better in this area.
Just my opinion friends.
I do not have a solution, but seems to me blaming an inanimate object is just as fruitless in solving the problem as blaming the "secularization" of society. This is a complex problem driven by many factors.
I'm a liberal Democrat who is often the strictest mom in the neighborhood. (I also homeschooled so I really break a lot of molds!)
Christ says how we treat the "least" of us is how we treat Him. It is a very difficult directive, but I feel our wonderful country and great people can do better in this area. Just my opinion friends.
i'm not sure how we became a medicated society? but i do know you can't just stop taking them,the brain becomes imbalanced etc.
playbaseball
i agree with your thinking. different era.wouldn't want to be a kid today.
playbaseball
i agree with your thinking. different era.wouldn't want to be a kid today.
There is no doubt that the media has a tremendous influence on society. Lokk at your elections. They create the persona you use to cast your vote. You know hwt they tell y7ou and you create an image in your mind. Media also deose an amazing job to uncover things that you would never find out otherwise.
I think it is our laws that are a mojor problem. All of thyese people whp perpetrate these hirric events all ahve a history of mental illness and the laws should be changed to keep these people from harming themselves as well as others. How you do this without infringing on human rights I am not sure.
I think it is our laws that are a mojor problem. All of thyese people whp perpetrate these hirric events all ahve a history of mental illness and the laws should be changed to keep these people from harming themselves as well as others. How you do this without infringing on human rights I am not sure.
I love the points that play baseball made in the above post. The amount of disrespect our children see on the tv and in the movies these days has done us all a great disservice. I remember when mine was young enough to still watch Nickelodean, I censored the shows he was allowed to see and one of them was about a young girl who was always making her parents look like dunces ... totally wrong message for our househould. And other shows were just not watched (e.g., Simpsons, Married with Children, etc) because I believe they send the wrong message about how best for families to interact. (And, yes, I know that that is very judgemental on my part, but I base my thinking and based my parenting on my spiritual and religious beliefs.)
As for the killings at NIU, I don't know what medication this young man was taking nor do I know what his alleged mental illness was, but being one who suffers from clinical depression and takes 2medications for that (not to mention the plethora of lung meds as well
), I know that if I were to stop taking my anti-depressants, even if gradually cutting back, I would be in a sorry state mentally. For those of us who need the medication to balance our chemicals, they are crucial for a stable life.
I think, too (caution: personal belief statement coming up) that there is evil in the world that many of us fail to recognize, and although I don't necessarily feel that the NIU killer was evil (like I believe the Virginia Tech killer was (pure) evil), nevertheless I honestly believe that the evil that exists in the world takes advantage of the unstable minds out there and causes these horrors in our world.
Praying for the day when we don't have to witness this kind of horror story ...
As for the killings at NIU, I don't know what medication this young man was taking nor do I know what his alleged mental illness was, but being one who suffers from clinical depression and takes 2medications for that (not to mention the plethora of lung meds as well
I think, too (caution: personal belief statement coming up) that there is evil in the world that many of us fail to recognize, and although I don't necessarily feel that the NIU killer was evil (like I believe the Virginia Tech killer was (pure) evil), nevertheless I honestly believe that the evil that exists in the world takes advantage of the unstable minds out there and causes these horrors in our world.
Praying for the day when we don't have to witness this kind of horror story ...
What happened is terrible for the families and the University --- I hate to say this but this is a great boost for some in the media. They thrive on this. The Media has to bear a huge portion of the burden for the way society acts. The majority of our actions are controlled by our thoughts and our opinions and those are heavily influenced by what we see and what we hear.
The media is not three networks and a local paper reporting the news or a movie theater here and there --- most showing the same movies anymore. The media and information in general is everywhere we look and has become a VERY competitive business. What can Fox say to pull viewer away from CNN? They need to make it exciting! Even Jim Cantore cannot JUST tell you the winds are blowing 50 mph and it’s raining cats and dogs. He has to sensationalize the weather by hanging on to a flag pole dodging the flying debris and looking like a suntanned idiot. Who can reveal the most cleavage and show the most descriptive video of a dead body to keep viewers glued to “their” channel? I get frustrated watching the news. I click over to the “reality” shows. Ahh the “real" world! They appear lost on a desert Island with nothing but a few worms to eat. --- but common sense will tell you they have 3 makeup artist, 6 camera men, directors, girl and boy friends (I find out later that some have both), two helicopters and a cabin cruiser to relax on while not filming. ---- Now they have gone a step farther and claimed their show is not just a reality show --- this is “actuality”.
Bloggers are the first to report the “news” even before the facts have been corroborated. We get inundated with emails from friends stating misinformation about what’s in milk, and peanut butter or clogged in your dryer vents. Politics? Well I just watched a segment on the impact You Tube has had on the candidates and the political process --- Of course the reporter had to re-play them all again so you could get the full effect. I agree the world is changing but not nearly as much as we are led to believe --however in leading us to believe we are going to hell in a handbasket they substantially affect the rate of change. Instead of becoming better informed, we become more vulnerable.
It is a very complex problem.
Fungo
The media is not three networks and a local paper reporting the news or a movie theater here and there --- most showing the same movies anymore. The media and information in general is everywhere we look and has become a VERY competitive business. What can Fox say to pull viewer away from CNN? They need to make it exciting! Even Jim Cantore cannot JUST tell you the winds are blowing 50 mph and it’s raining cats and dogs. He has to sensationalize the weather by hanging on to a flag pole dodging the flying debris and looking like a suntanned idiot. Who can reveal the most cleavage and show the most descriptive video of a dead body to keep viewers glued to “their” channel? I get frustrated watching the news. I click over to the “reality” shows. Ahh the “real" world! They appear lost on a desert Island with nothing but a few worms to eat. --- but common sense will tell you they have 3 makeup artist, 6 camera men, directors, girl and boy friends (I find out later that some have both), two helicopters and a cabin cruiser to relax on while not filming. ---- Now they have gone a step farther and claimed their show is not just a reality show --- this is “actuality”.
Bloggers are the first to report the “news” even before the facts have been corroborated. We get inundated with emails from friends stating misinformation about what’s in milk, and peanut butter or clogged in your dryer vents. Politics? Well I just watched a segment on the impact You Tube has had on the candidates and the political process --- Of course the reporter had to re-play them all again so you could get the full effect. I agree the world is changing but not nearly as much as we are led to believe --however in leading us to believe we are going to hell in a handbasket they substantially affect the rate of change. Instead of becoming better informed, we become more vulnerable.
It is a very complex problem.
Fungo
yikes, perhaps today's youth deserve a bit more credit.quote:by PBall: Most teens "should" understand. But alot of them don't ... The lines are blurred by what they see on TV ... Our kids grew up in a world with drive by-shootings ... GRADE school shootings ... car- jackings.. . Metal detectors (etc,etc)
not sure how the trauma of some car-jackings & metal detectors compares with our elementary school A-bomb drills & practice kissing our azz(s) goodbye.
today, the kids in our neighborhood are too busy at a ballfield, basketball court, YMCA, swimming hole, or ice-cream stand to care much about "media coverage"
imo, one thing for sure is that anyone with mental issues should have major restrictions placed on their activities whether on meds or not
btw - the WWII GIs helped the tatoo thing along
btwII - what were we rebelling against??
When I grew up my favouite shows were war and cowboy movies. Lot so shooting and violence I can't recall wanting to kill anyone. I think that there are people that are prone to mental illnes and music and video can affect their tought process.
This is about mental illness. Guns don't kill people, people do. We need better scrutiny of those who shwo violent tenancies not restricting what normal law abiding people watch and do for enetertainment.
I agree with BEE>. Our kids deserve a lot of credit.
This is about mental illness. Guns don't kill people, people do. We need better scrutiny of those who shwo violent tenancies not restricting what normal law abiding people watch and do for enetertainment.
I agree with BEE>. Our kids deserve a lot of credit.
I find it interesting that society allows a mentally ill person who has shown violent tendancies to be the care taker of taking his medication.
quote:Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
I find it interesting that society allows a mentally ill person who has shown violent tendancies to be the care taker of taking his medication.
And the alternative is ... ??? (Yes, I realize my question opens a new can of worms ...)
(Note: I was not aware that the NIU killer had shown violent tendancies, but thought I had read the opposite about him.)
I read the young man was "engaging, motivated, responsuible." A B high school student, an NIU gradutate, did data entry for research grants on mental health clinisc, and had "a very good academic record, no record of trouble", a recipeint of scholatic awards and served as an officer in student groups promoting the understanding of the criminal justice system. He was a graduate student in the school of social work at UI-Champaign. HOW DO YOU KNOW?? His guns were purchased legally as he carried a police-issue firearms ID card. HOW CAN WE STOP THIS?? WHere do we place the blame for the killings of a middle-class "normal" family member?
Thanks for clarifying the profile of the man, puma ...
My understanding is that he was a great guy but had changed. He was a grad student but was not enrolled at NIU.
It is a problem and as 55mom said they change often occurs later in life. I have seen normal intelligent people become mentally ill but there are always signs before something like this happens.
It is near impossible to control this but there has to be a way.
It is a problem and as 55mom said they change often occurs later in life. I have seen normal intelligent people become mentally ill but there are always signs before something like this happens.
It is near impossible to control this but there has to be a way.
I was going to start this thread giving my opinion about what is wrong with society which causes these things. I'm not going to do that because it's not the time for it. The time is for the victims. The people who woke up one morning and had no idea what was in store for them.
What could they have done with their life? What kind of influence could have had with others? I do not know any of these people and have never met them or anyone related to them, knew them or connected to them.
I still think they can make a difference.
DANIEL PARMENTER
Daniel "Danny" Parmenter was the kind of person who was always helping others out. He was always offering people rides to class, helping friends with homework or doing community service, said Pi Kappa Alpha chapter president Jason Garcia.
The 20-year-old sophomore from Westchester was studying finance at NIU, and sold ads for the campus newspaper. The paper's adviser, Maria Krull, described him as a "gentle giant."
The last time she saw him, he was stretched out on "an old beat-up couch" in the newspaper's offices. She teased him about having his feet on the furniture. "I said, 'Danny, you know better than that.'"
"The thing about Danny was, if he was in the office and I needed something done, I just had to mention it to him and he would do it," Krull said. "I knew I didn't have to worry."
___
CATALINA GARCIA
The youngest of four siblings in a family from Guadalajara, Mexico, Catalina Garcia's family settled in suburban Cicero, west of Chicago.
The 20-year-old wanted to become a teacher, something her family admired.
"She was adored by our family because she wanted to become somebody in life — that's what she was going to school," her father, Jacinto Garcia, told Spanish-language radio station WOJO-FM, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
She was a 2006 graduate of Morton East High School, where she belonged to the Yearbook Club and a campus dance group. She was shy, very bright and a good student, recalled Michael Parrie, her chemistry teacher junior year.
"She always had a smile on her face, such a positive attitude and outlook on life. It was contagious," Parrie said.
___
RYANNE MACE
Just before Valentine's Day, Ryanne Mace posted a note for her friends on her MySpace page: "Happy Valentine's Day Everybody! ... Saying you love someone is not enough, it's how you treat them that shows your true feelings."
The 19-year-old sophomore from Carpentersville was studying psychology at the university.
Her mother, Mary Kay Mace, said she and her husband named their only child Ryanne, and pronounced it like the boy's name Ryan, because "we thought we were having a boy."
"She was beautiful and brilliant and caring," Mace said of her daughter. "She wanted to start a career helping people. She was in psychology to become a counselor. She was our only child, the light of our lives."
___
JULIANNA GEHANT
Julianna Gehant wasn't a certified teacher yet, but already she had people who couldn't wait to see her become one.
The 32-year-old from Meriden came to Northern Illinois University after a stint in the U.S. Army, where she taught construction. She wanted to teach elementary school.
She kept in touch with her teachers at her high school, Mendota Township High. Retired drama teacher Dave Schroeder remembered her an openhearted young woman with a keen sense of humor and warm laugh. In her 2007 Christmas card, she wrote, "I have four more semesters until I'm qualified to teach second graders."
"I told her I wanted to be one of the first ones to give her a recommendation" for the job, he said. "It's just a terrible loss," Schroeder said.
Her Army record shows she was deployed to Kosovo in 1998 and left active duty in March 2007. She entered the military in July 1993.
___
GAYLE DUBOWSKI
Dubowski, 20, of Carol Stream, was a sophomore at NIU. "She was a good person with a big heart," said a friend, Kelly Cavanaugh, who met her at the DeKalb Church of Christ.
Dubowski graduated from Glenbard North High School in 2006 where she sang in the choir, said Principal John Mensik. Teachers were in tears Friday morning when they heard the news, Mensik said.
"She worked as a teacher's aide for some of the teachers," the principal said. "She was a very positive student. ... She touched people."
Amanda Kent, 21, a fellow NIU student, said she was in Dubowski's second year Russian class and saw her Thursday before the shooting.
"She was very sweet. She was sort of shy, but always had a smile on her face," Kent said.
What could they have done with their life? What kind of influence could have had with others? I do not know any of these people and have never met them or anyone related to them, knew them or connected to them.
I still think they can make a difference.
DANIEL PARMENTER
Daniel "Danny" Parmenter was the kind of person who was always helping others out. He was always offering people rides to class, helping friends with homework or doing community service, said Pi Kappa Alpha chapter president Jason Garcia.
The 20-year-old sophomore from Westchester was studying finance at NIU, and sold ads for the campus newspaper. The paper's adviser, Maria Krull, described him as a "gentle giant."
The last time she saw him, he was stretched out on "an old beat-up couch" in the newspaper's offices. She teased him about having his feet on the furniture. "I said, 'Danny, you know better than that.'"
"The thing about Danny was, if he was in the office and I needed something done, I just had to mention it to him and he would do it," Krull said. "I knew I didn't have to worry."
___
CATALINA GARCIA
The youngest of four siblings in a family from Guadalajara, Mexico, Catalina Garcia's family settled in suburban Cicero, west of Chicago.
The 20-year-old wanted to become a teacher, something her family admired.
"She was adored by our family because she wanted to become somebody in life — that's what she was going to school," her father, Jacinto Garcia, told Spanish-language radio station WOJO-FM, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
She was a 2006 graduate of Morton East High School, where she belonged to the Yearbook Club and a campus dance group. She was shy, very bright and a good student, recalled Michael Parrie, her chemistry teacher junior year.
"She always had a smile on her face, such a positive attitude and outlook on life. It was contagious," Parrie said.
___
RYANNE MACE
Just before Valentine's Day, Ryanne Mace posted a note for her friends on her MySpace page: "Happy Valentine's Day Everybody! ... Saying you love someone is not enough, it's how you treat them that shows your true feelings."
The 19-year-old sophomore from Carpentersville was studying psychology at the university.
Her mother, Mary Kay Mace, said she and her husband named their only child Ryanne, and pronounced it like the boy's name Ryan, because "we thought we were having a boy."
"She was beautiful and brilliant and caring," Mace said of her daughter. "She wanted to start a career helping people. She was in psychology to become a counselor. She was our only child, the light of our lives."
___
JULIANNA GEHANT
Julianna Gehant wasn't a certified teacher yet, but already she had people who couldn't wait to see her become one.
The 32-year-old from Meriden came to Northern Illinois University after a stint in the U.S. Army, where she taught construction. She wanted to teach elementary school.
She kept in touch with her teachers at her high school, Mendota Township High. Retired drama teacher Dave Schroeder remembered her an openhearted young woman with a keen sense of humor and warm laugh. In her 2007 Christmas card, she wrote, "I have four more semesters until I'm qualified to teach second graders."
"I told her I wanted to be one of the first ones to give her a recommendation" for the job, he said. "It's just a terrible loss," Schroeder said.
Her Army record shows she was deployed to Kosovo in 1998 and left active duty in March 2007. She entered the military in July 1993.
___
GAYLE DUBOWSKI
Dubowski, 20, of Carol Stream, was a sophomore at NIU. "She was a good person with a big heart," said a friend, Kelly Cavanaugh, who met her at the DeKalb Church of Christ.
Dubowski graduated from Glenbard North High School in 2006 where she sang in the choir, said Principal John Mensik. Teachers were in tears Friday morning when they heard the news, Mensik said.
"She worked as a teacher's aide for some of the teachers," the principal said. "She was a very positive student. ... She touched people."
Amanda Kent, 21, a fellow NIU student, said she was in Dubowski's second year Russian class and saw her Thursday before the shooting.
"She was very sweet. She was sort of shy, but always had a smile on her face," Kent said.
I think Fungo is right about the media.
To me these senseless killings are not about "killing" per se but about the ability for people who have been marginalized (in their own minds) in someway to make society take notice of them. The patterns seem apparent to everyone but the media. If it were just about killing, these people could shoot randomly into a crowd and from a safe distance or choose a dozen other nefarious yet clandestine circumstances in which to kill. The problem with that is no one would notice. The best way to get someone to notice is shooting up a school and letting the media dutifully point out all the causes except perhaps themselves.
We have Columbine, Va Tech, Jonesboro Arkansas, NIU, Springfield Oregon, etc. and so it goes. The media has decided that showing footage of 9/11 is too traumatizing for us all yet as long as shooting up a school is able to get at least two weeks worth of notice, this will continue to happen. It seems an obvious thing to predict here is that things will continue to escalate because it will be harder for these type of individuals to make a notorius name for themselves in the future.
I know it is unglamorous, but our society (including the media) needs to make heros out of ordinary people who get up out of bed and go to work everyday - nothing more or less. People who no one notices but get up and produce an honest day's labor everyday without fanfare and while providing a decent homelife for their families.
My dad was a hero and nobody ever noticed outside our family. For him, going to work everyday and doing ordinary things like coaching little league was enough. That ought to be good enough regardless of the amount of attention people are given in the media. As long as we make people feel like getting noticed in the media is an important thing, then the thought will continue to occur to some that there are evil ways as well as good ways to make a name for themselves.
To me these senseless killings are not about "killing" per se but about the ability for people who have been marginalized (in their own minds) in someway to make society take notice of them. The patterns seem apparent to everyone but the media. If it were just about killing, these people could shoot randomly into a crowd and from a safe distance or choose a dozen other nefarious yet clandestine circumstances in which to kill. The problem with that is no one would notice. The best way to get someone to notice is shooting up a school and letting the media dutifully point out all the causes except perhaps themselves.
We have Columbine, Va Tech, Jonesboro Arkansas, NIU, Springfield Oregon, etc. and so it goes. The media has decided that showing footage of 9/11 is too traumatizing for us all yet as long as shooting up a school is able to get at least two weeks worth of notice, this will continue to happen. It seems an obvious thing to predict here is that things will continue to escalate because it will be harder for these type of individuals to make a notorius name for themselves in the future.
I know it is unglamorous, but our society (including the media) needs to make heros out of ordinary people who get up out of bed and go to work everyday - nothing more or less. People who no one notices but get up and produce an honest day's labor everyday without fanfare and while providing a decent homelife for their families.
My dad was a hero and nobody ever noticed outside our family. For him, going to work everyday and doing ordinary things like coaching little league was enough. That ought to be good enough regardless of the amount of attention people are given in the media. As long as we make people feel like getting noticed in the media is an important thing, then the thought will continue to occur to some that there are evil ways as well as good ways to make a name for themselves.
No one can know for certain what were the contributing factors that drove this young man to end his life with such destruction.
But as for me, my belief is there are forces which battle for the souls of each individual person.
People try to improve upon each important area of their lives such as their careers, financial goals, educational status, social networking, family life, and spiritual edification of through one's faith, but the critical aspect of these areas is what kind of input is being fed and therefore influencing their decisions. If the food that is being fed to these areas is bad, rotten or corrupting their actions will reflect the reservoir of their diet.
This holds true with children epecially because they are like sponges soaking in all the good with the bad and if all of their experiences and knowledge have being corrupted by bad forces, well you can see that they can suffer from some very dastardly thoughts of revenge against all those entities that have contributed to their result of self-loathing.
Central to providing a means of cleansing for an individual is a means to find absolution of the all the effects of our societies mixed messages. When an individual can't find this or none is offered the outcome can have deadly consequences.
That's why it is extremely important that parents monitor what their children are taking in to there memories at home, and especially the garbage that is being taught in our public schools. feeding their spirits with righteuosness instead of secular pablum is critical to proper thinking.
JMO
But as for me, my belief is there are forces which battle for the souls of each individual person.
People try to improve upon each important area of their lives such as their careers, financial goals, educational status, social networking, family life, and spiritual edification of through one's faith, but the critical aspect of these areas is what kind of input is being fed and therefore influencing their decisions. If the food that is being fed to these areas is bad, rotten or corrupting their actions will reflect the reservoir of their diet.
This holds true with children epecially because they are like sponges soaking in all the good with the bad and if all of their experiences and knowledge have being corrupted by bad forces, well you can see that they can suffer from some very dastardly thoughts of revenge against all those entities that have contributed to their result of self-loathing.
Central to providing a means of cleansing for an individual is a means to find absolution of the all the effects of our societies mixed messages. When an individual can't find this or none is offered the outcome can have deadly consequences.
That's why it is extremely important that parents monitor what their children are taking in to there memories at home, and especially the garbage that is being taught in our public schools. feeding their spirits with righteuosness instead of secular pablum is critical to proper thinking.
JMO
quote:People who no one notices but get up and produce an honest day's labor everyday without fanfare and while providing a decent homelife for their families.
My dad was a hero and nobody ever noticed outside our family. For him, going to work everyday and doing ordinary things like coaching little league was enough.