My Social Commentary on the School Shooting at Virginia Tech (April 17th, 2007: 10PM PT)

            For most people who do not know Virginia Tech (VA Tech), they remember it as the university that Falcons QB Michael Vick attended. As of April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech will now be known as the site of the deadliest school shooting in American history. At 7AM PT, there had been reported one person dead. Three hours later, 22 people had died and 28 people injured. At 3PM PT, a count of 33 died along with 26 people injured at VA Tech, along with the shooter who committed suicide.
            The question that always comes up in this situation is: Why? Why would someone do this? I guess there are still changes that need to be made in society in order to prevent these situations from happening in the future. Lessons still need to be learned from the tragedy of Columbine that happened in this month so many years ago.
            The suspect has been labeled as a male, college student. Instead of wasting my time trying to figure out the reasons why this person had committed this irreprehensible act on an individual level, I am going to focus more on the big picture of why this tragedy even occurs in the first place. Besides, even if the media along with friends and family try to answer the question of why he did it, all the answers will lead to an incomplete puzzle that can never truly be solved. Now, I will try to give some possible reasons and/or explanations from outside factors that may clue us in on why these school shootings occur in the first place. The first reason: MALE SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS.
            Boys are taught at an early age to become manly by becoming insensitive, and not to release their inner emotions in public. As a ten year old, I used to cry when something did not go my way. I learned from my peers and other adults that crying is not acceptable. Years later as an adult, I only release my emotions in private where I know no one will ridicule me for doing so in the first place. Guys are not taught to talk things through or even go in-depth (below the surface) in their conversations. If a guy eve reveals a trait that’s considered feminine, other people (including some women) will start shouting out, “You’re gay,” and the most demeaning and often used, “You’re such a pussy.” Basically what happens is that a guy just keeps up all that anger/rage/frustration inside of him until he reaches a boiling point. The key is not to reach that boiling point where the person will erupt into an extremely emotional or emotionless being and take out his frustrations on others. Instead of guys asking the questions: Who’s on your fantasy team? How much can you lift? How much shit went down last night? The real questions that need to be asked have to go in depth and try to solve problems in one person’s life by confronting it head on. In the end, there needs to be a real and open dialogue between both men and women who are willing to go below the surface, talk about their own daily, personal issues, and reflect upon actions taken in your own world and the outside world. Guys just need to talk about the issues that really bother them deep down, but societal expects men to become INEXPRESSIVE by being stoic in public. Guys need to be able to release their true, inner emotions without being able to be ridiculed by others. The first reason why this event happened involves male societal expectations especially male inexpressiveness. The second reason why this tragedy occurs involves THE ARMS RACE IN EDUCATION.
            The arms race in the United States did not end with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the defeat of Communist Russia. Instead the arms race is happening right now between the young people in the United States as you read this piece. With the inception of “No Child Left Behind,” many teachers, from elementary to high school, have to alter their lesson plan in order to teach towards a grade level proficiency test. Instead of teaching kids, teenagers, and young adults about real world experiences, students are being trained to become efficient test takers. There’s a grave problem with this test taking mentality.             First, a student’s success is determined by how well one does while taking an exam at a specific moment in time. Tests do not really measure someone’s true intelligence. Instead, they just help to measure how a student can memorize material with regurgitation and by agreeing with the teacher and/or author’s interpretation of the material.  Secondly, this arms race in education leads to the separation of the haves and have nots. Students are already divided on the basis of socioeconomic backgrounds. Now with this education arms race, students have to compete against each other for better grades to show off to others and for future applications. For example, in high school, I heard this regularly from two, male, 4.0 GPA students, “Ha! I got a 98 on that test. You got a 93 on the test. I am smarter than you.” Since many people cannot afford a high quality/expensive education, students compete against each other for scholarships and other forms of financial aid. In regards to the application process and grades, the majority of students have to maintain good to excellent grades in order to apply to private high schools, undergraduate colleges/universities, and graduate schools in order to receive a higher degree. This competition at the top usually creates frustrated students trying to attain/maintain good grades in order to receive a diploma/degree. In some cases, parents of these high grade achieving students place unrealistic expectations for their kids only to get A’s or maintain a GPA of at least a 3.0 in order to receive money from parents. These high expectations placed by society and loved ones, leads to the formation of NARCISSITIC & ANAL RETENTIVE students who complain when they receive a low grade. For example, some students consider a C a low grade while other students consider a B+ or and A- as unsatisfactory. This arms race leads to many paranoid students who rarely even receive the recommended eight hours of sleep on back-to-back nights.
            In December of 2006, a Chinese graduate student hanged himself at a UC Davis building. I think that one possible motive why the student may have hung himself involves the high expectations placed upon himself through cultural/societal expectations through Asian Parent Syndrome (APS).
            Apparently this gunman at Virginia Tech was angry at one of his teachers. I think after reading this article, I hope you can understand the reason why he had committed this heinous act.
            My hope of this tragedy is that it brings DIALOGUE between people. People need to talk to their friends, loved ones, and even strangers. Guys need to find a SAFE OUTLET to release their emotions: screaming outside, music writing, punching a wall talking with other(s)…ANYTHING OTHER THAN PHYSICALLY HARNING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. Instead of just being another tragic event that’s just talked about in the news media for the next two weeks, TAKE ACTION. Talk and be willing to go in-depth/below the surface with someone else. It truly takes the small steps to prevent these bigger, national tragedies from happening. Find a safe outlet to release your emotions and begin an open dialogue with other people. Just remember that true awareness is the key to living a better life.