Opinion

Questions remain in aftermath

Shootings serve as a wake-up call for U.S. government

By Polaris Garfield

Posted on April 19, 2007, at 12:00 a.m.

On Monday morning, the deadliest shooting massacre in the history of the United States occurred when shooter Cho Seung-Hui opened fire on students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, killing more than 30 people before shooting himself. In the wake of the tragedy, the media descended upon university officials and local law enforcement with a barrage of questions. However, most of the news coverage revolved around the details of this particular crime rather than focusing on the big question: Why is it that the United States has such a high rate of civilian violence, and more importantly why isn’t the government doing anything about it?

Several members of the media as well as students attending Virginia Tech heavily criticized the university for failing to promptly notify the student body and faculty of the situation. Sure, the school did have an outdoor PA system and by all means should have given an immediate warning after the first shot was fired. But they responded to the best of their abilities and after all, what could they possibly have done to prepare for a shooting? No national standard has been established with regard to a concrete plan or system of evacuation for this type of emergency. The lack of such procedural guidelines is not the fault of the school; it is the fault of the government. I honestly do not believe I am exaggerating when I say that the current administration is guilty of criminal negligence when it comes to domestic issues in the United States. Just look at the news. While CNN broadcasted continuous coverage of the incident at Virginia Tech, President Bush appeared on MSNBC to give yet another speech defending his increasingly deteriorating strategy – if you can even call it a strategy – for the continuation of the war in Iraq. When he did finally make a statement in response to the shooting, it seemed trite and ineffective because it only offered general condolences and did not attempt to even address the larger problem this shooting represents.

It is important to keep in mind that the killings at Virginia Tech are not a unique occurrence. This is just one more horrific event to add to the growing list of gun-related tragedies that have happened in this country. Taking into account the fact that we have the highest number of civilian shootings per year in the world, it is clear that this has become a distinctly American problem. I am certainly not the first person to suggest that the development of a “culture of fear” is one of the biggest factors contributing to it. Indeed, we have all been exposed to a great deal of propaganda from both sides of the political spectrum – and to President Bush’s credit he is simply taking cues from several administrations in U.S. history that recognized the value of fear as a political tool. Regardless of people’s feelings about the various public figures who have proposed this idea of a culture based on fear, no one can deny that there is more than a grain of truth to the concept.

The fact remains that gun violence is a serious and chronic problem that deserves much more attention than the government is willing to give. This is not a partisan issue. Violence in our neighborhoods and in our nation as a whole affects each and every one of us. Shootings have now permeated practically every demographic in our society, in spite of research linking the perpetrators of these crimes to lower class minority communities. Much of this research was based on commonalities between young men – and an increasing number of young women – who had committed violent crimes, and the findings of such studies called attention to other major domestic problems in the United States like urban poverty, the need for restorative justice and of course, gun control. The latter is one of the touchiest subjects in the political arena because of the inherent conflict between the right to bear arms and the interest of public safety.

However, some people are pushing their constitutional rights too far. Take for instance Larry Pratt, director of Gun Owners of America, who was quoted as saying, “It is irresponsibly dangerous to tell citizens that they cannot have guns at schools” in response to Monday’s shootings. Is this some kind of sick joke?! I find it completely unbelievable that in the face of a tragedy like this, anyone would have the audacity to display such blatant insensitivity and denial. People like this are in the minority and don’t deserve the political sway they appear to possess. The only explanation I can come up with is that these gun-toting extremists are trafficking in the same currency of fear that is propagated by the Bush administration. What is America so afraid of? It seems to me that the rest of the world has much more to fear from the United States and that what we should really be worried about is our own self-destruction.

The incident at Virginia Tech should be a wake-up call for the U.S. government to shift its focus back toward domestic needs. Every American citizen, especially every college student, was touched by this tragedy. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims. I only hope that some good can come out of this if it can help show the Bush administration that it is leading America in the wrong direction. If we are ever going to have a peaceful society – both in this country and in the rest of the world – we need to stop policing the globe and take a look around at the atrocities going on right here at home.

Polaris Garfield is a fourth-year English major.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 19th, 2007, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.