It had to start somewhere...

Here we are. Welcome to my first post on blogger.com. Really I am a copycat of my older brother Rocketstar and his friends. What can I say? I've been inspired.

As much as I would love to start things off on a happy note, Rocketstar got me thinking today. What happened at Virginia Tech really bothered me on a lot of levels. In Rocketstar's post however, he made a great point and it was this: "Why don't we react the same when we see headlines about Iraq and the death tolls and bombings there?" He goes on to say the people dying in Iraq are all just as innocent as the students and professors at VT; being killed by mad men and women who are mentally disturbed...and he is right.

However, I am not sure what bothers me more, the fact that there are so many sick and twisted individuals in the world; or that the shooting at Virginia Tech bothers me more than what is going on in places like Iraq.

Perhaps it is because these "kids" were close to my age...well some of the Juniors and Seniors anyway. I feel that I have so much life to live, and so many more reasons to live it; including the main reason who is about 3' 6" tall, and smiles just like I do. But on a real level, I am almost ashamed to say it, the simple fact that things like what happened at VT is much closer to home, both physically and mentally.

I mean look at Iraq, Iran, etc, etc. They have governments based on religion. We in the United States like to think we have separated church and state. In Iraq, they believe women should breed, cook, clean, and do as the men say. In the U.S. a woman would likely kick a man's ass for thinking that way, and sometimes do! We are also more educated in the United States. There are so many factors and differences between the two places. For example, they were not successful governing themselves, so we just decided to step in and do it for them? Look where that's gotten them, and us for that matter. Nowhere.

Violence is everywhere, we can not escape that. But is it possible that maybe when things like the tragedy at VT happen, we focus on that because we feel since it happened in the U.S. we can get some sort of grasp and understanding of it? We can focus on the who, the what, the where, and why because it is local and within reach.

The genocides, and wars get tied up in politics and international laws and judicial systems, and we may never get the whole story of the why. Yes, the shooter at VT is dead, but we still have tangible pieces to pick up. As far as the true reasoning for Bush to bring the U.S. to Iraq, we will probably never get that whole story.

As I read the bios about the victims at Virginia Tech and see the videos and pictures of the mentally disturbed man who ended it all for them, it scares me. I think it scares the rest of the U.S. too. It IS close to home. It makes us all wonder, "What do we do now? Is any school safe? What if it happens in my city? What would I do if it was my child /friend /sister /brother /husband /wife?"

It is hard for us to imagine much less relate to people whose belief system is beyond screwed up. It is easier for us to look at the pictures of the kids and professors at Virginia Tech and see someone we may know, in a metaphorical way. That is why I think Americans don't react the same when the see the headlines in Iraq. We can't see that happening here. We can see our neighbor's son, or our friend, or family member at school...we can't see our women being confined to houses, and letting a single religion rule our country and kids carrying guns in streets and blowing up cars because they think it serves a purpose, I think it all falls back on an old saying (as sad as it sounds): "Out of sight, out of mind."