Here, a school teacher (known as His Big Bear Ron on YouTube) in Atlanta, Georgia, reflects on what happened this week in Virginia Tech this week. What he is is very astute. Given the tragedy almost a decade ago in Columbine, there has been a failure to see what ails youth. Why are some so alienated? How does one address kids who are picked on, disenfranchised from the rest of their school community?
It’s hard to say with Cho Seung-Hui. His video manifesto, oddly poetic at times, gave no hint of the root of his rage, and he spoke in abstractions. His targets most likely had little to do with him being picked on in high school, but there must have been some strange logic at work.
Instead of being an excuse for schools and legislators to make the lives of young people more miserable (or even to spend more money on security), we do need to take look at ourselves (grownups and young people alike) and how to move forward with what we have learned.
Tags: alienation, Cho Seung-Hui, Virginia Tech, YouTube
