VTech Tragedy: Remembering What’s Important

In light of the recent Virginia Tech shootings, I think the way we deal with tragedy needs to be re-evaluated. Monday’s shootings resulted in the death of 33 people. On top of that, many were injured, and significantly more emotionally affected. To call it a tragedy would be an understatement.

Maybe it is simply a form of coping for many people, but a common response to this horrific event has been to throw accusations left and right, wildly groping for someone to blame. At first, there was a backlash against campus security and the police in the area for not locking down the school after the first shooting was reported. As much as I agree with the idea of taking the necessary measures to protect other students, it is virtually impossible to predict such a large scale and shocking result of not doing so.

Next, came the accusations that the university should have expelled him when they saw his troubling plays he had written, or when someone filed a report saying he was contemplating suicide. Apparently, after a girl filed a report about being stalked by him, he was sent to a mental institution. Sometimes the system is not enough to fix things, unfortunately. Furthermore, to suggest that the university was lax and irresponsible for not disciplining him for his plays is to promote an infringement of the freedom of speech. I am by no means an advocate of such disturbing works, but that doesn’t mean that I believe that anything possessing some element of ugliness should be censored and evaluated as a symbol of the author. Again, an unfortunate incident, but incorrectly placed blame.

Lastly (as of now, at least) are those that stereotype the gunman. The gist of what his roommates, former teachers, and acquaintances have said about him is that he was a loner. It’s unfortunate to think that these are similar behaviors to those that commit suicide. One group merely internalizes the feeling, whereas others choose to externalize and afflict their pain on others.

How do we fix this? I don’t know. I’m only proposing that people stop trying to attach blame to certain people. Let’s remind ourselves that this incident was a tragedy in the deepest sense of the word, and that there are more important factors to consider and remember than who to blame. As much as I don’t understand what could possess someone to do such a thing, there must have been some reason, some irrational anger, something that led the gunman to inflict the pain he did on not only students and professors, but their friends and family as well. Rather than spending time blaming the police, the university, or the gunman himself (not that I am at all condoning what happened), let’s focus our attention on the innocents lost in this shocking shooting. Though expected and human nature, it is sad that the number of people that can name the gunman significantly outweighs the number of people that can name a single victim. In our rush to find someone or thing to blame, let’s not forget those that we should remember the most.

Nonstop Addiction to ChickLit

I’m currently out of town, so I promise more posts when I get back, but just for now, I thought I would point out that I am currently reading this book called Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes. Of course, it’s another chicklit book, and clearly, I’m addicted. After I get through this maybe I’ll be ready to settle down with a more substantial book– next on my list is Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. It sounds morbid, I know, but I’ve heard it’s really good. Penny for your thoughts anyone?

Racism Behind Crack vs. Cocaine?

Be warned: it’s a long one…
In the middle of figuring out why drug dealers still live with their moms in my current read –Freakonomics- I came across a description of the distinction between crack and cocaine. As the authors of the bestseller book say, “in the 1970’s, if you were the sort of person who did drugs, there was no classier drug than cocaine. Beloved by rock stars and movie stars, ballplayers and even the occasional politican, cocaine was a drug of power and panache. It was clean, it was white, it was pretty. Heroine was droopy and pot was foggy but cocaine provided a beautiful high.” As only can be expected of such a high-class drug, cocaine is also very expensive. A new form of distilled cocaine was created, produced in small rocks that came to be known as crack (named for the sound it made when burned). Crack is also far more realistic in terms of prices. Since only a tiny amount of pure cocaine is required, a hit of crack only costs around a few dollars. But crack also has a more powerful high that reaches the brain in a matter of seconds- and leaves just as quickly, spurring on an addiction craze that proceeded to upturn low-income neighborhoods soon after it was created. Powder cocaine, aside from being far more expensive, induces a less powerful high, but one that lasts longer.
Once aware of the economic distinctions between users of crack and users of cocaine, the disparity between the sentencing for possession and/or the trafficking of each drug also becomes glaringly obvious. Federal sentencing laws created a 100:1 ratio between the amount of powder cocaine and crack cocaine that result in equivalent sentences. As a result, crack users and/or dealers are dealt with much more harshly than those that use and/or deal powder cocaine. For example, a conviction of possession with intent to distribute quantities of 500 grams or more of powder cocaine results in a five year sentence, whereas the amount to receive the same punishment when dealing with crack is possession of only 5 grams. Furthermore, the only drug that is associated with a mandatory prison sentence for first offense possession is, not surprisingly, crack. On the other hand, the maximum possible sentence for possession of any other drug (including powder cocaine) is a single year in jail. Advocates of this 100:1 ratio account for the disparity by citing the fact that crack causes a more intense high, but even so, is that detail enough to warrant such a remarkably severe punishment (when compared to other drug penalties)? As noted before, crack is the drug of lower incomes, whereas powder cocaine is “classier”; although essentially the same compound, the respective sentences are nowhere near similar.
Oddly enough, approximately two-thirds of crack users are white or Hispanic. Now I say oddly enough because when compared to the statistics of those convicted of possession of crack, the numbers don’t match up. In 1994, those convicted of crack possession were 84.5% African American, 10.3% Caucasian, and 5.2% Hispanic, according to The Sentencing Project. Similarly trafficking offenders were 88.3% African American, 4.1% Caucasian, and 7.1% Hispanic. From the looks of it, it seems as if low-income African Americans are being targeted; not only does crack carry more severe sentences, but racism also seems to play a factor in targeting African Americans within crack users.
I’m by no means an advocate of crack, but the details of the laws surrounding crack use and possession are evidence enough to point out the problems that surround this issue. Penny for your thoughts anyone?

Quote Addiction

My current favorite quote:
“The secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don’t deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don’t surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover’s skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don’t. In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you live as though you won’t. In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn’t. And yet you want to know again. THAT is their mystery and magic.”
- The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy

An amazing quote from an amazing book…

P.s. I’m a total quote-a-holic

Penny for your thoughts anyone?

The Enticing World of ChickLit

Bridget Jones’ Diary. Confessions of a Shopaholic… and then some. The Devil Wears Prada. With these three books very popular, and two made into equally popular movies, it’s hard to deny the culture of ChickLit that is becoming increasingly prevalent in our bookstores. First, let me define what I mean by ChickLit. We’ve all seen them in Barnes and Noble and Borders. They’re the books with some cartoon figure of a woman on the front, and the title usually involves references to men, drinking, or marriage. They are brightly colored, numerous, and not-so-subtly luring in millions of readers. And no one is guiltier of succumbing to this latest genre of books than I. It’s hard to stay away. Aside from the few exceptions mentioned above, most ChickLit is – to be honest – incredibly shallow and not very good. But it’s an easy read, for the most part, and something about is so enticing. It’s fun to read about the fun and interesting issues in life–relationships, sex, drinking, friendships, marriage, etc. There’s something so mindless about it that it’s alluring. I’ve found myself pick up random books that fit the above description, and just breeze through them. Hardly any ever are worthy of making it to my favorites list, but that doesn’t mean I stop reading them. In fact, it makes me more drawn to this genre where I can generally read without thinking, without processing, and still manage to comprehend the book. I personally love to read, and especially this summer, I’ve been trying to broaden my reading list to include more nonfiction. However amazing these nonfiction books are (some of which I will certainly write about at some point), it’s nice to take the occasional break to whiz through the boy problems of our latest heroine. Penny for your thoughts anyone?

I’m new at this…

A penny for your thoughts. Or mine. Maybe I’ll write about books, politics, random events, who knows? If you’re bored, check it out or leave ideas. Let’s see where this takes me…