Reflections on the Virginia Tech School Tragedy

Re: # 106 Naqsh

The way the wind is blowing, it is not looking too good. U.S. Concerned About Britons From Pakistan. ``Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has opened talks with the British government on how to curb the access of British citizens of Pakistani origin to the United States.

Pardesi writes <<< For example, America is a land of strivers that rewards doers and leaves behind who want to sit back on their butt either because they can not cope with change or they have enough to live on their trust accounts or they just learn to live on less and are happy with it. >>>

Unfortunately this poor ignoramus is just repeating the rhetoric of FOX NEWS, that many before him and before Fox News have specialized in, what C. Wright Mills referred to as ``The Great American Celebration``. The facts are that those with wealth and ``trust funds`` keep increasing their wealth while doing next to nothing, except manipulation and practicing the higher immorality of destroying nations while the vast majority of the rest, are working longer hours at multiple jobs just to make ends meet while being knee deep in debt.

Americans didn`t have to go out killing anyone on one incident, since their elite have already killed millions of them (read your history books). Further ``cultural criminology``, crime as covered on TV is not the same as actual crime, only dimwits with conlude that just because hate crimes against Koreans (both explicit and implicit) are not reported on this media, which wants to create a particular image of crime, they do not exist. No other ``civilized`` people have ever enslaved people based on race than have the American elite. Fully one third of young African American males have been through its criminal justice system, and in that system minorities constitute majorities....that should say something about this land your worship and its level of civility.

Just because system survival requires that these things be hidden both objectively and from the consciousness of those that live within and outside it does not mean that poverty of a debilitating sort and crime of most henious kinds, perpetrated by the locals and especially their elite does not exist. You`d be ( and are) stupid and ignorant to conclude otherwise.

To be a munafiquoon & Murtadoon is to have a lack of faith in the one & only diety they themselves claim to believe in--the Supremacy of Man himself. But then still they cannot do away with the concept of a diety.

Now can there be a bigger ailment & disease than that?

Never ever shall they ever be DE-depressed...for they suffer from a cancer of their Psyche or until they recite : La ilaha; il al-Insaan

Reciting only the first half of the Kalima is at the root of their ailing hearts & minds.

Shrinks must get their heads examined, once a year or when there License is renewed. Even Driver`s Licenses & Taxi LIcebses are renewed after check up.

We might discover that it is really the Shrinks who have been exercising too much influence
in this so-called ``modern`` world.

Instead of these barrage of ``articles`` [ read:disease-confessions disguised as intellectualism or desire to understand] by the murtadoons it is far better to be positive and pro-active and listen to this:

MashaAllah what a discussion.

Depression - The Plague of the Modern World

Virginia Tech is now stale news. Shall we move on now to the sawed-off shotgun in Kansas?

If it is all due to mental sickness which should be treated, there`re certainly a lot of mentally sick running loose in malls and schools over there.

#120 by Kulharee on April 29, 2007 5:00pm PT

The NRA guy was for the law and the nutcase association guy was against it...that`s like bizzaro world...

Re: # 120

dear kulharee...you have asked a very interesting question. i can give you my opinion and

i am sure many people may not agree with me.

i am against any person carrying gun because we can all get angry and frustrated and can

use it inappropriately even when driving and experiencing road rage

but if society wants to give the freedom to carry guns then psychiatric patients should not

be penalized because they suffer from emotional problems. i always fought for the rights of

psychiatric pateints because

....most psychiatric patients do not commit violent crimes

and

...most violent crimes are committed by psychopaths and not by people with mental illness

(over here i am defining mental illness as schizophrenia and manic depressive illness...in

short people who are psychotic)

on the other hand i fully agree that if a person suffering from mental illness is a danger to

self or others then the doctor/psychiatrist is obligated to arrange for admission to the

hospital for psychiatric treatment.

every patient has all the human rights as a common citizen untill he/she shows evidence to

be danger to the society.

i hope i answered your question and i like your questions even when i cannot answer them

satisfactorily. they are food for thought and inspire me to read and write more...sincerely sohail

Re: # 116

dear pardesi...i want to join jahraj to congratulate you on your insightful and eloquent

letter. i agree with almost all the points you made. i just want to add my two cents worth.

i think it is important to see the dilemma of children of first generation immigrants.

immigrants come with their dreams. if they succeed they are really happy but if their

dreams are shattered they face emotional problems.

in early part of 20th century a Norwegian psychiatrist Odegaard noticed that the number of

immigrants in American mental hospitals was proportionately more than local people. he

opened a debate

is it because of the stress of the immigration?

or

is it that people who leave their homelands are emotionally abnormal and cannot fit in their

own communities?.

his conclusion was that people who immigrate has emotional problems to start withother

psychiatrists do not agree and it is a big subject that i do not want to go in detail

but children of those immigrants have to carry the cross of the dreams of their

parents most asian immigrants i met told me that they came to north america for the future

of their children. in many cases those children get better education in north america than

they would have received in asia and become very successsful but some like CHO who had

serious emotional problems even as a child in korea do not do well....and then the final

outcome....depends how serious the problem is and how much professional help they

receive....

thanks for your comments...sincerely sohail

Dear Dr. Sahib, I just watched a 60 minutes segment on Guns and Mental Health. MHA (Mental Health America) is against any legislation requiring Mental Health patients to be registered in FBI database for the purpose of restricting the sale of Guns to them. Over 1000 homicides annually in the US are carried out by the mentally ill. MHA argues that Mentally Ill are stigmatized enough as it is, and their record (under the guise of doctor patient confidentiality laws) should not be made public.

Please comment.

Re: # 118

Pardesi - Your post # 116 was the most beautiful and appropriate post I have read on Chowk in the past many many years. I just wanted you to know that there are people around who appreciate your thought process. It is very rare that you come across individuals who you can relate to at a certain level. Thanks for a very insightful post.

On the subject of change and evolution - Change is an instigator for evolution.

[Will we ever get praise from the liberated masses after fanatics are subdued?]

:)

We may not get appreciation but the liberated masses will follow the change without realizing :) That`s the beauty of certain types of change.

Best Regards to you too.

Zahra, hello again. You bring in very interesting point – will change always bring in evolution?

I would say yes in democratic societies, where there are so many eyes watching each other. Let’s take a look at our own adopted country – there are at least 7 power centers that I can think of that work so independently from each other that they think of themselves as the only true power. In addition to the three official centers of power, we have Wall Street, Media, Hollywood and Corporate world. Each of these has tremendous impact on our lives and is kind of independent of each other due to huge egos involved. IMHO, that’s the beauty of this evolved society.

The con of this structure is that it takes long time and lots of back and forth before this system can make up its mind when brand new challenge is faced. If you think about it, that’s the reason we have not been able to come with a unified action against Al-Quada, while the opponents think that either we are dumb or they are braver than USA. My sense is that we are going to suffer more before all our local power centers see need to unite in order to face this brand new virus.

The world should be grateful to this country that civilized Germany and Japan after WW2, saved the world from communism and now hopefully will eradicate the new menace. While working as chowkidar, the system kept humming along as innovator of best things that have changed lives of billions.

Will we ever get praise from the liberated masses after fanatics are subdued? No - just look at French how much they appreciate us :). Watch ‘High Noon’ (old movie), if you have not already. Some people and nations are just doomed to keep humanity moving forward at great cost to themselves.

Best regards.

Re: # 116

Pardesi - Hi. Excellent points! Ditto to all your points. The focus is on productivity and evolution. Hopefully, change results in evolution.

Dear Dr. Sohail,

You wrote “It is fascinating to observe the evolution of American society over the last century. One can see the best and the worst of the whole world in United States of America. People from all over the world have been trying to immigrate to America, as though it were the modern “promised land”. In this land of eminent scientists, avant-garde artists and Oscar award winning actors and directors, we also see the worst serial killers and mass murderers. For some their dreams come true and for others they turn into violent nightmares”

Is it possible that this kind of mass murder/violence might be related to the “change” that one needs to go though in order to survive or fit in this ultra competitive society?

For example, America is a land of strivers that rewards doers and leaves behind who want to sit back on their butt either because they can not cope with change or they have enough to live on their trust accounts or they just learn to live on less and are happy with it.

These competitive pressures start on kids early on. The pressure continues in your career as technology changes, mergers/acquisitions/outsourcing/insourcing takes place. Meanwhile, demands related to your life stage (adjustment with spouse, some times divorces, raising kids) can not wait simply because you are experiencing tremendous job pressures.

All this is a potent mix that becomes unbearable for some and they explode. It does not mean that American society is flawed or that capitalism is immoral. It just is the price you pay if you want to stay competitive or a leader for change. If one can not take the heat, he/she should go and settle down in Canada, Panama or wherever else one can find peace. As other countries try to move up the food chain and try to work harder to improve their lot and provide opportunities to the poorer sections of society, they will experience similar growing pains due to the associated “change”.

In fact I would submit that the reason Muslim world is experiencing so much turmoil is this “change” – change from nice cushy life that was taken for granted for some due to oil money and no opportunities for others. These countries are going through changes that took centuries for westerners to digest. Now, who do people like to blame for all this – Of course America. And that’s pure non sense.

On balance, I will prefer to live in this country even with this occasional unfortunate incidences than societies which either are static (little opportunities for most people) or they have violence that’s encouraged by religious fanatics or other officials at the highest levels when it suits their purposes.

In this great country at least a) Cho’s civilized family apologized to the victims and did not blame his evil deeds on Jews or sufferings of Palestinians and b) Americans did not start burning Koreans alive all over the country.

What a great country with civilized culture and institutions to enforce law and order.

Dr. Sohail - Thanks for taking a stab at my question. I was surprised that you forgot to take into account the Canadian incident in your overall analysis. I think there is a deeper reason behind killings that take place in a school or a university. I would also add that the location of the school/university played a role in the past three major massacres. In case of Amish killings, they took place in a very remote area. There was not anything else in that neighborhood. Columbine was more or less in the same category. Having spoken to a few colleagues who`ve attended Virginia Tech, I was told that the university is located in a very suburban area as well. For some people suburbs can be peaceful whereas for others they can add to their depression or frustration. Last but not least, the ongoing issue of gun control needs serious review and attention.

#112 by drsohail,

Dear Dr. Sohail, to be truthful my ire was intended at the author of #110 and not you though it did turn out that way. Apologies. However, the reference I used for you is the same as hamidm uses regularly as a term of endearment for his best friend tehsinabbasi :)

Re: # 110

dear zahraj....your question is valid and thought provoking. the literature of serial killers

and mass murderers that i have reviewed suggests that these people have a theory in their

mind. they see themselves as victims and blame one group for their troubles....whether it

is whites....or spanish...or women....and then want to hurt that group and find a place

where they can find those people....

many men who blame women as they have deep hatred for women go to red light areas

and kill prostitutes

many blacks who blame whites for their miseries kill whites

i would not be surprised if we read the diaries of CHO that he blamed white students in his

school as they teased him for being asian or eccentric...that he wanted to take revenge.

i also find it fascinating that these people want media attention so they want to make sure

that they become famous/notorious. CHO also sent a package to news media in between

his two sets of killings.

i am aware that my answer is not a satisfactory answer but that is what your question

inspired. i will keep your question in mind in my future readings. thanks for taking a keen

interest in my article. i went to your website and liked the zen saying you quoted....quite

profound....sincerely sohail

Re: # 111

dear zeemax...i thought we agreed to be mutually respectful.....sincerely sohail