Post #2: The State Of The Nation

I know that I may get a fair amount of guff from the people who think I'm crossing a line on this issue, but this is how I feel.
There's three subjects that have been prominent, as of late: Don Imus and his "nappy headed hos", Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech shooter, and the Iraq War, though that really isn't a current issue; it's been heavily debated since before the war came.

But, let's consider the following: since the start of the war, there have been 3617 casualties from the US, UK, and other coalition countries. So far, 24314 members of the US armed forces have been wounded. This is all since 2003.

On April 16, 2007, there were 33 casualties (including the gunman), at the hands of one man, Cho Seung-Hui. The number of wounded is withheld, however.

But something seems amiss. We're in the middle of a war, and there are innocent people dying in uncounted numbers in Iraq, simply because of where they live. However, I don't see a public outcry of mourning and headline news because of these people.

Can someone explain this to me? Why is it that several thousand people dying for an oil war is no big deal, but 32 people (I'm not counting the shooter) dying at a school in Virginia is the shock-and-horror story of the week?

I'm sorry, but it leads me to a question: do we think that the lives of those who died in Virginia are far more holy, their deaths more tragic? Don't get me wrong, I think what happened in Virginia is tragic...but the deaths of countless people in Iraq are far more tragic.

And now, the Don Imus scandal. Personally, I'm on Imus' side on this. Howard Stern is a madman who has crossed the line (after moving it!) on countless occasions. Don Imus, who is (or, rather, was) of the same profession as Howard Stern (shock jock). But Don Imus made a joke about a group of basketball players, and people are up in arms about him crossing the line, and we should burn him at the stake for being such an insensitive asswipe, blah blah blah blah blah.

And suddenly, people are going nuts about censorship, and the debates began. Should he have been fired? Should he be fined? Why is Imus being so mean?, and the like.

However, in the days after the incident at Virginia Tech, I heard almost nothing about gun control. The blame, thus far, has been given to Charles Steger, VA Tech's president, who did nothing to stop the classroom shootings. Thus far, the only gun control talk I've heard has been on the subject of someone who was deranged obtaining a gun.

From the looks of it, the American public has much more interest in radio personalities not saying mean things about sports players than it does in the mentally ill obtaining guns, and their ability to do so.

Does this strike anyone as slightly off? Doesn't anyone think it's a little odd that some guy that nobody has heard of saying something unkind is a bigger and more debate-worthy story than a shooting at a school? And, doesn't anyone think it's a little odd that the American public has spent more time mourning the deaths of a few people than it has spent mourning (or not mourning) the deaths of countless countrymen and innocents in a far away land?

I know, most people won't agree with me on this subject. I expect I may get a bit of hate mail from those who oppose. But, I just want to make it clear, the incident in Virginia is tragic, and Don Imus shouldn't have made a racist joke on the air. But, I also want to make it abundantly clear, I think the American public is really overreacting to these two things.

With hugs,
Love, me.