Freak of the Week
Yesterday marks a day of tragedy to our neighbors in the north. Dawson College in Montreal
experienced a shooting on par, if not more severe than the Columbine tragedy. Reports indicated that a young goth looking man with a black trench coat and mohawk walked into the building and began shooting. 4 people are dead and 16 reportedly injured after this event. Six people are in critical condition. The on scene reports were terrifying and it is now criticized that police took action too late. In the confusion it was believed there may have been two shooters.There was only one shooter, Kimveer Gill. Apparently the power of Megadeth and constant Depeche Mode playing over an ipod defeated the new tough Canadian gun laws. I say again, "Can we please not have our social institutions fail in correcting creepy people?" We need more YMCA's or we need stronger leaders like Stalin, Mao, and Michael Corleone.
With recent gun-related violence in Seattle like the Capitol Hill massacre and Belltown Jewish Federation shootings can we still ignore that guns are problematic? Are automatic weapons necessary to survival in a modern age? I say, "NO". If you live next to Burma, Uganda, or North Korea - go ahead and carry a gun. If you live in downtown Toronto above a salon - WTF are you doing with an automatic MP-14 rifle?! The motivation between all three of these situations stems from two problems, public access to war level handheld weapons, and lack of social intervention. Capitol Hill guy - lonely, no friends, metalhead; Montreal - disillusioned, net lonely, metalhead; Belltown - schizotypal, sexually isolated, John Denver fan.
This area of Canada is beautiful, its French Canada in all its wonderful small city old world feel glory. I bet they even make crepes there. Yet, you have a few people who just needed couple of friends to stay sane and they screw up the whole romance and beauty of other peoples lives. With the power of the internet the gunman indulged on his blog.
(as taken from the CBC news site)
In his profile on vampirefreaks.com, a website devoted to Goth culture, Gill called himself "Trench," and wrote: "You will come to know him as the Angel of Death."
"Work sucks … School sucks … Life sucks … What else can I say?" he wrote. "Metal and Goth kick ass. Life is like a video game, you gotta die sometime."A photo gallery accompanying the profile includes pictures of Gill brandishing a Beretta CX4 Storm semi-automatic rifle. In the last seven photos, he is wearing a black trench coat and holding the rifle. The caption below the last photo reads, "Ready for Action."
posted by theDUKE at 8:00 AM
19 Comments:
Duke remaining the conscious of the Lodge and diving into the tough topics...I'll try and do my part
After reading this piece, which unfortunately is way too familar for this year of our Lord 2006, it seems that the two major themes: social isolation and gun laws have created a new domestic threat. The difficulty in this threat is the randomness and relative ease in which someone who ceases to value life and wishes to inflict his perceived "pain" on random victims in which they "blame" for their isolation.
The question becomes how is society suppose to fight/prevent this? The truth and result of these three unfortunate incidents from the following year is that your fellow citizen will now become more isolated than before. Does a trenchcoat and bad haircut make you a suspect? If it didn't before you better believe it does now? Does being a gun freak make you a potential social liability?
Social isolation has become standard in an age of larger and larger metropolisis and more and more hours spent interacting with other via a third of fourth medium (the irony of that statement is not lost on me). Does that mean that each one of us should strike up a conversation with that person in front of us at the coffee shop? Well yes, but not to try and prevent the next random act of violence.
Gun control (or lack there-of) is an unfortunate result of mis-interpretation by good people who value freedom. I unfortunately stand in favor of an open gun policy. The reasons behind my decision are more complex than what I would care to discuss, but it comes down to responsibility, which I think is the end result of this tragedy.
The responsibility of the young man to gain a different perspective. The responsibility of society to recognize similarities not differences. The responsibility of gun manufactures to recognize their contribution to the future of the human race. The responsibility of theDuke to make sure the Lodge steps outside of their insulated bubble every once in a while.
(dismounts from high-horse)
I have to say while the topics can be morbid, Dukes Freak of the Week is a good read and I hope it becomes a regular entry. Well done Duke. Well done indeed.
all i'm really saying is stop making fun of Train or Jayne... they can easily get NRA memberships and go Wal-mart shopping.
Really though, these kind of people are like your crazy cousin (in Naveed Haqs case), your inept brother (Kyle Huff), or your fellow bloggers (Gill). In all of these circumstances these people had limited relationships but intimately close ones to other people. Also, the opportunity to reach out, or seek help is limited. Yes, reaching out to a stranger is difficult; but reaching out to someone you've known who's depressed is less so. Further, sub-cultures that are destructive exist because people felt they had no outlet in mainstream society. We need either more Star Trek conventions or more instruction and activity in our education system early on in life.
My suggestion of cause points to preventive measures, is that wrong?
and thanks Goose, the blog variety is all in part of our plan to increase Ad Revenues and build a ship for cruising international waters.
I think it is a major concern. I think a major issue is what children are seeing today on tv. Whether is be a music video or a video game, the use of guns and reality situations are more realistic than playing Contra or Kung Fu on the Nintendo.
I think society has done some by putting ratings on TV shows but it doesn't stop people/kids from watching shows that are MA. I think senior bush needs to pull his head out of the war in Iraq and worry about some of the problems at home. Guns have always been a major concern and if it takes a major incident in an international town, so be it!
Can we get the Dude a "Don't Shoot Me Sign" to take with him to work?
it's not the Throwing Star movie's or TV shows...it's the Throwing Star video games that are causing this...
I'm just not as quick to blame technology...it seems to me we're a little more advanced in random killings and violence than we were 200 years ago. I don't think this is a political issue either, it's social. Are there preventable measures that can be taken? I agree that granting more outlets to kids at an earlier age can only be a positive, but law of natural averages dictates that every society will isolate a small percentage of their population.
My point as always, women are evil.
As the elder statesman and the only father in the Lodge (Unless Jordan has a small child that we are unaware of from his party exploits in Kent) I have to say that this type of violence is a combination of several things.
Raising a small child (especially a young boy) you begin to see the Warrior/Protector come out at an early age. Toys move from Stuffed animals to Toy cars to toy Guns.
Video games play a huge part. Some parents use video games and tv as a digital babysitter. The machines raise the children.
Mix in a regular dose of peer pressure in School, Bullies, social levels and the awkwardness of being the geek or dork and you are going to put together a person that..Feels Unloved, Unwanted, and his only escape from his reality is through the only positive role model he has. His characters in the video game that he wins his battles with.
There is a natural instict for a boy as he grows to become the hunter and protector of the family. When you guys are lucky enough to have children you will actually see this develop through "Play"
That instinct can be steered the wrong way through the upbringing of a child from the age of 3 through his teenage years.
movies and viedo games dont create killers, but they do provide them a window into a world that they find comforting
i don't blame technology, i.e. movies & videogames, either. its only problematic when you have a conflict of reality. if you have a kid or grown man, only play counterstrike or warcraft 24/7 then the likelihood of detachment is going to be high. when a person reaches the point of uberdorkness and finds that their Team/Guild is not satisfying their spirit - problems happen. People need guidance out of introversion because it disillusions them from real life. The same goes for women who only watch OPRAH for opinion and news. Oprah HATES our blog club.
exactly goose - gaming is cool, but as a parent/family/friend YOU are the reality check: "in real life this is wrong." just like i learned watching my Dad in drunken brawling: that was wrong.
I'm not saying gaming is bad, it's just these young impressionable kids look at the games and think this is reality. Plus mom is somewhere not paying attention and dad is no where to be found! Exception to the rule is Goose...prime example is Jordan, who knows how many offspring he has running around in Kent.
I love how in one rambling Jordan has now become the whore of Kent Washington. And its all my doing...muwaha....muwahahahaha.......muwhahahahahaha
correction to this injury list: 20 injured, 4 on life support, 1 dead, shooter dead. Canada.com
I'd laugh at getting Dude a "Don't Shoot Me" sign, except for the fact that I actually do worry about that happening. And I could say that I have no problem with gaming, but it'd be a lie. Any entertainment medium that allows you to play a "game" where you have sex with a prostitute and then shoot her in the head directly afterwards just isn't okay. I realize that women are evil and all, but why does anyone wonder why kids are so f*ed up when this is something our culture sees as entertainment?
Valid point Maude...but I hesitate to point the finger at entertainment for enciting violence...violence has always been a part of society and barring a radical change in the future, always will be...does entertainment sand the edges and make it easier to digest for a younger audience? perhaps...
Where does it leave us? do we censor all material we deem too violent for a young mind? I say no...capitalism isn't set up to censor itself...so unfortunately this responsibly is given to society and the parents who produce about 50/50 results in managing it appropriately...(this doesn't apply to the Goose obviously)...
My recommendation? Expose children to everything...and then explain the moral positives and negatives...hiding and censoring entertainment will not produce the desired result...
your idea, seemingly extreme, is not far off from what the Amish do jimbo. they their children a life of morality, technological inhibition; but when they become teenagers all Amish get to live in the modern world for a year and make a choice. So they get to see and do everything and contrast it to their moral upbringing to make a free choice decision. Oddly, most Amish go back.
I obviously differ with the Amish regarding certain practices and I think they offer an all or nothing approach...but I'm completely down with "total entertainment" as long as you successfully establish a solid moral foundation....but once again...what the hell do I know?
we know Russian Brides, thats what we know.
I like Eastern Bloc very much, yes...
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