The Thirty-Third Victim

The Virginia Tech massacre represents a crisis of citizenship

It has been over a month since the devastating events in Virginia when a disgruntled student, Seung-Hui Cho, opened fire on a university campus, killing 32 before turning the gun on himself. Since then, news and discourse of the events quickly disappeared, to the extent that it's now virtually off the media radar altogether.

Sadly, the root causes as to what happened were barely scratched at the surface. Attention immediately focused on the issue of gun control and America's "gun culture". There was also much focus on Cho's state of mind and the issue of mental illness. Other issues also included journalistic ethics when some television news organizations aired portions of the killer's multimedia manifesto. Because of the backlash, some media outlets soon went so far as not to even mention Cho's name in order not to provide him with an opportunity to "speak from the grave".

It is an early Monday morning.
The sun is becoming bright on the land.
No one is watching as he comes walking.
Two bulky suitcases hang from his hands.

Sniper. Harry Chapin, 1972

Yet it's a mistake to regard what happened at Virginia Tech as a uniquely American event, the obvious result of America's tolerant attitude towards guns. Rather, it's a growing problem throughout the western world. In many ways, it's the natural by-product of globalization, in where a corporate media culture reinforces personal insecurities and anti-social attitudes. Subsequently, the only response is often one of extreme violence. Harry Chapin's song "Sniper" (Harry Chapin, Sniper & Other Love Songs, 1972), about Charles Whitman's August 1966 University of Texas clock tower rampage, best encapsulates this.

What happened in Virginia in mid-April represents a growing problem with democracy in the western world. In essence, it's a crisis of citizenship, where the concept of what it means to be a citizen has been lost and forgotten. In other words, many have not only forgotten what it means to actually be a citizen, but to know what it means in the social context.

Nowadays, to be a citizen of a country is regarded by many as nothing more than a bureaucratic inconvenience -- a means to acquire a passport, set up a company, etc. Few realise that citizenship also represents a set of rights and responsibilities, outside of periodically voting in an election. At its very heart is the notion of a community, and our place within it. This represents one of the main cornerstones of democracy, which is not simply about vague and meaningless words such as freedom, a relative and often misused term. In fact, there is no freedom without responsibility. This is one of the major challenges many of the embryonic democracies of Central and Eastern Europe now face, as well as the more established ones from Europe and North America.

It's perhaps of no coincidence that the killer at Virginia Tech was a landed immigrant (i.e., an immigrant living legally in the country). The much-touted notion of America as a "melting pot" of cultures is a dangerous myth. Segregation exists in the form of ghettoized communities in large urban areas. Subsequently, the problem of street gangs in America often has an ethnic element to it.

He heads towards the tower that stands in the campus.
He goes through the door, he starts up the stairs.
The sound of his footsteps, the sound of his breathing,
The sound of the silence when no one was there.

Sniper

It's especially difficult for the children of first-generation immigrants to fully integrate into society. There are pressures from the home environment where parents are usually keen on trying to preserve cultural traditions from the home country. These traditions often run counter to the prevailing culture, which is frequently regarded as too excessive, especially in terms of gender issues. Also, immigrant families tend to live on more modest incomes. At the same time, children of immigrants try hard to fit into the prevailing culture and be a part of a group. As a result, how they look, dress, speak, and even what they eat is all scrutinized. In turn, this scrutiny often comes into conflict with the home environment where parents are determined not to let their children be carried away by a culture of excess.

Added to all this are the pressures nowadays all children and young adults face in a society where celebrity status and wealth are regarded as the values most worth striving for. The angst of many youths and young adults are further aggravated by misplaced notions of "political correctness". For example, people growing up nowadays no longer know how to handle negatives. On the one hand, they are taught by the prevailing culture that they have to be the best, that the opposition must be annihilated, and that to be a good loser is to be a loser. On the other hand, schools and other organisations increasingly teach them that winning and losing don't count at all, so they are never exposed to either success or failure. In other words, they are presented with a no-win situation.

I didn't really know him.
He was kind of strange.
Always sort of sat there.
He never seemed to change.

Sniper

A case in point are little league soccer teams in Canada, many of which play games where no scores are kept and no team is declared the winner or loser. In fact, there are no official standings. Since no standings are kept, at the end of the season everyone receives a trophy -- as a league participant. According to organisers, it's a non-competitive environment designed to promote and teach basic soccer skills, fair play, good sportsmanship, and teamwork. It's a concept supported and advocated by the likes of the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations, the main soccer body in Europe).

Certainly these are lofty ideals, and for very young children are perhaps appropriate. At the same time, however, such an ideal can be counter-productive as kids nowadays are insulated from the specter of failure. This, coupled with the pressures from pop culture and the mass media to be the best and always win, leads many to be unprepared for how to handle the ups and downs of the real world.

He reached the catwalk. He put down his burden.
The four-sided clock began to chime.
Seven AM, the day is beginning.
So much to do and so little time.

Sniper

As a result, young people are less likely to develop skills at conflict resolution and are more likely to resort to violence. Again, the mass media helps to reinforce this through such television shows as Jerry Springer. This, in turn, can ultimately lead to tragedies such as mass shootings at schools or simple schoolyard brawls, the latter sometimes being just as tragic as the former. For instance, in Quebec last month a 14 year-old boy died when another 14-year old punched him at the side of his head, knocking him unconscious. The fight was over a baseball cap.

The fact that young people fight and resort to fits of anger is actually nothing new; nor is it enough in itself to fully explain such violence. Nevertheless, bullying is a big problem and this was evident with Cho at Virginia Tech. Ironically, when news began to emerge that he was picked on and made fun of on campus, the mainstream media quickly changed topic and buried the issue. Mention of his video, possible motives, even his name were then self-censored by the mainstream media under the guise of sensitivity toward the family of victims and the desire to "not let [Cho] win and speak from the grave."

He reached the catwalk. He put down his burden.
The four-sided clock began to chime.
Seven AM, the day is beginning.
So much to do and so little time.

Sniper

It's a sad fact, however, that bullying and making fun of others has increasingly become an acceptable norm of sorts in western democracies, reinforced in large part by the mass media. So-called "reality shows" like Survivor, American Idol, Big Brother, etc. glorify in the pain of others. A very relevant example is that of William Hung on American Idol, who did a botched version of Ricky Martin's song She Bangs. Although his antics made him a pseudo-star and brought with it a small measure of fame and fortune, it no doubt had an extreme negative effect on others -- especially those of Asian origin. It wouldn't be much of a surprise that taunts related to this may have added to feelings of insecurity Cho was already burdened with, both as an immigrant and as a young adult growing up in difficult and confusing circumstances.

Rather than delve into all these complex and socially self-critical issues, the mainstream media simply did its best to divert attention elsewhere. In addition to self-censorship, much was done to demonize the killer as much as possible, not realising that he was also a victim of sorts. Of course, this doesn't absolve Cho of any of his actions, but what has often been missed is that his family was also among those grieving for the loss of a loved one.

He laid out the rifles, he loaded the shotgun,
He stacked up the cartridges along the wall.
He knew he would need them for his conversation.
If it went as he planned, then he might use them all.

He said "Listen you people, I've got a question
You won't pay attention but I'll ask anyhow.
I found a way that will get me an answer.
Been waiting to ask you 'till now.
Right now !"

Sniper

Likewise, many began to analyse Cho's writing, noting how "disturbing" and "demonic" it all was. Yet there appears to be little difference between Cho's writing and those of many modern writers, such as Stephen King et al, all of whom preach a culture of extreme violence. Indeed, splashed on a full page in a national newspaper in Canada -- barely two weeks after the Virginia Tech shootings -- the front page of the entertainment section read as follows: "A bit of the old ultra-violence. Altercations, bombings, car chases, duels, explosions, fisticuffs and gunplay galore: Find them all in theatres today."1

Perhaps Cho wasn't mentally ill at all. Rather, it's the other way around: a vast majority of seemingly "normal" people are not only mentally ill for consuming (and craving) such violence, but are deeply schizophrenic for they are apparently able to function normally while at the same time consume such media trash. Indeed, if Cho had been able to sell his writings then he probably would have been celebrated as one of America's brightest upcoming writers, as opposed to being the killer behind the Virginia Tech massacre. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out this way.

In the end, the events at Virginia Tech were treated more or less as other such events had been in the past. Much was made about guns and gun control, and with that Virginia Tech faded from view. Yet although gun control is a big issue, in effect it's not the main problem. True, for those who are bullied or insecure, a gun is a means by which to level the playing field. The possession of one gives a sense of power and confidence. Moreover, easy access to guns increases the chance that those who harbour feelings of resentment will carry out their desire for revenge and so-called "justice". But even in places where gun controls are strict, as in Europe, there are increasing cases of young people getting access to weapons. In the German town of Erfurt, for example, 17 were killed in a school shooting five years ago.

Not only this, even without guns such attacks still occur. In a small town in Hungary, a 31-year-old teacher unexpectedly started to slash out at pupils with a bread knife, indiscriminately stabbing at anyone within her reach. By the time the school principal jumped the teacher and disarmed her, 8 students and 3 teachers were injured. Fortunately, no one was hurt seriously.

Simply closing our collective eyes and ears to what is going on will not make the problem go away -- it will only make it worse. As more and more children and young adults become desperate and insecure, they will turn to whatever means they have at their disposal. This will ultimately include the use of bombs. Indeed, such incidents have already begun to occur. In Germany (February 2002), a former pupil killed his headmaster and set off pipe bombs in the technical school he had recently been expelled from in Freising, near Munich. Meanwhile, in Budapest (August 2003) two people were seriously hurt and six others injured when a makeshift bomb carried by a young man accidentally blew up in a tram. The reason he was carrying the bomb was for protection against his peers.

As the copter dropped the gas he shouted "Who cares ?" .
They could hear him laughing as they started up the stairs.
As they stormed out on the catwalk, blinking at the sun,
With their final fusillade his answer had come.

Am I ?
There is no way that you can hide me.
Am I ?
Though you have put your fire inside me. Am I ?
You've given me my answer can't you see ?
I was !
I am !
and now I Will Be
I WILL BE !!!

Sniper

Unfortunately, it's the slow erosion of a social sense of community -- both through a culture of greed (we must learn to be more "competitive") and a media landscape which tends to isolate individuals from one another -- that has led many countries to this crisis of citizenship. The issues surrounding the incident at Virginia Tech in mid-April is complex and myriad, and betrays many of the symptoms of this crisis. Since it would require a major re-evaluation of not only the mass media but present social, political and even economic norms, it's much easier instead to simply demonize the individual responsible, attribute some of the blame to an issue like gun control, and then try to forget what had occurred.

All this has had the apparent effect of sweeping the whole incident under the rug. Yet the pressures and insecurities that people face nowadays are very real. Given these pressures and insecurities related to a complex and often contradictory mix of issues -- economic, gender, ethnicity, etc. -- it's hardly surprising that Cho had been accused of stalking and harassing two female students and that his suicide note included comments about "rich kids", "debauchery", and "deceitful charlatans". His videos also expressed his hatred of the wealthy.

It would appear that Cho was a victim of this crisis of citizenship: he simply felt like he didn't belong, and that he blamed others for locking him out. Not only this, but in a properly functioning democracy an individual usually has some form of recourse in order to rectify conflicts. Such recourse was either unknown to him, unavailable, or non-existent. Instead, Cho was simply labelled as mentally ill and referred for counselling. Such a failure represents a failure of democracy.

It should come as little surprise that those who find they have no recourse or are unaware of where to go for help subsequently find themselves in a desperate situation. In turn, this desperation leads to a feeling that they are at the end of a road, and that they have nothing left to lose. Some take their own life; and some take the lives others.

Unless such problems are acknowledged and something is done soon, it will only be a matter of time before suicide bombings become an alternative method to school shootings. In the meantime "low-intensity" school killings, which actually take more lives over the long run, look set to continue unabated. Ironically, although many in the US regard massacres like at Virginia Tech as rare -- pointing to the fact that it was eight years since the previous one at Columbine -- in that same period of time there were over 200 school-related homicidal incidents in the US.

The Virginia Tech shooting was the deadliest of its kind in modern US history, that is, until another such massacre occurs. Sadly, the way in which it has been so quickly and easily shelved from people's memory, it's almost a guarantee that another one like it will soon occur.