The massacare at Viginia Tech.... where to begin. I'm saddened by the events of yesterday and my prayers go out to all those who were effected. Those who survived and those who loved someone who did not.

When Columbine happened, I was still fairly new into the counseling profession. After all the hearings, all the dialogue, all the attempts to understand the whys of Columbine, we're back at square one (or trying to get back there after falling even further behind). I remember what happened after Columbine - lots of talk about who was likely to go on a shooting rampage, policies put in place in schools about what to do if a shooting started, national discussion about gun laws, tougher punishments for kids with any sort of weapon in school or making any threat, and there is a greater awareness of the evils of bullying (not any ways to stop it, mind you, just a greater awareness). ... A lot of those things will likely be getting address again, 8 years later. None of it gets to the heart of the problem - that we have a generation of unattached people who think nothing of wiping out a large group of people as their final act on this earth.

What needs to happen is that we need a nation of attached, connected people. We need parents to actually parent their kids instead of leaving that to preschool, school, afterschool programs, or to the kid to figure out when coming home to an empty house at the end of the school day and no guidance. We need a nation where there is a caring parent at home with the kids so there is some stability in their homes, so they aren't getting shuttled off from one caretaker to another. We can't be shocked about people killing dozens of people before killing themself anymore. The shocking thing to me is that this isn't a monthly (or weekly, or daily) event in our country. In my work at the prison, I see unattached man after unattached man. I sadly know that I am in no danger of ever losing my job. There are too many people out there preying on others, too many people who are allowing it to happen, too many throwing up their hands because it isn't their problem that their kid is turning out the way he is. it is to the fault of the school, or a teacher, or the principal.... There are too many people who weren't parented trying to parent and finding that it is a tough thing to do. Easier to have another kid and try again with the next seems to be the attitude of some...

And don't even get me started on how Iraq ties into this. When, as a society, we don't really seem to care about the deaths of thousands, it is difficult to preach the sanctity of a human life. Not to mention how damaged (physically and emotionally) the men and women returning are. The level of care they are getting for mental health concerns is a step below pathetic. Our priorities as a society are who will win American Idol.

I had to turn off the news this morning as I started to feel like a ghoul. Couldn't take hearing another student reduced to tears by a reporter asking what it was like, what they heard, what they felt, if the shooter said anything, what it was like to expect to be shot at any moment. I do understand the desire of the public to understand what happened, but think there should be some protection afforded the people who were victimized (have thought that since Columbine). Give them time to process what happened and get out of that disconnect before exposing them to the world and all the probing questions. Allow them to get back the ability to think before asking them to decide if they even want to talk with the media. Maybe some legislation to protect the victims of tragedies like this.

I'm angry that this happened. Maybe if enough of us get angry, there will be change. I'm also realistic (cynical??) enough to know there are no chnages coming. Our society doesn't have the ability to truly connect. We are constantly inventing new technologies to keep from connecting with other people. I'm guily too. I think I'm going to be getting an iPod for my bday, and know that it will be used when I want to be isolated in my own world.