School Violence in the Americas—an in-depth look at the mind of the Killer

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/americas/2007/virginia_shootings/default.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6567143.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6564653.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6562529.stm

The recent Virginia Tech shootings will surely come down in History as an intensely memorable incident, the scars it inflicts staying open for many years to come. Indeed it comes down as a searingly painful reminder of how the actions of a single person can shatter and damage the lives of so many. While much of the world laments, a quiet question comes to mind – what silent, potent force has motivated a youthful someone to commit such an intensely perverse and abominable act?

Warning Signs
Many articles have been written on the mental state of Cho, and many of them have focused some of the most graphic and violent aspects of his personality, highlighting on his highly aggressive writings in his literature class involving graphic descriptions, which lead to a reference by a worried teacher to the school psychologist. He has also exhibited much abnormal behaviour, stalking and harassing two female students, and his friends have reported the incidence of suicidal thoughts to the police. Cho often referred to himself as “Question Mark”, and sometimes used that as his name for certain forms. Such irrational behaviour got more and more intense and the day of his attack drew near.


Conditioning
While many articles have chosen to follow such developments in Cho’s character, to see the true motives of his actions one must look deeper, past his branded name as an insane killer.

Many references to a highly disturbed and lost childhood can be found, and many often remark on how his place in his parent’s eyes was obscured by those of his older sister who went to prestigious universities, while he went to Virginia tech. While being attending church sometimes, many of his friends in his church and even in his school mistreat and bully him, and often treat him as no more than a ‘pathetic boy’, whose life was theirs to destroy.

In the now-famous tape he submitted before his act, he mentioned an admiration of the perpetrators of the Columbine high school massacre. He even compared himself to Jesus Christ, seeing himself as a martyr-model for all the weak and bullied worldwide, of how they could strike back. His then almost mentally ill mind could not see how he was at fault in his current situation, and he hit back at the world with a morbid vengeance.

Soul-search
It is only too easy to see how the intolerant culture of social Darwinism and survival of the most popular in his society, among other things, led to his unacceptable behaviour. However the reasons for his actions are not singular, but involve a multiplicity of many different reasons. One of the most referred to reasons for this killing is the relative freedom of the exchange of firearms in the United States, which allowed Cho to start preparing for his attack, hoarding weapons a few weeks before his actual act. This might sound appalling, one reason why the debate on gun control has been rekindled. The widespread occurrence of various forms of violence, from gory movies to video games, among young male American teenagers is also one visible cause.

Indeed much of the American public reacts with a general disappointment with the decay of mores of society, not focusing on any one particular reason, and others respond with just shock and lament.

Perhaps it is more useful to ask why the existence of this drifting, lost soul heading in the wrong direction was not reported earlier, not until almost an hour after his first killing. Perhaps the onus will always be on the family, friends, and others around a person to stop a murderer in his tracks.

Paris and Her Banlieues—Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4415018.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4405790.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4413964.stm
Views of police:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4405620.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6096706.stm
Views from the Banlieue:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2006/11/30/paris_riots_feature.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4412590.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6091344.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4440422.stm

The Paris riots of last years were some of the biggest civilian uprisings in France’s History. They involved a large proportion of city populations over a huge area, often corresponding to several arrondisements, and occurred in almost all major cities, from Paris to Toulouse. The riots were so destructive and well organized, that they were referred to by police officers as ‘urban warfare’.

The riots were sparked off by the electrocution of two teenage boys at a local power station, which triggered the expression of many years of simmering anger against the French government and the police. This led riots which paralyzed France for a period of around half a month, the torching of over 8000 vehicles and buildings, and disruptions of law and order in many states.

Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité?
A quick glance through the articles and other sources makes it clear to us the problems faced by the residents of the Banlieues. The everyday life in these areas is marked by an absence of police to enforce law and order, a lack of good schools, and a soaring unemployment rate.

The situation is so bad that many of the famous rap songs that originate from these troubled neighbourhoods deal with the common perception that the residents have been neglected and rejected by France and the French ethos. Also, evident in the lyrics is a mournful, sad depiction of the trials of everyday life, of poverty, lawlessness in their environments and a hopelessness and disillusionment with the government.

This is also exacerbated by the explicit racism of many people in the French public. While not similar to the apartheid policies in South America, The general aversion to immigrants, especially Africans, is made painfully evident to them, especially for young job seekers. This discrimination is extended to other citizens who live in the Banlieues, even if they are of the white majority, and this policy, while not written down, is an unspoken rule among many French employers. The lack of good schools there reinforces the notion that those born in the Banlieue have no future. There is also a marked absence of police–public contact with the Banlieue, and they are particularly hated by the young.

While this problem has existed for a long time, and the French government has tried to help the residents, some of its rhetoric is inflammatory, helping reinforce the image of the Banlieue resident as an exile in his own country. To help the residents of the Banlieu, much more must be devoted to her residents, including money for law and order, housing projects and above all, good schooling, and the equality that is central to the French ethos must be extended to them. The testimony of the two Banlieue residents paints us a portrait of two 15-year old brave young women who attempt to stand up to their current order. These people deserve to be helped. Indeed, these French also deserve Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité, the qualities essential to the French republic.