written the day after the VT shooting
In the morning I was shocked to tears when I heard about the incident at Virginia tech over bbc broadcasting. It seems at least once a week I am inclined to cry over something in the news. And I don’t even listen to the news all that consistently. A few weeks ago it was the child laborers in Southeast Asia. I don’t want it to be bad news, but if bad news were happening I would like to be informed of the truth, and the truth is all too often upsetting nowadays. I don’t believe the past were any more golden then now, but still… it is unspeakably hurtful.
Then this afternoon the teacher mentioned the incident, but didn’t elaborate, so the students listened to it stoically, for our classes were on schedule and we were a few classes behind. I was not so emotional now, for I felt what has happened has happened. Grieving over it won’t help anything now. The only thing to be done is to think of what to do to prevent a tragedy like this to ever occur again.
And then in the evening a radio program asked a professor on international relations to explain this incident to the public in Taiwan. The professor said that guns have been a problem in the States for a long time. Before, it was needed because people generally did not trust the government to protect them and had to rely on themselves, so they had guns. But the government in America has come a long way since the pioneering times and that calls for a different set of rules on gun regulation. However, gun regulation has not been following the times, because there have been private organizations centered around rifle shooting and such that are against any changes that will inhibit ownership of guns. They would get together and make sure that no congress member who supports regulation on artillery can survive a reelection. The professor claims that such groups have great influence. Besides, for a lot of people in rural areas of America, owning guns is a right.
I must say I do not find the argument of owning guns to protect one’s home and family convincing considering the times. If you buy a gun there is always the potential of using it, and if that potential doesn’t arrive in the figure of a deer or a hostile intruder, then in arrives in the figure of your careless or hotheaded youngster, yourself in a moment of irrational rage…etc. Though owning a gun is not as dangerous to your very young children as owning a swimming pool, its risk still outweighs its worth. The professor also said that if guns were allowed for sale in Taiwan, it would profit the bad guys far more than it would profit the good guys.
But then, I’m prejudiced. For I’ve always thought one could employ one’s time far more profitably than in hunting.
Then in the evening there came the news that the killer was Asian, and then a report that all the Taiwanese students in Virginia Tech were safe and sound. My mother said “The killer wasn’t Taiwanese, was he?” She seemed so sure that the killer was male, not female. And then I realized that I had believed the killer was male too, and I didn’t remember if it was ever mentioned what the killer’s gender was. And the notion that the killer was Asian was worrying, for though I believe that most Americans are perfectly rational people, I look at 911 and do not completely trust that racial hatred will not spring up because of this incident. And if the killer were Taiwanese it would hurt Taiwan’s image horribly. Considering how precarious our country’s position is when being faced with little acknowledgement of sovereignty due to pressure from mainland China, it really cannot afford further alienation from America.
Rummings on this subject suddenly brought to mind a conversation I had with my brother a few days ago. He said that suppose one day Taiwan’s military up and decided to revolt against central government. I said no, that’s impossible, because Taiwan military mostly consists of those serving for a little more than a year in their life in order to fulfill the government’s edict about every Taiwanese male past the age of 18 needing to serve in the military for 20 months. Most of them never wanted to be in the army, and since they have to what they mostly dream of during the time is to get this over quickly so they can get on with their lives – continue education, try to earn a cushy desk job, dating, playing computer games… etc. They can’t possibly want to join a revolt since life out there is so tantalizing and life in the army is simply a temporary derail. This may be revealing our military weakness to China, but I’m sure since they have so many cunning people they must have worked out the Taiwan situation themselves and have an attack plan all laid out now so it shouldn’t matter what I say of what I know. I don’t doubt that eventually Taiwan will become a part of China, though I little savor the idea. It is simply a matter of when, and by what means. It is a frightening thought. For in that when, will China allow us the freedom that we enjoy today? There has been so many tales of oppression, corruption and neglect in China that I can not be optimistic if such a thing came to pass.
Then I heard the killer was Korean. It did little to ameliorate my feelings.
Then this afternoon the teacher mentioned the incident, but didn’t elaborate, so the students listened to it stoically, for our classes were on schedule and we were a few classes behind. I was not so emotional now, for I felt what has happened has happened. Grieving over it won’t help anything now. The only thing to be done is to think of what to do to prevent a tragedy like this to ever occur again.
And then in the evening a radio program asked a professor on international relations to explain this incident to the public in Taiwan. The professor said that guns have been a problem in the States for a long time. Before, it was needed because people generally did not trust the government to protect them and had to rely on themselves, so they had guns. But the government in America has come a long way since the pioneering times and that calls for a different set of rules on gun regulation. However, gun regulation has not been following the times, because there have been private organizations centered around rifle shooting and such that are against any changes that will inhibit ownership of guns. They would get together and make sure that no congress member who supports regulation on artillery can survive a reelection. The professor claims that such groups have great influence. Besides, for a lot of people in rural areas of America, owning guns is a right.
I must say I do not find the argument of owning guns to protect one’s home and family convincing considering the times. If you buy a gun there is always the potential of using it, and if that potential doesn’t arrive in the figure of a deer or a hostile intruder, then in arrives in the figure of your careless or hotheaded youngster, yourself in a moment of irrational rage…etc. Though owning a gun is not as dangerous to your very young children as owning a swimming pool, its risk still outweighs its worth. The professor also said that if guns were allowed for sale in Taiwan, it would profit the bad guys far more than it would profit the good guys.
But then, I’m prejudiced. For I’ve always thought one could employ one’s time far more profitably than in hunting.
Then in the evening there came the news that the killer was Asian, and then a report that all the Taiwanese students in Virginia Tech were safe and sound. My mother said “The killer wasn’t Taiwanese, was he?” She seemed so sure that the killer was male, not female. And then I realized that I had believed the killer was male too, and I didn’t remember if it was ever mentioned what the killer’s gender was. And the notion that the killer was Asian was worrying, for though I believe that most Americans are perfectly rational people, I look at 911 and do not completely trust that racial hatred will not spring up because of this incident. And if the killer were Taiwanese it would hurt Taiwan’s image horribly. Considering how precarious our country’s position is when being faced with little acknowledgement of sovereignty due to pressure from mainland China, it really cannot afford further alienation from America.
Rummings on this subject suddenly brought to mind a conversation I had with my brother a few days ago. He said that suppose one day Taiwan’s military up and decided to revolt against central government. I said no, that’s impossible, because Taiwan military mostly consists of those serving for a little more than a year in their life in order to fulfill the government’s edict about every Taiwanese male past the age of 18 needing to serve in the military for 20 months. Most of them never wanted to be in the army, and since they have to what they mostly dream of during the time is to get this over quickly so they can get on with their lives – continue education, try to earn a cushy desk job, dating, playing computer games… etc. They can’t possibly want to join a revolt since life out there is so tantalizing and life in the army is simply a temporary derail. This may be revealing our military weakness to China, but I’m sure since they have so many cunning people they must have worked out the Taiwan situation themselves and have an attack plan all laid out now so it shouldn’t matter what I say of what I know. I don’t doubt that eventually Taiwan will become a part of China, though I little savor the idea. It is simply a matter of when, and by what means. It is a frightening thought. For in that when, will China allow us the freedom that we enjoy today? There has been so many tales of oppression, corruption and neglect in China that I can not be optimistic if such a thing came to pass.
Then I heard the killer was Korean. It did little to ameliorate my feelings.
posted by Mignon Chang at 6:22 AM
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