Feature
The carnage at Virginia Tech and the repetition of history
KH. Asef Safa Kabir
History repeats itself'. The quote may occasionally be termed as a mere cliché, but the enigmatic episodes of unpredictable human chronicles constantly assert the validity of this seemingly trite statement, no matter how ardently we try to elude the repetition. The recent massacre at Virginia Tech has dreadfully reminded us of the terrible campus mayhems of the past, which took place in other sanctuaries of edification. We literally tremble in horror when we recollect the bloodcurdling massacre that erupted at St. Columbine High School, Colorado in 1999 and the Texas University murders of 1966. It's even more appalling that despite the worldwide concern over these occurrences, we have been unable to ensure safety for students at the one place where they are least expected to encounter life-threatening catastrophes. The evocative cataclysm at the Virginia Tech campus explicitly manifests how unprotected we are in a precarious world, where human safety can be violated by anyone, anywhere.
On April 16 Cho Seung-Hui, a mentally disordered student carrying two automatic weapons enters the Norris Hall building of the university with a lethal mission, the initial phase of which has earlier been executed at a nearby dormitory. He opens fire, shooting people indiscriminately within the concrete walls that still bear grim traces of the atrocity. He takes the killing spree to several classrooms and brutally slaughters as many people as possible. Eventually, (as it happens in such cases,) he shoots himself after killing about 32 students and faculties. Afterward, Cho's numerous letters, video clips, and photographs, sent to NBC, corroborated the fact that he was in fact a psychotic maniac, motivated by extreme emotional frenzies, which ultimately culminated in this massive disaster.
Although this is an isolated incident at a US university, the awkward sense of tragedy affects us all and makes us empathize with the families of the victims who lost their lives so unexpectedly. Youths all over the world are particularly likely to feel an implicit link with this tragedy, as we consider ourselves to be members of a universal generation, with identical dreams, aspirations and 'way of life'. As I said earlier, these events inevitably make us question our safety in the world and point toward the recurrent nature of history, which we could have averted through prudence. American administration is now concerned about reviewing their gun control laws. Had these initiatives been taken earlier, it might well have prevented this gruesome carnage. Investigation shows Cho managed to purchase his murder weapons without any difficulty, as the relevant laws in the state of Virginia permit any individual to buy weapons by fulfilling some mere insignificant requirements. From that perspective, I can assert that we are apparently unable to amend our follies by learning from the mishaps that we confront. Previously, young students have been responsible for several campus killings all over the world. They had easy access to weapons that enabled them to snatch away human lives in an irresponsible, reckless manner. Generally, teenagers are emotionally vulnerable and often lack sensible reasoning due to the psychological turmoils of the age. This is what happens when they have easy access to weapons, alcohol and drugs.
As a person I am an optimist. I believe every awful incident brings forth some affirmative aspects. In other words, I can say that we should acquire some constructive lessons from this violent rampage. We may condole for the people who lost their precious lives, or we may commiserate for the budding dreams that were exterminated by a ruthless lunatic. However, the best we can possibly do is to take pragmatic steps to transform this perilous world into a safer place to live in. Perhaps only then the souls of the deceased will find some form of tranquility in their eternal domicile.
(NSU Student)
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