August 03, 2008

Gathering

Click here, or here, here, here, here, here, here,
maybe here or here. Try this or this one
How about this. Then there's this one and here's another.

I believe that if I really tried I could come up with plenty more examples.
See if you can't find something I haven't and post it in the comments area.

It happens unexpectedly, yet we are no longer surprised by it's occurrence. The recovery time for the shock and horror has decreased significantly- and we are unaffected. It is becoming precarious to go about your daily business without thinking that at any moment some pathetic fool will have decided that he or she wants to go out with a bang and take as many innocents as possible with them as a vanguard to Valhalla.

I realize that we all go about our business day after day and week after month without mishap; without thought of pandemonium breaking out. Yet I have noticed that people are distancing themselves from others. Are we starting to reverse the natural trait of gathering in tribes and condensing in towns and cities
to become xenophobes, locked away in our homes, afraid to venture outside?

It seems to me that there are a significant amount of people who are unable to cope with the pressures of society, maybe they are uncertain of their place in it. One segment is choosing to isolate themselves from the general public. Others are trying to tear down society and rip it apart.

Will our inability to live with each other in peaceful co-existence cause a migration into the countryside and hermitage, where we will relate to others long distance through the medium of Internet and mobile telecommunications. The trend has been developing for quite some time. I have seen couples on dates texting each other rather than engaging in verbal correspondence

Where does the rage come from?
Are we naught, but toddlers encased in adult bodies?
Why has the value of life depreciated so thoroughly in the last two generations?
Do the physicians truly believe that all the pills they prescribe for people really help?

Why is it that we can create the most amazing tools, fabulous computer generated entertainment, space travel and stations and machines that afford an easier existence, yet we cannot figure out how to feed the needy, find work for the sound, get rid of the weapons, the hatred, injustice and worst of all ignorance.

I know this is not well thought out and I ramble on without direction, but this is merely a single post on a web log that will not be read by many people. I wonder what ideas the people who do come to visit think about all this.

Why is the world coming apart when we have, now more than at any other point in human history, the ability to move in the opposite direction.

Wait! I've been thinking about energy too.

I couldn't find any naked pictures to go with this post.




16 comments:

lime said...

i think there are many factors that contribute to this sort of horror but the two that leap to mind are that we have become increasingly desensitized to violence because what we call "entertainment" is filled with violent images, whether it's in movies, television or video games. add to that a population whcih is more and more transient and we don't know our neighbors any more. we don't stay in the area where we grew up, we move to wherever the highest bidder is and we spend more time worrying about pursuing wealth than building community. less of a sense of community and more desensitized to violence make very frightening partners.

Kurt said...

I have no answers. Just hoping not to get stabbed.

Jenny said...

I think "LIME" has written a perfect response. There is a lot of anger in the world. AND, our health care system doesn't provide enough for mental health problems.

ThursdayNext said...

I think that in addition to not providing enough care and giving enough coverage for mental health issues, we continue to attach an antiquated stigma to those who have mental illness.

The Grunt said...

A great deal of the world's population is subjected to similar everyday things that these killers are. So, my question is why isn't it happening more? I'm not dismissing the problem with this question, just hitting it at a different angle.

Ed & Jeanne said...

How many of those school shooting sprees would not have happened if the media didn't highlight it? Whether for good or evil, so many people are trying to find a way to be heard or recognized. With a planet of over 5 billion and an emphasis on the sensational, it seems that violence is the easy answer to get there quickly...

puerileuwaite said...

NYD wrote: Why is the world coming apart when we have, now more than at any other point in human history, the ability to move in the opposite direction?

Because it is LESS WORK IN THE SHORT TERM to continue on the current path. These are all quickly forgotten and therefore acceptable losses, otherwise - collectively - humans would do something.

Anonymous said...

It's complicated. I found myself l, example Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as I turned thee very ideas around in my head.

Aunty Belle said...

Deep thoughts, Sugar. Deep thoughts. Lime and VE have good insights.

Reckon I might add that we have built up a whale of a lot of false expectations for young folks about what life will be...then when it doan happen fer some, they's enraged.

We need to teach that life ain't a fairy tale, that stuff happens, and the shortest route to happiness is STILL the same as it always was--hard work and virtue.

Instead, they think life is a video game. I mean literally--they try to relate to real life same as they do wif' a game. But real flesh and blood doan always go whar' the joystick points, ya know?

Deep thoughts.

Serena said...

I concur with Lime here. I think we're all jaded these days, and I don't think that's a good thing.

Mona said...

Dear Misplaced

First of all, Let me express my heartfelt sympathy for you for not being able to find naked pictures for this post. Your camera's timer & self click buttons must not be working I presume,otherwise I am sure you would have had an opportunity to take one of...um...well...

Next, this is one thought which most of us have been pondering about, but do nothing about. Mistrust and ghettos flourish in a day wrought with cut throat competition and a need for more and more. Materialism is the word of the day, and man eats man. The reason is that with the ever growing population and the ever decreasing mortality rate at the hands of disease etc. Mother Earth is shrinking & Resources are dwindling fast.
People are resorting to the survival of the fittest means en masse.
Insecurity is rampant with the growth of crime rate and thereby mistrust ensues.
Violent movies and viciously violent computer games are creating criminals from cradle ; thereby throttling conscience even before its conception!

In short, the power that we think is with the Men today, is actually with the Seven Cardinal sins ( actually I would call them fault lines and not sins ) that are controlling men all around the world!

Ok! So let is start by embracing each other WITH ALL OUR CLOTHES ON OF COURSE!

(((HUGS)))

whimsical brainpan said...

"Why is the world coming apart when we have, now more than at any other point in human history, the ability to move in the opposite direction."

Because we have bought into the culture of fear and have been bought off and made complacent by material things, all the while choosing to stay ignorant.

NYD said...

Lime~ While I like your point concerning community and the fact that it has virtually disappeared. I am not so certain that the exposure to violence is all that different. I can remember growing up watching plenty of violent cartoons and movies. Albeit they weren't as graphic and we alll understood that we were watching fiction or at the very least a portrayal of a real life story.

Kurt~ I hope you don't get stabbed either. Sure would love to visit your garden.

Anon~ How many mental health problems would be corrected if society were to start behaving responsibly?

Thursnext~ Yes, there still is a "stigmata", but it is not at all what it used to be. More people employ therapy and take medication than ever before.

Grunt~ It is quite possible that some folks were raised with a different value system. One with a morality that eddifies the value of life and puts the kibosh on reprehensible activities. I think it is due to pride in oneself.
But stay tuned the summer is still going strong and there is still a chance that the circus will come to town.

VE~ I will agree that there are some who do this just to get attention, but the roots lay further down in the ground. I can't imagine someone saying to themselves "I want to be on TV. "I guess I'll go out and kill a couple of dozen people." The problems facing those who run amok are built up over years, not in the space of a music video.

Pug~ Whenever I am being serious I hope that you will come by and apply your sardonic wit to the keyboard and write something funny.
This time you have struck a serious but important chord. It immediately reminded me of Lt.Col. Frank Slade's (Al Pacino) final soliloquy in "Scent of a Woman"
Watch Here

Aunty= Did we give them false hope by dangling the carrot of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice in front of them?

Did we fudge in our responsibilities when we failed to educate them and make the education mean something?

Did we offer them an easy life filled with diversions instead of instilling them with the values that make a people strong, a community safe and a country wholesome?

Hmmm...

S.J.~ I am Jaded, often frustrated with life and missed opportunities and envious of those who have an easier time because of the proverbial silver spoon, yet I don't feel the need to go into a mall with both barrels blazing.

Mona~ The present economic system doesn't allow for a level playing field and I don't see any way to change it; Karl Marx couldn't and he was a whole helluva lot smarter than I.

When it comes to "sins" who is it that defines sloth, gluttony or pride?


And I prefer my embraces Au Nautural!

Whim~ Not so whimsical, yeah? The culture of fear, yes! Mass media and polititions love to use fear and complacency as a tool to control the population.

Hang on, I got a burrito in the nuker and my cell phone is chiming. ..

Corn Dog said...

I'm here, lurking but I have nothing of value to add. An interesting and thought provoking post. I'm more like the problem than the solution having stabbed my own brother in a game of mumbly peg. And frankly there's nothing I like better than a few hours at the gun range. So much for pacifism.

NYD said...

Corn dog~ I am not a pacifist. In fact I believe that knowing how to use a firearm and rifle is a very good thing. Putting them in the hands of children and mental midgets is quite a different story though.

Allan said...

It scares me that I didn't even have to click any of the links to be horrified. I'm not certain if you are referring to multiple atrocities or multiple references to the same one, not even sure if it matters anymore...critical mass, here we come.