I’ll admit that I didn’t openly talk about the Virginia Tech murders, neither in my classes (as some of my colleagues did) nor among friends/colleagues. In part, frankly, because I’m never sure how one is supposed to (publicly) deal w/ such matters. In part, because I think the issue (cf. the Columbine murders) is often framed in a way I find socially distasteful. In short: social-collective masochistic entertainment.
Perhaps I’m being overly harsh. But I can’t shake the feeling that the television could just as easily be filed w/ 9/11 or Katrina or Virginia Tech or Anna Nicole Smith or … well, you get the picture. It’s part of what made the American Idol Gives Back charade so distasteful: Why, during four hours of (unoriginal) programming, did they not once give information on the organizations in Africa they sponsored? Why did all donations have to go through the American Idol cash machine? Or how we have to be constantly told that millionaire celebraties really, genuinely care about starving people (even while never abandoning their millionaire, jet-setting, glitterati lifestyles, of course).
But Gregg Easterbrook (at The New Republic) gets it spot on: It’s about the inability of our society—and particularly our modern media—to recognize the banality of evil (to steal a phrase from Hannah Arendt). You should go read his most recent piece: “Virginia Tech and our Impoverished Language for Evil.” You’ll need to register on the TNR website (it’s free); but it’s worth it.
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PS. If you’d like to donate to charities that do great work in Africa, forget American Idol. I recommend Mercy Corps & Heifer Foundation. Both not only provide assistance to individuals, families, and communities around the world, they both do so by giving tools for self-assistance.
PPS. To be fair, the American Idol website does provide some information about the organizations they support, but they do seem less-than-willing to encourage us to donate to them directly.
PPPS. If you’re interested in some great books on the nature of evil & modern society’s failure to address it, check out the following:
