Virginia Tech Tragedy

[geocorn]

I'm with you, Peter. I pretty much gave up all television about 7 years ago. I will watch an occassional sporting event and "24", but that is about it. I loved television in the 60's and 70's, but the overall quality of what is one the air is less than stellar, especially the news. They don't report objectively. Newspapers, as well. They continually blame the internet without once taking a look at themselves. Viewership of the nightly news is dropping every year and the only real audience they have is over 60. What will they do when they all die off. Blame the internet?

 

[Harry]

George


I will be 70 yrs old in November and i dont watch the so call news or read the news paper. They run thing in the ground and blame someone else and as for as the news reporters in the war zone is stupit, Our troops dont need all the bull%^*# the news puts out about them.
Harry

 

[Waldo]

N....ever
E.....nding
W....asteful
S.....tuff

 

[grapeman]

I held back on commenting on this because I didn't want to get political or opinionated, but I see I am in good company here. I have avoided the evening news and the Today Show since this all happened. I like to know what has happened and can grieve for the victims, but the news makes the whole country victims in cases like this. These cases when run through the mill like this only perpetuate this type of action. I find especially NBC to be totally irresponsible in their actions concerning this. I rarely watch an evening news anymore and don't have a subscription to the newspaper anymore. What ever happened to the fundamental rules of journalism?

 

[masta]

What ever happened to the fundamental rules of journalism?

That answer is simple...it has been replaced by greed and power!

 

[sally3]

I am not a regular poster but I am lucky enough to know a lot of you so
here I go... I work with "special people" on a minute to minute
basis all over the country. The "news" stations glamorized and
attempted to horrify us and sterotype a murderer. They set back
decades of achievements for special people all over the world. They are
feeding you low level information by attempting to generalize and
sterotype people who they want to terrorize you in believing have the
propensity for this level of violence. Their generalizations
would lead you to suspect OCD, Aspergers and so many completely passive
and kind hearted people in our society that do not communicate like
neurotypoical people AND TARGET THEM as potential murderers. I am an
advocate of the first amendment but the "news" media should be held
accountable for their incitement of fear and potential violence against
the segment of our population that is different and just doesn't fit
in. Anytime an enitity or individual uses speech to incite
violence, that activity is suspect and perhaps...not protected speech.
I believe what I have seen recently is reckless.... Hummmm.
Now I'll go back to drinking my wines....X O

 

[PeterZ]

Sally, I don't know it you are old enough to remember Richard Speck, but even back then (60's) they tried to pin his murderous rampage on a XYY last chromosome. The Human Genome Project has the potential for massive advances in curing diseases like Parkinson's, MS (a cousin-in-law of mine, who had a major impact on my life in HS - he is largely responsible for my love of math and science - has had MS for 30 years), and a host of others. It also has the potential for a level of repression not seen since the Spanish Inquision.

I heard yesterday that the producer of the movie Natural Born Killers publicly criticized NBC for their airing of the things they had. Claimed it would incite others to violence. Talk about hypocracy.

 

[sally3]

Yep...I've been reading your posts Peter...you are a very smart and
savy guy. I am also a child of the 60"s and the life altering
hits of JFK, Bobby, MLK and the daily dose of Vietnam...along with
dinner, coctails and the nightly news...like it was OK, molded my
life.

I am appauled at the reckless hype the national news media has
attempted to make out of this. WE KNOW BETTER but I don't think
the general popuation does. It cripples the rest of the
population and makes them label the "devients" who blaze the trails in
the sciences for the rest of us. I deal with amazing people on a
daily basis who sit and play video games in a computer language that I
can't comprehend...who can't look you in the eyes because they can't
look at you and see/liston you at the same time...and who wear
sunglasses and write disturding scripts in their honors level english
classes. Yep...those who don''t fit into the round holes blaze the
trail for us all to follow. They allow us to survive. Well
I better go back to drinking....

To publish the things I heard on the news verges on unprotected speech.

 

[OilnH2O]

I agree with all of you to some degree or another.... And, have made many of the same decisions -- no morning shows, no evening news, etc. I used to say that when I began "catch and release" fishing I no longer had a need for a newspaper! (I know Waldo gets it!)


I enjoy hearing about George and his daughter and others of us we know through this forumand their kids, and think sometimes the best I can do is to do my best where I'm at.


I think that the more I try to help my kids get through SAT's and high school honors and AP courses, and to give them the tools they'll need for the future, the better off the world will be. I'm sure all our kids -- not just mine -- will be able to handle all this. Indeed, they'll have to!


Peter, my other half too is smarter than me. I once said, after doing something dumb, "Gee... I feel like a perfect dolt...."


"Not perfect..." she responded. But while I'm not perfect it is times like these that I force myself to think positively.


I've taken toa line lately I stole from Justice Rehnquist. After he died,hischildren -- reflecting on the person they knew not as a supreme court justice but as their father -- his children said he always uttered the following when things looked bad: "It's clearing in the West."


I am blessed to look out on a beautiful God-given land that is awakening to spring. My view out our deck looks across the Missoula valley toward the west... and it's clearing. I think we must be positive -- those who push their view of all these recent tragedies on us (the media)want us to foment and wring our hands so we'll "stay tuned." I don't choose to tune out, I don't always buy the kool-aid being pushed when I tune in, but I do choose to look to the "clearing in the west...."

 

[PolishWineP]

I rarely watch any kind of news, and read the local paper for local events. I get my news from NPR and after that, I turn on music. So many people want to keep discussing all the bad going on in the world and can't figure out why I don't want all the gory details.
Years ago Bert and I suffered the loss ofhis son and the aftermath of attention certainly didn't help us any. It was coupled with a string of natural disasters and other deaths, and everyone in the valley knew about us. I can not imagine the additional stress of the national media on those poor families. I just pray that they can have some peace during this terrible time in their lives.

 

[PeterZ]

Sally, I must have been lucky. Where I went to HS (Lexington, MA, class of '71) we geeks ranked right up there with the football stars. In fact, one of my best friends was the quarterback, and one of the girls I dated was voted "Best Looking" in my graduating class. I was just a 130 lb, 6' tall nerd with pimples. (The QB was also voted Best Looking, and dated the girl Best Looking, but she dumped him because he was boring!!)

I had a HS class of about 700. Roughly 80% went to college, and 15 - 20% went to college in the Ivy's, MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, and the like. We had a bridge team!! Undefeated. The leader had something like 97 Master Points. 100 MP makes you a National Master. I actually earned about .25 points just playing in matches with my fellow students, and I couldn't make the team!

I think we spend too much time and money on those who choose to drop out, and too little on those who are gifted and need support to bring that out. We need to create a culture in our schools that celebrates the nerd and the geek, letting them know that they are as valuable as the football star.

My wife (SWMBO) used to have a thing she passed out at HS career fairs that talked about how much money Michael Jordan made. He hit the top of the Social Security wage base on Jan 2, he paid $200 for a round of golf, but made $26,000 in the 4 hours it took to play it, etc. But if Michael Jordan saved every penny he made it would take him 246 years to have the same net worth as Bill Gates.

NERDS RULE!!!

 

[Waldo]

I went to high school fer a while....I was pretty rank myself at the time.