Did anyone hear about the kid who
set himself on fire in his school’s cafeteria in Colorado?
Yeah, as so many other things in
the world, that’s pretty messed up.
What’s more messed up, is that I
went to that school. I attended Stanley Lake High School the first year it was
open. I’ve been in that cafeteria. I’ve trolled those halls. I marched their
football field at 6am. I spent a year of my life there.
It’s strange when these things
happen so close to home. Not that I live in Colorado anymore, but I did, and I
know people who still do, and it feels ugly to have something like this happen
so close to the place I at one time called home.
Yesterday myself, my husband and
a good friend of mine were talking. I brought this up, because I was freaked
out about it, and we transitioned to the too many acts of violence that have
happened in schools and other public areas.
Like, who thinks that’s okay? In
what state of mind does someone’s brain said, “Let’s go kill some people?”
One theory that we came up with
is that these shooters (or whatever they decide to use as their weapon) want 15
minutes of fame, even if they’re dead. And the horrible thing is, that the
media gives it to them.
Instead of saying, “These kids
are messed up, and idiots. Don’t be like them.” The media delves into their
lives, finds out who bullied them, if their parent’s made them eat brussle
sprouts when they were little, what series of events took place to guide them
to this horrific end for both them and whomever else they got close enough to,
to take out.
Let’s face it, I don’t think that
any of us want to think that our friends, neighbors or children/family members
are capable of going into a school or a mall and shooting people. So we look
for the reasons behind the actions. In some ways I think we want to or try to
excuse the shooter because of their circumstances.
Okay, now don’t get all crazy on
me here. Everyone is going to have a different opinion on this—which is fine by
the way—and you’re welcome to leave comments below.
My brain got going yesterday, and
started to wonder if that’s why so many people like sympathetic villains in
stories. A bad guy with a dang good reason to be doing what he’s doing. (Magneto
from the X-Men comes to mind.) It can make the actions of the bad guy somewhat
excusable. Or at the very least understandable.
Does that make a better villain,
or worse? Which would you rather read about?
I have friends who argue both
sides of this line, which I think is great.
Personally, I like to understand
where the villain is coming from, but I then like to have the villain do
something so horrible that I’m like, “Uh, no. Someone has to take care of that
guy no matter how mean the other kids in his 8th grade chess club
were to him.”
2 comments:
I personally subscribe to the notion put forth by Tom Hiddleston as to what the appeal of Marvel's villains and heroes is: "What Marvel is so clever at is that they make their heroes flawed and their villains heroic."
And Joss Whedon: "Villains are heroes in their own minds."
In regards to the incident with the young man you mentioned first, my sincere thoughts and prayers are with his family. Truly a sad incident.
I have to agree that Marvel is pretty great with their characters.
Complexity in characters is cool.
But not like Bow ties are cool.
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