Gore in Colorado
By
Deirdre Griswold
When an event as shocking as the multiple murder-suicides in
Littleton, Colo., takes place, everyone tries to understand
what it means. Why would a couple of teen-age boys want to blow
up their school, mow down their schoolmates, and then put guns
to their own heads?
At a mass memorial on April 25, politicians from Vice
President Al Gore on down joined local school officials,
religious leaders, and the parents and friends of the dead and
wounded. Their speeches were supposed to bring comfort and
understanding.
There have been similar ceremonies before because this
phenomenon--supposedly inexplicable rampages by young white
men--is not a new one in the United States. These massacres are
becoming all too familiar.
"The forces of hatred and violence must not be allowed to
gain," the Rev. Franklin Graham told the crowd. He's the son of
evangelist Billy Graham.
"To the families of all those who died here, I say you are
not alone," said Al Gore. These seem to have been the most
memorable phrases, since they were the ones quoted in the
newspapers.
As they were speaking, a formation of F-16 fighters flew
overhead. That was supposed to reassure the people there.
In all the speeches that day, disseminated so widely by the
most modern means of communication, did any even attempt to
apply a scientific view of society to this grim matter? Did any
approach the subject not from the point of view of vague
notions and emotions, or, even worse, of self-serving
platitudes, but from an analysis of what events and processes
are impacting on young people in the United States?
We know what events and processes the media hasn't even
mentioned in connection with this grisly event--even though
they're as obvious as the elephant in the bedroom.
First of all, there's the monstrous bombing of Yugoslavia
and Iraq that is going on day after day. At least one of the
shooters comes from a military family. U.S. culture today is
highly militarized--kids are inducted at an early age with
menacing action figures, then video war games, and finally the
"job fairs" right before graduation where all the military
services come to sign them up.
Many people are so steeped in this culture of killing that
they can't recognize it for what it is. How many of the people
in this area of Colorado take war and aggression for granted?
Had these teenagers joined the military and carried out their
mayhem in some other country, wouldn't they have been hailed as
heroes?
When something like this incident happens, there's a lot of
talk about all the violence on television. But what are these
violent programs about? They're about glorifying the military
and the police. The early movies were full of killing Native
people. Then Mexicans. Now, because killing really does get
boring after a while, the sheriffs or cops have to be more
complex, with quirky personalities. The soldiers have to be
special forces with incredible gadgets. But the message is the
same: the guys with the biggest guns are the heroes and get the
girls.
Is Hollywood going to be weaned away from this after all
these years? Not as long as the rich who run this society need
soldiers and police to protect their interests.
The other word that gets little mention is racism. It has
been reported that these two youths were obsessed with Hitler
and used racial epithets. There were few students of color in
their school, but they made sure to kill the only African
American they could find. Racism is another feature of U.S.
society that is so pervasive it seems part of the landscape.
None of the speakers at the memorial seems to have mentioned
it--not directly, at any rate.
And finally, there's the question of sex. The teen years are
difficult, especially in a society where women are still
oppressed and where same-sex love is only recently out of the
closet and meets with extreme violence, as in the murder of
Mathew Shepard in Wyoming. Sex is everywhere, used to sell
everything, yet it is taboo for young people. Fascist movements
thrive on depriving young men, especially, of sexual
affection.
The politicians and religious figures who came steered clear
of these hard questions, repeating hollow phrases and acting
out rituals that are supposed to comfort people through their
familiarity. Their message is: We feel your pain, but now we
all can move on. Nothing has really changed.
However, things are changing, and very rapidly. Technology
is creating a new world. War is destroying more and more of the
old. Skills and ways of life that were passed down from
generation to generation are obsolete. This change seems out of
control, as though the machines had a mind of their own--the
theme of many fantasies that appeal to youth.
But scientific development doesn't take place in a vacuum.
This is a capitalist society, so it has been heavily weighted
to military technologies and higher corporate profits,
regardless of the social costs. As a result, science is in
disrepute and mysticism takes its place. Whether the officially
sanctioned mysticism of established religions, or the satanism
the Colorado teens are said to have practiced, both see the
world as a battleground for forces of good and evil.
Yes, the world is a battleground, but the contending sides
are flesh and blood. They are driven not by mysterious forces
but by material interest--the struggle for land, resources and
what people produce with their labor. It is becoming more acute
because the capitalist system of exploitation is reaching the
point of a new social explosion.
To understand this is to be liberated from the irrational
demons that drove these young men. The next question is, in the
struggle between bosses and workers, between oppressors and
oppressed, which side are you on?
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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