The Cho Factor, Part II

A Soul Without Purpose

An Undisputed Truth

By Robert Ringer

In April 2006, I said that from what I had seen and heard, it was clear to me that the media had no clue as to the underlying cause or causes of the Virginia Tech massacre. It was then, and is now, an undisputed truth. I also promised that I would weigh in with my views on this tragedy of seismic proportions once things cooled down a bit.

The Virginia Tech incident was much more than just a case of random school violence inflicted by a depraved student. What occurred is part of much deeper societal issues - issues that define how each and every one of us conducts our lives on a day-to-day basis.

The underlying issues I am referring to feed our frustrations and fears ... our hopes and aspirations ... our disappointments and unfulfilling "victories" ... our failed marriages ... our glorification of organized high school and college athletics ... our ignorance of learning disabilities and emotional problems ... our willingness to turn a blind eye to injustice and "play the game" for fear of being ostracized ... our unrelenting attachment to "things" … our entrenched ideas of what makes us worthy or unworthy citizens of our communities. Indeed, our very perceptions of what is real and what is unreal.

As I said in Installment I of this series, it is a subject so vast that it affects just about every area of life. That being the case, exploring it promises to be a long, and often uncomfortable, journey. Those looking for simplistic answers may decide, at some point, to turn back.

Before moving forward, I must warn you that what I have to say will not go down well with two kinds of readers: (1) Those whose minds are completely closed to the opinions of others, and (2) those knee-jerk-reaction folks who may have a tendency to misinterpret my words. To the latter group, I apologize in advance for any inadequacy in my writing skills that may lead to such misinterpretations.

As promised, I will be sprinkling these installments with excerpts from reader e-mails that I find especially interesting. (Actually, just about every e-mail I received about the Virginia Tech shootings was interesting, but to print them all would require a fairly large book.)

From Voice of Sanity reader Ed:

Would you be willing to change the name of your factor? I agree with the opening of [your] discussion, open-minded debate and exploring our beliefs. ... But my original request remains: Would you please be willing to change the name of "The Cho Factor"? I think that on some level you raise Mr. Cho by including his name. ... Thanks in advance for considering my request.

I appreciate Ed's viewpoint on not wanting to "elevate" Cho's name, and I gave his request some serious thought. But for reasons that I believe will become ever more clear in the coming months, I prefer to stick with "The Cho Factor" as a series title.

Using Cho's name is not meant to elevate him or his actions. It is meant only to be symbolic in the sense that his depravity gives us a clue into some of Western society's nastiest endemic problems. To write off Seung-Hui Cho as an evil person is to oversimplify the underlying complex societal issues involved.

It is an undisputed truth that Cho's actions were evil, assuming that one defines evil as wicked or immoral. But I believe we are rationally obliged to look deeper into this mindless massacre to find the cause of Cho's wicked actions.

Chaos theory tells us that everything in the universe has an effect on everything else. And, as I said, the Virginia Tech tragedy was not an isolated, random incident. Like all consequences, it was preceded by a cause.

From Voice of Sanity reader J.G:

Unfortunately, we are a society that is entirely too busy. We all look for the fastest way to slap on a fresh coat of paint. Out of sight ... out of mind.

We don't have time to think about how a student could arrive in a position where he felt he was forced to murder innocent people. In most instances of campus violence, I see kids who we - parents, teachers, classmates - failed. Somewhere in these kids' lives we missed critical opportunities. Opportunities to listen. Opportunities to understand. Opportunities that could have saved lives.

The solution is not a fresh coat of false security. More rent-a-cops and metal detectors may make us feel safer ... and on occasion actually protect us. But who's looking out for the kid behind the gun? We have to find a way to identify the kids who are silently screaming for our attention. Then we have to listen - with an open heart and an open mind - to what they are dying for us to hear.

No explanation needed. J.G.'s words are very clear. In the next installment of this series, we'll take a look at Cho's profile and see if anyone was "looking out for the kid behind the gun."

Finally, because I am a longtime believer in the power of understatement, I will end today's installment with the words of Voice of Sanity reader Ginger, who wrote the briefest e-mail I received about Seung-Hui Cho:

A lost and wounded heart ... a soul without purpose.

In Installment III, we'll cut right to the chase and begin examining the specific causes of Cho's madness. It's going to get pretty bumpy, so I hope you'll continue to keep an open mind toward what I have to say - because Cho's seemingly senseless violence can teach us a lot about our society, about life, about human nature, and, yes, about ourselves. About how we got to where we are, and where we're headed.

Previous - Part I, Let the Discussion Begin: School Violence

Next - Part III, The Great Copout — "Evil": Social Philosophy Ignored

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