Virginia Tech

Because news travels fast these days, my afternoon (advanced) class spent an hour and a half discussing the horrifying events at Virginia Tech today. Several had already heard the news, the rest got filled in by me and the students in the know.

And what an interesting discussion we had. We discussed the numerous points of blame for this incidents (and the many others like it), placing the biggest responsibility on the gunman himself, but the students were quick to point out the factors that may have lead to his choice to commit mass murder: American culture's obsession with violence in movies, video games and on the evening news; the extreme amount of freedom that Americans have (which, they argued, can lead to unethical choices); the easy and legal access to guns; and to society's view on masculinity and how it is inextricably tied to violence.

It will be interesting to watch as this unfolds and the impact that it will have on my students getting ready to study abroad.