From: Graphix 4 Stoners!©
Date: Apr 18, 2007 8:30 PM
I just have some things to say about the recent tragedies at Virginia Tech.
First off, and I'm sure everyone will be with me on this, my heart goes out to all of you who were effected by this horrendous event.
I do also have a large complaint. Here are my questions when I see or hear quotes like this:
"A university official said the English literature student was "troubled" and his essays had been so disturbing that he was referred to the campus counseling service. It was feared that he suffered from depression."
My Question:
WHY DIDN'T THAT "UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL" TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO MAKE SURE HE GOT HELP?
The Quote:
" "There was some concern about him," said Professor Carolyn Rude, head of the English department. "Sometimes, in creative writing, people reveal things and you never know if it's creative or if they are describing things." "
My Question:
WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU ASK HIM?????
The Quote:
"A play he wrote last year as part of a writing class gave some clue to his thinking. Entitled Richard McBeef, it featured a 13-year-old boy who accuses his stepfather of pedophilia and murdering his father. The teenager talks of killing the older man and, at one point, the child's mother brandishes a chainsaw at the stepfather. The play ends with the man striking the child "a deadly blow." "
My Question:
Umm hello?!?! This was a young man at the prime age to start developing signs of mental illness. A story such as that should have been brought to someones attention as MORE than just a story. Have people not learned from stories about caught killers who tell of childhood abuse and such? The story comes from somewhere, why not ask the person who wrote it the simple question: "Is this your creativity or should I find you someone to talk to?"
OK.. so thats just part of my rant about all this. TRUST ME, I am in NO means giving the man ANY kind of excuse for what he did. Killing anyone is never the answer.
I believe that the awareness of Mental Illness is so tiny in this large world of ours, that people are honestly just ignorant to it. If they aren't exposed, they just have no way of knowing and it is not their fault. I have a Schizophrenic brother, so I have spent just about the last 10 years of my life trying to make anyone and everyone I know aware of mental illness. I feel it is very important to know the signs. Because my parents and I sure didn't know. But once we found out it was a mental illness, we researched, learned and my mother even took classes. The BEST thing to do is learn, learn, learn.
In my opinion, cuz i wouldn't know where to start, there should be some kind of way to get it up the ladder to our govt. officials that there should be a mandatory course in schools for our children's sake. There just needs to be a point where everyone knows what to look for.
How many kids, teens or adults say, "I didnt even know anything was wrong." Well, thats because you never learned just what the signs are or could be.
So, after hearing about the gunman's possible signs of mental illness, and so many other unfortunate events such as this (even though they might not make everyone aware of them all) it makes me realize that its is THAT much more important to make people aware.
Help prevent future mass shootings, spree killings and even suicides, homicides and SO much more i wouldn't even want to imagine. Please take a minute to check out the following site.
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill:
http://www.nami.org/
I would like to thank everyone who read this far, I am not asking you to repost, maybe just pass it to one person, every person to become aware is one more in the right direction!
It IS important that everyone be aware!
Thanks for reading!!
~Beckee420
This was wriiten by a friend on Myspace and I wanted to share it with my friends here...
