Tragedy Strikes In Finland
By Phil Butler on Nov 8, 2007 in News
Today it is crucial that we turn our eyes toward Finland and a great tragedy that happened there on Wednesday. At Jokela High School in Tuusula, an 18 year old student killed seven classmates and a teacher - only hours after uploading a preemptive video on YouTube.
Five boys, two girls and the school principal were summarily gunned down before shooting himself in the head. The Reuters story did not name the assailant but mentioned the name Sturmgeist89 used to post the foretelling video on YouTube – leaving us with echoes of the Virginia Tech atrocity in the U.S. earlier this year. Sturmgeist means “storm spirit” in German, and the video entitled: “Jokela High School Massacre – 1/7/2007’, was uploaded on Tuesday – the day before this tragedy. The following message bit was accompanied by various lyrics from KMFDM songs and the video set to their song “Stray Bullet”:
“I am prepared to fight and die for my cause,” read a posting by a user of the same name.
“I, as a natural selector, will eliminate all who I see unfit, disgraces of human race and failures of natural selection.”
This chilling view into the mind of a child should rivet us all to the problems young people and we as a race of people face in the years to come. According to eyewitnesses the gunman methodically moved through the school knocking on doors and shooting people through them. The town’s mayor, Hannu Joensivu said that nothing like this has ever happened in the otherwise peaceful town of Tuusula. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen told reporters that the shooting was an extremely sad event.
Reach Out – Reach In
My heart goes out to the family and friends of the people killed in this terrible event, and also to those kids who remain – traumatized with such a horrible image of how precarious and crazy life can be. It occurred to me after the VT slayings that we are not doing enough to make life safer and gentler for the kids of the world. These events and their increasing regularity seem systemic of a much larger problem we have not focused on enough. The world is just plain getting meaner!
We don’t do near enough in correcting problems on a global scale like hunger, sectarian and other violence, human rights and many other issue – and we certainly do not so near enough on the local and individual (personal) level to create harmony. I am not making excuses for this young man – there is no excuse – but as a people we live in much to dangerous a time to ignore that change is needed. I am not talking about legislation, but rather and individual and collective effort to calm the world.
Conclusion
I do not want to get on a soapbox at this time – this is a time to express care and sorrow for the people there in Tussula. So many people reached out to the victims of Virginia Tech and it is appropriate that we all reach out to those unfortunate folks in Finland now. So this is the most important thing we can do today – care for the dreadfully injured. I will update this post with anything that will comfort the friends and family and also be thinking what I can do to be a kinder person.
A paraphrased story comes to mind, Phil.
Mother Teresa was asked the question, ‘what can we do to stop war’. She said, go home and hug your children. Show them what love is by loving them. That’s how you stop war.
Thanks for letting me christen Phil Butler Unplugged, fella. I really like the clean layout and design!
*Hugs and congratulations!*
saboma | Nov 9, 2007 | Reply
A wonderful article Phil, While we cannot bring back the precious lives that have been lost through this terrible incident, we can show our sympathy and support to those families. As your article points out the world is getting meaner!
Where does that leave the generations that come after us, how much more meaner does that world need to get before something is done.. Or are we sending our grandbabies into a future of giant catastrophe!
It worries me that these things are happening and It saddens me even more that their are parents like you and I that have to suffer the hurt that those in Tuusula are feeling now and will feel for many years to come. A wonderful article Phil. I look forward to reading further articles.
Lezah | Nov 9, 2007 | Reply
Hey Saboma and Lezah - Thank you so much for coming to comment. I know everyone is so busy.
@ Saboma - There is noting more appropriate than your quote from Mother Theresa - this is exactly what is needed on the individual level - and perhaps the only way for us to be kinder. Thank you for being here and you know I appreciate your opinion greatly.
@ Lezah - Gal, you are always so kind - thank you! I worry for our little world too - the reason for being unplugged after all. We can make changes - you know we can. See right here - 3 people who are kind and concerned. Please help me write things that will help. I will do what I can to address anything of import. Thank you again for your kind comments!
Always,
Phil
Phil Butler | Nov 9, 2007 | Reply
Imagine if everyone in the world kept their own side of the street clean by tending to it accordingly and allowed others to do the same, Phil. We’d have world peace. We’d be so busy tending to what belongs to ourselves that we’d not have time to meddle into other’s affairs.
The adults could be adults and the children could enjoy being children.
There is no such thing as a bad kid. There are just bad parents who don’t know their roles as adult parents.
saboma | Nov 9, 2007 | Reply
Saboma - This is so correct - parents either scarcely have the time to think or never learn to be good parents. This is the dilemma that haunts our society and now the world.
Thanks for your comments and honest insight - we need to get better - much better.
Always, Phil
Phil Butler | Nov 10, 2007 | Reply