So, many people were left quite stunned after a Norwegian 32-yr old left his guns rip at the youth camp outside Oslo. This blond and blue-eyed intellectual, now monster, decided to unleash his angst on innocents in an attempt to teach Europeans about the threat of Marxism and Islam on their homeland. He planned his attack, carefully and methodically. This is the type of guy who's the unsub on Criminal Minds. Creepy shit come true.
People angry with their own people. Not uncommon, with most differences are religious - Shia and Shiites have been at for centuries, British Protestants and Catholics at each other since the time of KIng Henry's VIII. Political and ideological differences are clearly cause for trouble too. Even Greenpeace has got itself into a fair share of scuffles to get their point of view across. We are not meant to get along it seems.
What stood out from this Norway incident is that no one really expected a local to run amok and armed with the intent to kill in a country that's generally very peaceful. That's the danger - not expecting things to go wrong. We had one example in the US with the Oklahoma bombings. Timothy McVeigh was one unhappy guy, upset with his government, their actions and hypocrisy. He apparently regretted not levelling the whole Federal Building (but also would have considered changing the target if he knew there was a day care center there.) Although many people knew about McVeigh's contentious views, they didn't think he would go so far. All those incidents of gun rage in US schools too stem from the same source - disgruntlement then violent action.
Going to far - why not? In this age of bigger and better, a terrorist act is only as big as it's effects. I blame the modern media and the way we consume it. We long for the special, theatrical, mega-super-uber, even explosive. We pay attention to Lady Gaga because she's made it a point to look different each time she's on camera. There are enough talent shows out there to turn any teen into a wannabe-anything. Even the losers and talentless like William Hung and Rebecca Black make people take notice, intentionally or otherwise, because they suck. Funny isn't it. So with money to purchase materials, scientific knowledge available on the Internet to put together an explosive device and enough balls to try something new, almost anyone in modern world can let go his own big bang. Anders Behring Breivik had an agenda to boot. His tweet "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests" speak volumes about his thoughts and actions.
So what can we do about this? It could simply be asking someone if everything is ok. Talking about stuff helps. That's why the SG gahmen wants to be seen as consultative (to varying degrees of success and response) and inclusive. If everyone is treated fairly, or at least given a voice, then we'll likely not need to deal with such dramatic endings. Parents need to keep talking to their kids, friends need to be asking friends stuff, teachers need to be looking out for their students. We all need to appreciate universal good and bad, that some actions are just wrong morally. Opposing views and dissent have their avenues. We all need to keep a level head and eyes open. Please, for all our sakes.
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