Let's Be Serious

Earlier this week, in the wonderful (is that the right word? wonderful?) city of College Park, there was a shooting.

Mass hysteria ensued. Well. At least it seemed to if you get email alerts from the UMCP police.

But nonetheless, a shooting is a shooting.  And lately I've been becoming aware of an unfortunate quality that I seem to possess.  Every time I hear of another shooting, another bombing or suicide attack, I feel...nothing.

Well, not nothing.  But I feel as though I'm part of a generation who has been unintentionally conditioned due to the world that we've watched through our TVs.  With the terrorist attacks that, at the time, annoyed me because they had disrupted my 5th grade language arts class, to the overseas suicide bombings appearing on the news every other day, I feel horrible.  Because I feel nothing.  With deaths occurring every day, and the knowledge that there's not really anything that I can do to prevent them, I feel pretty useless.  Pretty numb.  How can I come to respect the value of life when it seems to vanish so readily and without reason?

While the shooting on Tuesday wasn't necessarily random (it was labeled as drug-related), it was still unfortunate. But though the local and campus police investigated and panicked, I'm sure that most of the other students reacted the same way I did: "Huh. *delete email*"

What has happened to me? To us? Does death mean nothing?  Have we really been conditioned the way that I fear we've been?  I hope not.  Next time that I'm sitting in  front of the TV and hear a story about some who was shot or stabbed or unmercifully (and quite crudely) blown up, I hope I cry.  I hope that everyone cries.  It is the least that we can do for those who have had their lives so harshly taken.

And the shooting I keep mentioning? The victim was a full-time University of Maryland student.  He was killed on a small street off of Metzerott Road.

I go to the University of Maryland.

I live off of Metzerott Road. 

It's quite an eye-opener.  Yet my eyes aren't open.  I feel no different.  Why is that?  Why do I feel nothing?

All I can do is hope that I can change.  That everyone who is like me can change.

I'm going to start now.  I'm thinking that it's time to buy some mace.  It's the least that I can do is protect myself, and maybe even protect some others.  What will you do?