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Campus killer: the madness and a trigger

by Clarence E. Pilgrim

As the flickering flames of the candles burn in memory for the 32 persons who were slain in this act of brutal mass killings, the family, friends and the rest of us are left to mourn in disbelief, at this unimaginable event which occurred on Monday 16th April, at Virginia Tech University in the United States. Among the casualties was a Caribbean citizen.

With the collective feelings of shock and grief, many questions are being asked and some may never be answered. However to my mind three things are quite clear surrounding the alleged murderer Cho seung-Hui: 1) he has a history of dysfunctional tendencies; 2) he had easy access to guns; and 3) he was able to carry his weapon on the campus quite easily. 

This 23-year-old senior who allegedly committed suicide made a video which could be looked on as his last will. Among the bitter and angry things he said were these words, ““Do you know what it feels to be spit on your face and to have trash shoved down your throat? Do you know what it feels like to dig your own grave? Do you know what it feels like to have throat slashed from ear to ear? Do you know what it feels like to be torched alive? Do you know what it feels like to be humiliated and be impaled on a cross and left to bleed to death for your amusement?

This diatribe can only be defined by placing it in the context of a highly disturbed mind. It offers some degree of insight into his state of wellness, at the time of creating the calculated conditions to carry-out his executions.

But the question which will be debated for years is whether or not there were sufficient warning signs to detect, intervene and avoid this atrocity?

The perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine massacre Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold seem to have been role models for this suicidal killer.

Are there more persons out there just waiting to unleash their diabolical plans?

In seeking answers for the past, we must look at the present and future and begin to come to terms with a number of sad truths. Among them being the fact that a number of students throughout their educational lives, be it high school or college, are silently bearing the burden of mental illness to a lesser or greater extent. Family or friends may at times detect the warning signs of anxiety, depression or other serious mental health problems, but fail either through inexperience, ignorance or indifference to offer any form of positive intervention.

Every educational institution must adequately engage its student population by implementing a deliberate plan to teach mental health “first aid,” which would aim to develop a better sense of awareness through observation, to detect dysfunctional behavior, and quite possibly save a life.

Although realistically, not every case can be detected, there must be some checks and balances that have to be engaged in order to minimize the fertile conditions  that create dangerous minds and dangerous actions.

Violence and anti-social attitudes within an institution cannot be viewed through the disciplinary lens of only offering punishment or expulsion for what is undesirable. In other words, a proactive approach is more desirable than a reactive one.

Each educational institution must put in place a trained mental health counselor and addictive disorders specialist, with a clear mandate to conduct random screening among the student population.

Schools must create a readily accessible counseling service either within or outside the physical environment of the institution. This service must be easily available, so that evaluations can be made to give the kind of timely feedback necessary for speedy action.

Resources must be assigned to develop appropriate safeguards, which include security spot-checks and a clearly defined protocol for random searches.

The whole issue of guns and gun control must be positively addressed.

Firearms kill, and they must be regulated to the extent that they are not easily accessible. They should only become available within certain occupational jurisdictions, and only after rigorous screening of the applicant. Laws must be enforced severely, to reflect the seriousness of possessing an illegal firearm.

Serious measures and resources must not only be contemplated, but indeed, must be implemented, to deal with the issues of mental illness and the availability of firearms. It cannot be business as usual.

To the family, friends and everyone affected by this violent act, I extend sincerest sympathies and the hope that they find the will and the strength to overcome this awful event, and to continue living their lives in a way that would not allow what has happened to overcome them. May the departed rest in peace.

Clarence E. Pilgrim is a senior civil servant and educator in Antigua & Barbuda

Landau, Reality check for Panama City real estate craze
Sirias, Ocean Embassy's meeting a stiff challenge
O'Barry, Of dolphins and decency
Weisbrot, Dragging the World Bank into the 21st Century
Lehmann, The European Union and MERCOSUR
Gutman, ¡Candido Amador Recinos, presente!
Sánchez, Venezuela's security and foreign policies
Wheeler, Morales makes a power play

Silié, Garifunas emerge from oblivion

Pilgrim, Gunman on campus

Bernal, Our rights at risk

Jackson, Revolutionary justice