Why are we polarized instead of unified in the face of tragedy?

Answer 1

Tragedy does unite us : 9/11, VA Tech, etc. The problem is that it takes us very little time to become jerks again.

Answer 2

The VA Tech tragedy, I wish those families well. But, let's be real. Korean Americans are for the most part, very decent, hardworking and religious people of some stripe. All the ones in my town are either Christians or Buddhists and they are kind and fair business owners and shopkeepers.

If this was an Islam related incident, I believe it would raise the terror level a few notches, for sure. And for good reason. This was just an isolated incident. Muslims plan out terror years out in preparation/advance. I think things would have been far worse if this had links to Muslim terror, and that indeed would have "polarized" the nation. Muslims and their apologetic squadron Vs. The Rest of Us.

I think this event will pass over as a random nut having a piss poor run.

Answer 3

I'll give this one a try Ol' Pal Bettierage. PS How's it going? Email me. Etc.

The reason why people end up pointing fingers and blaming each other when some lunatic shoots up 32 people is because no one is quite sure why.

Then NBC gets a media kit from the Serial Killer and everyone gets to know why.
Then CNN and FOXNEWS spend every waking moment glorifying the murderous f ucker.
And the 'Security' people get to make more money because, hey, got to keep us all safe right? (Did I say safe? I meant enslaved.)
And some parasites will write books about him and other parasites will sell his dirty tissues and call it 'murdermobilia'.
And pundits will point fingers -
Right Wing Douche-Bag Capitalist - "It's because he listened to Guns N' Roses (Holy 1989, Batman!) and Marilyn Manson (I'm assuming. Isn't that dude always a culprit??) (Holy 1999, Batman!) and he played violent video games and gosh dang it! where was the JESUS in his life? Let's nuke North Korea!
(Umm his family was from SOUTH Korea.)
Well shucks, Nuke em both!

Left Wing Hippie Douch Bag Limousine Liberal - "He was a product of society and if he would stop listening to Marilyn Manson and just get out there and Vote for Hillary he would have been fine. PS Keep abortion Safe and Legal! Keep your Rosaries of my Ovaries! Also, I think from now on ALL children should attend a mandatory class on how to be cheerleaders and show school spirit! Yay team!"

To wrap it all up I'll just paraphrase what I heard on the 'news' after all this happened the other day:
A college no where even close to VA Tech was asked well, in light of all this what will you do? And the answer was:
Increase 'security', provide grief counselors to those who need it, (if you weren't there and involved WHY do you need that, talk to someone you know and grow up) and of course, 'PRAY' for the victims.
Followed by the question -

'How about increasing the mental health options for your students in the hope that doing so might reduce the possibility of reducing incidents like this happening in the future?"

"Well, we'll have to look into that."

Answer 4

Some people are. I often see polar opposite reactions, though, when facing tragedy: Looking for someone to blame (a way to make sense of the situation) and reaching out to others (a way to cope with the situation).
Obviously, there's a whole spectrum of reactions in between, but I do think those two are fairly common.

Answer 5

I believe those people who actually experienced this tragedy did unify: the victims, the survivors, witnesses, police, emergency crews, etc.

It is the rubberneckers and "experts" that are polarizing the situation. Especially since there are no real solutions for situations like this, it brings out all the snakeoil salesmen.

Answer 6

Because some people make it out to be something more tragic than it actually is.

Most times tragedies are an everyday occurance... they just don't happen to you every day.

The tsunami a few years back was a tragedy. A loon with a gun is typical.

Answer 7

I agree with Deke. During times of tragedy, we do become unified against those responsible, but after a while, the memory fades and so do the feelings of unification.

Answer 8

The problem is, a surprisingly large number of christians are saying "this is what happens when you take God out of schools" - directly blaming atheism for the tragedies.

I think it's a sickening viewpoint, as well as an unsubstantiated one. In the UK, things like this are unheard of, and there is probably even less religion in schools than in the US.

Answer 9

It's a cultural thing. the Uk seem to unify (the blitz/death of Diana), america seems to split and go wierd. (gangs in N.orleans, 9/11 against muslims)

Answer 10

I know this is going to sound flippant, and I honestly don't mean it to be, but why can't we all agree to adopt a loner?

See someone who is lonely and depressed? Befriend them.

See someone you suspect of being mentally ill? Check around and make sure the proper authorities are aware. And complain to your insurance company and congress representatives that mental health care is not accessible enough to people who need it.

When someone cries, comfort them. Create a climate where it's okay to ask for help.

(((((to the victims' families and friends)))))

(((((to the hurting and lonely)))))

(((((bettierage)))))