Social Interaction

While last night's episode may not be a prime example, I'm continually amazed at the genuinely good points South Park makes. Yes, they're foul-mouthed, yes, Cartman is the anti-Christ, but you know, there are all sorts of pearls of wisdom throughout the show. The one I've been thinking about lately is a point that was made at the beginning of the Scientology episode where Stan wants to save up for a new bike so he doesn't want to spend money while having fun with his friends. They respond with "Stan, don't you know the first law of physics? Anything that is fun costs at least 8 dollars." Well, if your friends are not into playing sports, there isn't much you can do that allows you to hang out with your friends and shoot the shit for free. Even if you invite them to your house, the host generally provides snacks or dinner. If the host rotated, it would even out, but that requires a certain amount of coordination that most don't really seem to care for, plus things come up, etc.

Since this is the case, it is very difficult to establish and cultivate friendships. Another reason this seems so difficult to me is because I don't go to church. That is one of the most fundamental places people establish friendships and just meet people. There is no such place for atheist/agnostic/secular people to do this. The possible exception to this is a coffeeshop/bar, but, at these places, there is no guarantee that you have anything in common with the other people there (i.e. you both don't believe Jesus Christ died for your sins). So you have to search for things in common based on superficial dialogue. If you talk to someone once or twice you may never realize there is a topic you haven't explored that you totally agree on. I'm sure the same problem exists at church and there are times where one could feel like an outsider there as well, but I can't help but think perhaps it's more difficult for non-believers (or non-church-goers).

The summary of the above discussion really amounts to, "I am a socially awkward person", but I continually try to find a way out. When I went to college I thought joining a fraternity would help. Well, that didn't really work out as I deactivated after about three months as I realized I had no desire to be friends with 100 people simply because they wore the same letters, of which maybe 4 or 5 of them actually understood the meaning. After that, I began my current addiction to going to coffeeshops to find people to talk to. It's been 8 years and I'm getting burnt out on it. I can't stand going to bars because of the smoke and the fact that I quit drinking.

Are there any other places to go hang out that cost no money? The park? I suppose a cookout is always nice, but the coordination of such an event always seems to lead to 4 people showing up that don't really want to be there. I think the library should be open late so you could go hang out and read but there should also be a discussion room, where you could hang out, and perhaps they could sell booze even. I suppose tax payer dollars paying for that might not be the best thing though...

P.S. Please don't answer "the mall" as I will throw up.

Nowhere is safe

With the latest school shooting claiming the lives of 33? victims (still not sure if it's 31+2 or not) I am reminded that there is not one place on the planet where one is truly safe. At least, you are never truly safe if there are other people around. Also, apparently there is a video of the shooting on cnn.com who I suppose some kid took using his cell phone? I personally don't care to watch it, so can not describe it. I suppose that type of thing is worthwhile to the extent that you can learn from it, but it strikes me as kind of sick that it's online for mass consumption.

Actually, while sitting here thinking about it, I decided to see exactly what it was. Fortunately it's just someone outside the building taking video and audio of the gunfire. Of course the headline is "Student captures video of shooting". It really ought to be "Student captures audio of shooting". Whatever though.

I am also reminded of my freshmen at Rose-Hulman. Apparently, a couple of "America's Best and Brightest" decided it would be a great idea to detonate their home-made bomb on campus. The weird thing is, I not only didn't hear it, but I didn't hear ABOUT it until my mom called me freaking out. My parents were living in Phoenix at the time, so news traveled from Terre Haute, IN to Phoenix, AZ faster than it traveled across campus to me. Which sounds to be the case in this instance since they didn't send out the email of the first shooting until the second shooting took place. Knowing very little about this, it certainly sounds like their security playbook needs to be revamped, which also gives the same opportunity to other institutions throughout the nation.

The only thing one can do from an event like this is try to learn from it. Learn about yourself. Learn about your fellow man. Learn about the second amendment (no, I'm not a gun nut, but it's good to know the history). The issue of what gun this kid was using is a moot point, in my opinion. But, I'm sure there will be many-a-hippie that uses this tragedy as a tool to further their political agenda. I just wish the discussion could be an honest one and void of emotion when making the final decision. If you argue that emotion needs to be involved in decision making to some extent, that's all well and good about personal decisions, but for decisions that face the public at large, I'll argue to my last breath that emotion ought to left at the door, doing so as dispassionately as I can so as not to appear hypocritical...

In any event, it's a sad day, and I hope all of those which this has injured in some way can overcome their personal demons and newly acquired fears by whatever means they can find. I'm sure there will be a fund set up to help the families at some point in the near future and possibly some sort of other services offered where a volunteer who is close can help out in some way, so if you have a few extra dollars or know someone in the neighborhood, you can be a part of that healing process very soon.