Ah, crap, the world has gone crazy.

News story this morning: Sixteen year old sets himself on fire in school cafeteria. http://kdvr.com/2014/01/27/fire-causes-evacuation-closure-of-standley-lake-high-school/

Why would someone do something like this? What goes through the minds of these kids who want to kill themselves and/or others?

It's easy to blame violence in movies, t.v and video games, but things like this have been happening for decades, long before video games, long before television, long before movies. If you read the Bible, you see numerous stories of suicide, torture and murder. The same is true of any historical record.

If there might be blame to assign for those who commit school shootings, mall shootings, suicide pacts, etc., perhaps some of that blame might go to mass media outlets. Those who crave their fifteen minutes of fame will certainly get more coverage by doing something bad than they will for, say, helping their neighbor shovel snow. Which is a damn shame.

Why is it that bad news sells and good news is pushed to the background? What is it about human beings, that we crave to "see the blood"? We're a messed up species!

I have no plans to kill myself or anyone else, but the fact is that one of these days, I will die. When I do, if I discover that reincarnation is a reality, I promise to request coming back as a dog. Today I'm kind of ashamed to be a member of the human race.

Because, damn me, that was the first news story I read today!

I'm gonna go look for a good deed story....


January 28, 2014
12:08 a.m.

Feeling bad about my last post. I ranted a bit about what the world is coming to and never once mentioned that I feel really bad for the young man who set himself on fire, and that I hope he can recover from his injuries.

As a parent, I wonder what the last several hours have been like for the family. Surely there are feelings of guilt, wondering how they might have missed the signs that something was wrong enough to lead to this. I feel very sorry for all concerned right now. I pray that they all make it through this horror.

And of course, I still wonder what this old world is coming to.