mikesoh.com

The Virginia Tech shooting has, no doubt, raised fear and concern about the safety of schools and even our lives.  Many of us are wondering if the next shooting is going to be at our school, work, or any other public place.  We feel less safe and are on the border-line of panic.

However, when we think about the shooting, we often think about the victims of the tragedy.

But when it comes to the perpetrator, we have nothing but loathing for him and if he were alive, we’d want justice to be served.

Why is it that society, as a whole, demand justice for others but seldom want it for ourselves?  Why is it that we always want grace?I propose that this is the human condition.  I can’t recall the number of times I’ve overheard people complain that someone "didn’t get what he deserves" or, even more frequent, "I hope he gets what he deserves."

What ever happened to "Do onto others as you’d have them do to you?"  This double standard, quite frankly, is quite revealing.  A student at the University of Colorado was arrested for speaking out in his class, saying he could understand why someone would kill people.  The arrest was made simply because the student empathized with the shooter.

Glossing over the fact about his first-amendment right, the students that brought the charges were afraid of him.

I think we need to look at the plank in our own eyes before to point to someone else’s speck.