We've Lost Our Senses

Is it any surprise that stories like this emerge after national tragedies such as the Virginia Tech Massacre? We have been trained to ignore "different" behavior, especially when it's being demonstrated by someone who happens to be a minority. The result? People end up ignoring information that could have prevented the worst mass murder in American history. From the article:

"When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was 'I bet it was [Cho Seung-Hui]."'

We, as a nation, have been coddled into a false sense of security perpetrated by those who would have us believe that if we bury our heads in the sand and just "get along," everything will be OK. Unfortunately, by doing so we blind ourselves to the fact that truly evil people exist in the world. These people, intent on doing us harm, do not have the same respect for society that society hollowly shows for them.

It would do us well to follow our instincts once in a while, even at the risk of possibly offending someone in the process. After all, there is no excuse for burying the truth. Especially when the stakes are so high.