James Holmes, the 24 year old man who created the greatest number of casualties in any mass murder in American history, at the movie multiplex in Aurora, Colorado, yesterday, is being described as a “loner” and a highly educated, “book smart” person, who was pursuing a doctorate in neuroscience at the University of Colorado.
While both details are true, there is already the sense that if one is a “loner” or highly educated, that will be used as a new weapon in the news media to label all people who are one or the other characteristic as automatically a danger to society.
Being a “loner”, being shy, is no more a danger sign than a person who is the “life of the party”, a “jock”, or a “social butterfly”, as many such cases also lead to criminal activities.
And just because someone is “book smart”, an intellectual, does not mean that he or she is dangerous either.
If we are going to attack the concept of educated, quiet scholars as dangerous, we will undermine our future in this nation, as being the opposite of these traits is not something we need to have more of, and to glorify, as media and the general public tend to do much too often!
I certainly hope that the character archetype of a shy or booksmart person is not attacked further by the media and the public. While I will hardly assume that this is the case for Holmes until further evidence is released, we already live in a society where “nerds” and intellectuals are often ostracized by their peers, especially in a school environment.
If anything, we don’t glorify the educated enough in our society. Intellectuals are often stereotyped in movies and television as socially awkward and repressed nerds, and to perpetuate that idea (with the notion that they’re dangerous on top of it) would only serve to damage our perception of this senseless tragedy, as well as continue to “other” intellectuals as we already do so often.
Since this has happened I have already sensed a very tense and paranoid atmosphere regarding this horrific event. I can only hope that the worst of it is over and that assumptions and blanket statements don’t incite further violence, as is usually known to happen.
You are absolutely correct, Bella, that we should NOT, as a society, undermine respect for intellectuals, as they are the only group in society that can keep us sane and reflective on what is going on around us.
We have too much attention paid to “Know Nothings”, both in Congress and outside in the real world, as we “worship” money and materialism over idealism and values.