Puffed Rice For Brains

Some peoples' tragedies, other peoples' thrills. Demonstrative of human failures.

There are those within impolite society for whom psychotic violence striking innocents dead represents a fascinating adventure into the potentials inherent within society. Perhaps it enhances life for these people, to stroll along the street, to enter a classroom, to be in a shopping mall and suddenly be confronted by a psychopath intent on introducing the finality of death to innocent bystanders.

And to entertain the titillating thought that they too could fall victim to becoming violently extinguished. So that they play a game with themselves, looking furtively about them as they proceed, imagining that they perceive danger just around the corner, that some suspiciously sinister character appears to have a bulge that just could be a rifle, under his coat, that they're certain they're being followed. Life is so exciting.

There is a special horrifying fascination within greater society at the occurrence of random and senseless violence taking place in schools, where students attend for the purpose of attaining an education that will finally lead to their taking their place within society as intelligent and mature adults.

Who can possibly figure the motivation of mature men going berserk, entering primary schools in China and mutilating and killing schoolchildren? The entire nation felt traumatized; children's lives are at a premium in China, with the state's one-child policy. Children are cherished and great hope is invested in them for the future.

But yet there are mature men who indulge in deep and dark thoughts of dire commission and decide to stalk children and attack them, destroying their lives.

A primary school teacher in Japan gave his 7 and 8 year old students a math problem to puzzle out. The question was how long would it take to kill 18 children at a rate of three murders a day. Education officials in Okazaki were affronted, scandalized and incredulous when a parent complained to the school.

Particularly in light of new education ministry statistics highlighting an increase in instances of violence at Japanese schools, including 165 student suicides.

An unnamed computer game developer has put his new game on FaceBook for others to thrill to. It's named Dawson College Massacre! This is, of course, no figment of someone's violently febrile imagination, but a real-life event that horrified Canada when a killer entered Dawson College in Montreal and killed and injured students there. Now irrepressible gamers have the opportunity to

"Take the role of Kimveer Gill and storm Dawson College with your favourite rifle! Kill those students and kill any cops you can!"

That's a sick mind catering to other feeble minds. And there are others, like the game where players can pose as Taliban and pick off as many U.S. forces personnel as they wish, taking part in the war ongoing in Afghanistan.

And, as the game developer of the Dawson College product explained, "I don't want to say I am 100% sympathetic with killers like this because obviously what they've done is pretty sick. But you can most DEFINITELY see the path they took which lead them to commit such a crime." Can you now, and isn't it thrilling?

And how about the recently-revealed rape of a 16-year-old British Columbia schoolgirl who had attended a party with her friends, had been given a drug, taken away to a secluded place and serially raped while an onlooker assiduously took videos and then posted them on FaceBook. And then others of sound mind and character copied the videos and posted them here, there and everywhere.

Another explanation from those involved in these morally indecent and implacably decadent, inhumane activities: "It might be ... bad taste, but isn't shooting a gun on the BackStreet Boys bad taste as well for a video game? We fight for freedom of speech. This is where it gets."

No, you poor excuses for humanity, this is not where it gets. This social and ethical travesty represents what you and those like you value as representative of free speech.