For a long time I've been amazed at the level of cruelty humans are able to inflict on each other. From unnecessary teasing and bullying as children, to road rage as adults and wars as a society, the lack of desire or ability to control ourselves and the intensity of our lashing out continues to astound me.
Being fully aware of the reality that a lack of self-control or a belief violence can be a viable solution is pervasive across ethnic and class lines – I still found myself slammed by the shooting of professors in a faculty meeting on Feb. 12 by another professor.
Colleges – which I thought of as institutions of thoughtful engagement in the pursuit of solutions to the world's problems (OK, so maybe the problem is with my rose-colored glasses on this point) – are places where people are supposedly looking at the bigger picture, sharing ideas, proving or disproving theories and enhancing the whole by providing a better understanding of the parts. So when a professor, a person who by title is supposed to be looking for better ways, begins shooting her peers in a dispute over tenure and the non-renewal of her contract, I'm moved to ask: "What is wrong with us?"