Re: RAT COLUMBINE

[InTheLime@aol.com]

In a message dated 99-04-23 18:06:38 EDT, you write:

<< And know, Aileen, that I am planning a massive attack with molotov 
cocktail, pipe bomb, bottle rocket, and squirt gun against the video arcade 
at my local mall in retaliation.  I will do this on Bill Gates' birthday, 
Aileen.  Be warned >>

Josh.  

I want to laugh with you.  You sound so young and sharp to me...and I don't 
know where you are from, who you are, what kind of art you actually 
do...anything about you.  I definitely understand your quickly keyed 
responses.   I'm always here to listen, on or off list.  

But if I'm being warned, let me warn you in response.  I have a 
responsibility now...and what I do with it is anybody's guess.  What do you 
think that responsibility is?  What is the responsibility of every 
adult/child/artist on this list serve?  The water guns indicate that perhaps 
you were joking...but pipe bomb?  bottle rocket?  molatov cocktail?  If you 
had gone one step further and mentioned our president in that thread, do you 
realize that you might indeed have CIA at your door for what you thought was 
"just a joke."

I have been told that my letter of understanding of the victims on BOTH SIDES 
offended many readers...offended them because I can identify with a tortured 
mentality (I can also understand a battered house wife who plans to and 
follows through on killing her abuser husband...I can also understand a 
child, mentally abused by parents, who plans and succeeds in burning down the 
house around his/her biological parents... I understand why people become 
prostitutes...and why people use drugs...and we could get into a legalization 
debate there, I'm sure) 

...and I understand why you make quick short responses when confronted with 
long thought out commentary to which you have taken offense...

You do realize that you used a threat of violence against arcade owners - as 
what?  As humor?  

And then in response I see people say "that's a great idea."  Hm.

Is that how little awareness has come out of Columbine - and all of the other 
schools?  Let me pose a question then.  Should the students of Columbine have 
notified the police about what they were hearing from the Trench Coat Mafia?  
Did they have that responsibility?

To be honest, I always (innocently) assume that this list serve is being 
monitored by law enforcement (I'm one of those who assumes that artists have 
their finger on the pulse of an alienated society - and the FBI and CIA are 
well aware of that).  I know officers who monitor chat sessions...so why not 
this list serve?  

So let's clear it up fast, Josh.  What is your actual intent?  Lorddada9 (no 
name given) at least refines the threat into "art" by adding bunny suits, 
removing actual weapons of war, and turning it into a water pistol/balloon 
affair...but what were you thinking that got you making threats against a 
societal mechanism that you can not control?  Were you thinking how drole 
such a threat would be?  Were you making political commentary utilizing 
reverse psychology to see if you could offend ME into moving to your side of 
the debate?

Maybe if you can understand THAT tendency towards violence in yourself, you 
too will begin to understand what motivated those young men into doing what 
they did.  And you'll understand how those around them let them get as far as 
they did.  You'll understand the responsibility on both sides.

"Should we report this?"  That's, undoubtedly, what many students were going 
through when the Trenchcoat Mafia warned them not to be in school on the day 
of the bombings.  Or would have been if they didn't just think the guys were 
just funny, nerdy idiots.  And now 15 people are dead.  It took less than an 
hour to shoot them, less than four hours to actually have them die.  How long 
would it take you to violate the human rights of arcade owners and the 
children and adults who play arcade games - if you indeed had molatov 
cocktails, bottle rockets? 

I am not offended by your lack of compassion.  I'm not even surprised.  Hell, 
I'm not surprised that being willing to understand both sides of the 
conflict, and set responsibility on both sides of the conflict would offend 
people.  It's a knee jerk reaction to say "I don't want to hear it...la, la, 
la...I'm not listening."  You should see the reactions I got around 
Philadelphia when I said that small theatres and large theatres should learn 
to work together instead of being at each others throats.  Now I'm saying 
lets understand teenagers with guns...lets understand what drove them to what 
they thought was the best way to share their message... No wonder people are 
offended. 

Perhaps that's my cross to bear...that I understand all of what's been said 
and done.  So, it's no wonder I'm walking around with my eyes swelling shut 
from a blooming eye infection.  Who wants to see all of this shit?

But last night I went to a party and brought this debate up with people who 
used to be the "popular" kids in school...and at first they were angry at 
me...then they began to listen to me...then they became ashamed for the way 
they used to treat people like me back in high school...and then they looked 
at me and said "Oh my God...I understand now."

Those people have children Rat friends.  They can do something for the future.
That, my friends...is the real art.

--Aileen McCulloch,
The Vagabond Acting Troupe
Philadelphia, PA
http://members.aol.com/InTheLime/vagabond.html