In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, America is doing what it has always done in the past: pointing the finger everywhere else. No one wants to think that the state this nation is in has anything to do with what keeps happening across the country.

A mentally disturbed individual maliciously killed thirty-two college students (stopping to send a videotape, photographs, and a "manifesto" to NBC), and yet no one thinks that maybe society should shoulder some of the blame for the events leading up to what happened at Virginia Tech; or, for that matter, any other highly publicized murder. No one seems to pick up on the fact the media gave Seung-Hui Cho exactly what he wanted.

The media made Cho an overnight celebrity, showing pieces of his video all over television and the web and sharing excerpts of the manifesto, while people stood around arguing about gun control, campus security, and who knows what else. Everyone failed to realize that none of these arguments actually mean anything. He wanted attention and he got it.

We’re so used to rampages that most people are desensitized by it. They see it on the news and think, "There goes another shooting," and go on with their everyday lives. The fact that society regards shooting sprees as the norm says that maybe gun control and V-Tech’s security are not the issue. Maybe the way society views violence is to blame.

Whenever something like the Target or Virginia Tech shootings happen, people automatically blame it on music, video games, or the fact that guns are too easily accessible. No one ever thinks about what might be wrong in society. Obviously something is amiss; otherwise school violence would not be as usual as it is, nor would mass murders and serial killings no longer be considered breaking news.

American society capitalizes on murder. In order to make it onto the news, someone has to die. Primetime doesn't host To Catch a Philanthropist. The American media idolizes criminals, turning murderers into stars and thieves into saints.

It seems that the more horrible the crime committed, the more celebrated the criminal. Not only is society entertained by corruption, but it seemingly feeds off of it. Everything from serial killer trading cards to eBay's Charles Manson halter tops are profitable in today's economy.

Maybe by discouraging people to start up websites like http://www.skcentral.com/main.php and not publishing the books of "reformed" serial killers like David Berkowitz, society can stop encouraging murder. By not sensationalizing homicide, maybe the media can start to encourage people to gain their fifteen minutes of fame through more positive actions.

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