Why?

These past few weeks have been tough....no not for me, but for the combined system of scholastic education as a whole. From the shooting at a Louisiana technical college, a high school in Oxnard, California, and most recently the NIU shooting (which brought back terrible reminders of VT) the weeks have been costly. What is strangest about all of it is that down here, no one seems to notice it. Granted people die every day in shootings over stupid arguments rooted in some fundamental disagreement down here, but no one really seems to care about that either...it gets dismissed rather lightly...which is sad.
But I can't help but wonder if these islands are so far removed from this type of violence. I did hear about a shooting that happened 4-5 years ago, but it was merely a continuation of a gang fight that got "finished" with a targeted shooting out front of Complex High School..while its bad, I would say thats slightly different, the motive was clear, the targets were clear, and it didn't leave people scratching their heads going "why?"..it was simple, guns are a huge factor in most problem solving situations down here, sad to say..but coupled with the fact that most of the males down here are very sensitive, can't take criticism and wear their emotions on their sleeve...plus not being able to "hold their liquor" it makes for a bad deal..bad deal..So the culture itself is almost accustomed to the violence, not in such a way that it is condoned, but it happens with such great regularity that its hard to find someone who has not been directly or indirectly affected by gun violence on the island...with that said...
The difference in the states is pretty clear, every time some school shooting occurs, a few things happen. 1.) the media swarms into some little town or normal college campus and goes after the clearly emotional person to get their "account" of the events. 2.) then the networks interview their own respective behavioral psychologists, and mental experts trying to understand the thought process of the shooter..3.) the same footage of students running, crying and screaming is played over and over again, along with shots of rolling stretchers to ambulances...the scene becomes surreal...4.) with today's technology, the computer experts are able to reconstruct the scene of the crime, place the apporoximate number of bodies in a room and then press "play" to re-create the entire experience...used of course to "better understand the tradgedy".
My problem with the entire situation lies it the media's response....again people die every day, right?...right, so who then chooses for a school shooting to be any more sensational than say a deadly car crash, killing a mother and her infant children and unborn child, struck by a drunk driver? If the line of reasoning behind broadcasting, printing, and talking the hell out of a terrible situation is to somehow "prevent" further loss, and "stop this from happening", then why not make a huge deal out of every instance of someone killed by a drunk driver, a bad driver period...this is just my idea, but it would seem to me, that somehow the networks and newspaper conglomerates can't make nearly as much money off of car wrecks as they can off of these types of situations. I'm not placing a value on human life, or in this case, death, but if looked at from the perspective of the networks, they efectually are doing just that..
More importantly, I feel that their efforts to "stop another shooting" do the exact opposite...What any of their experts will tell you is that the shooters are unstable mentally, which means it only takes a little bit of something for them to snap...news networks who make their main focus to be the details of the shooting, i feel, actually encourage the same type of behavior....Worst of all are the reels of footage that show the same people over and over again, emotionally distraught, and confused..for anyone who thrives on inflicting pain on human beings, these images serve as some sort of sick thrill..
If "they" really wanted to help the situation, in their reporting, only the facts would be listed, and that is all...no need for the emotional interviews of personal accounts to survive amidst the gunfire, no need to draw up "how it happened" computer models..the facts will speak for themselves...numbers are harsh things in that they don't lie.."School shooting: 5 dead", the message is clear..do the names need to be released?? not until the familes know, no, thats for sure...does the shooter's life need to be publicly examined, with every detail talked about by the "experts"?...no, it doesn't solve anything...
Its just a bad deal all around, you can't blame the media entirely, because they report to the masses who must have their "drama fix"...just look at the top rating TV spots, with the reality shows and what not..

....we are fixated on the shortfalls of our own society...

Minority report

Oh no, from the looks of things im turning into one of those prolific bloggers who doesn't do anything but sit here and pour out thoughts or relate stories, but this one is a little different i guess you could say...it may turn deep...So ive been thinking, what exactly makes being a minority so different than being "like everyone else"?? For me, never really experiencing the whole minority thing, it came as more of a schock last semester, and took some getting used to..while i didn't want to run away and never come back, there were some instances when i felt throughly left out, which can happen anywhere,granted, but only seems to be more noticeable when you happen to have that extra difference about you..its strange..For me i wonder if my attitude has made things worse than they should be down here...not even getting into the race factor, but merely the work ethic, i think there is a huge difference in my idea of a 'student' and other's idea of being the same...for example "chris did you read that story for english?"
..."yea, we had all weekend, you?" ...
"nah, man, that thing was too long, and he doesn't listen to us anyway with what we say" ....
"didn't take me more than an hour to read actually"
.."look at you chris, just going above and beyond, always doin your work"
...Yeah yeah, same conversation could happen anywhere, but when the same person asked me if i did the essay, which was assigned for 4 weeks, and clearly explained on the syllabus how it was supposed to be done, and they didn't bother to do that either...where's the disconnect here people?? it seems simple enough to me to, A.) come to class and B.) do what little work is actually assigned...i don't get it, and its so easy to see those who haven't read, because they cant contribute to discussion, thus leaving whoever the professor is to dominate discussion...but then they are always quick to complain..so in that regard im a minority, complaining about those who don't do anything or complain about having to do something(really, really now guys? this is supposed to be college) As a minority, thus far i haven't been shown any special privlidges, just fell in line with the rest of the students....I don't really know if its this particular culture, being the island one, that has such a different idea on just what does and does not constitute an actual "class", but from where i see it, one of my professors hasn't figured this out yet...Twice now i can count that this same professor has "know[n] what i was going to say" and went ahead and spoke for me...thing was, that wasn't what i had in mind at all...not only was her answer, frankly stupid, it was well off the mark as to what i wanted to say in response to some idiot over on st.thomas, who enjoys being able to spout off at the mouth with great regularity,and is seldom told to shut up...
So i've come to the conclusion that the idea of a minority is only something important when the majority is unwilling to bend...its that "you're from the outside, so you wouldn't understand" type of thinking that makes people actually feel like they don't belong..but the problem is that those with a mindset like that are just ignorant. Ignorance is not stupidity, its just a lack of knowlege, and this case, the lack of knowlege surrounding the subjects we discuss in class, from a global persepective is astounding... oh well, at least i can leave you with an inspiring quote right?

"Son, all I've ever asked of my marines is that they obey my orders as they would the word of God. We are here to help the Vietnamese, because inside every gook there is an American trying to get out. It's a hardball world, son. We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over."

Life isn't too bad

Ok, ok already, so just because the school pretty much sucks the life right out of me, that doesn't mean that good things still don't happen to me..they do, and its great times indeed..So far I've been up to one of the highest mountains on the island twice now, hopefully get to go more..its nothing more than about a 2 hour hike, all around..and could be done in under 2, with the "proper motivation" applied to anyone interested..basically if there weren't girls, more interested in stopping to rest, than actually getting to the top, it would be good deal...but since last time, i was the unofficial tour guide, leader officianado, i couldn't go blazing up the hill like it should be blazed...this doesn't detract from the amazing view at the top, it just means it took a little longer...then again, i did bring ample water for me, and the others who thought this was just a little stroll i guess...they probably wont come anymore though :( ...so you start out walking along the road for a good half mile at least, then head down to little isaac, up over the rocky ridge-thing and down to big isaac..try to find the "cut" where you link up with the "real trail" so as to get you over the next ridge thing at jacks bay, only to walk along a nice little path...finding the cut was interesting, in that i had forgotten where exactly it was, so i just wondered as i wandered along the beach "now where was that again"...didn't bother me, boots and cammies, are a lot more suited to such activities than say-shorts that barely cover one's butt, and "cute" tennis shoes...don't worry i dont own either item...well sometimes when im runnin, they inch up a little, but there is still a good 3-4 inches of "proper coverage"...alas i digress- ahemm...but yeah so once you hit the real trail, you're almost half way...almost, just in the sense that you've almost begun to walk up hill...the looks i got...mmmm, mmmm..priceless "you mean, we have to go up that!"...goodtimes..so yeah yadda yaddda get to the almost the top, and whaddya know, i just so happened to get a call from the momma bear, just checkin in "hey mom, whats up?" .."oh not too much" "well hey,im almost to the top of this mountain, so things are looking up today" haha...ya know, talked about some random not soo important stuff and i let her go..just a little side note, one cannot get service past the turnoff to head towards cramer's park..but atop the mountain blocking the sinal, its all good...'ah ha! a discovery, perchance?!'...nah..
And then!! we zip lined down to the bottom..haha..yeah, i wish..no we just took a short cut that would have made the whole trip under 1 hour, if we took it both ways...yeah i wasn't the favorite person in the ride home...imagine that :)
On the boardwalk for lunch i saw this guy pull a 58lb. Mahi-mahi out of his boat...ive never seen a 5"6' fish before..arkansas remember...so this was a pretty impressive thing...so that was pretty cool
The next morning...kinda early...well i don't wake up at 4:30am most days..there just isn't too much reason too..sun doesn't peek out till a little after 6 anyway..but again i digress...why so early on a saturday of all days? especially after the big party in town the night before (stayed home btw)...well im glad you asked..it was only the 23rd Annual 'toast to the captain run' in honor of captain teddy seymore (the first black man to sail around the world..he left out of fredricksted harbor and came back 17 months later)...so its only fitting to run 8.4 miles for him, right!?! sure! go ahead...oh by the way, he's still alive, still runnin'...and still has decent speed...i was surprised to see the number of people out for the race, some 40 or so came out that mornin, which always give the race a better feel when there is a big crowd at the start...gives ya something to run away from...anywhoo...yeah so i shot off outta there like i knew what i was doing...and i do, but not so much as a 4 time olympic marathoner...yeah anyway...after figuring out that the road wasn't in too bad of shape, i left the dude with the little head lamp in the dust...just so happened to be the guy who beat me in the "half" marathon over on stt in novemeber, after a slight course mishap on the race directors part...anywhoo...so yeah i ended up 3rd overall, finished just 4 minutes behind the olympic runner, who was haulin' A, by the way...and was all in all pretty proud of my 59:15 time, averaging a 7:04/mile pace ...ok ok so i did all that work on my own..but still i was happy...the best part was getting to meet the captain, a retired marine officer..he saw my shirt and said "are you a Ma-", and then caught himself and didn't even finish the question, he was too embarrassed at himself...no big deal..but we talked about OCS and how much fun it was in '65, and how much "fun" i was going to have....really great guy, really glad to meet him...made for a great weekend all around...well that about does it..ive got family comin down here pretty soon...lookin forward to that...we'll stay away from the school though

Call me when its over..

So here it is straight up: I officially can no longer stand the prevailing attitudes of this institution. Where there ought to be change, growth and exploration; there is monotony, shrinkage, and inward looking. Instead of charging off to NY, we're skipping over to STT(St.Thomas for you statesiders) and holding our own confrence. The long awaited "talk" occured today with my illustrious professor, whom shall now remain nameless, because its "rude to use someones name" in public if you dont know who you're speaking to...So yeah, she was sure to reiterate the same lines from her little online post of earlier, so which I politely listened. The only thing I asked was "So are you not saying that things somehow don't take a lot longer down here?" ...after a puzzled look struck her, probably because I had an original thought, and not something she was expecting to counter with -Because I'm the professor, or something along those lines- it took a second for me to get some sort of reply, which didn't really answer the question, only proved my point haha...but whatever she was sure to make it very clear that it is of poor taste to talk badly about the University in this case. But question: If "bad" is true, then what do you do? She shrugged off the fact that I emailed her the same day that I threw our name in the hat, and didn't hear back for at least 4 days from her...THAT!!! didn't seem to matter as much as her name being attached to someplace that works slowly, and ineffeciently...sorry Dr._____, this guy, me, chris cockrell, can be a smartass sometimes, especially when he knows he has a valid point...and that he is right, not just right for himself, but right for the class...and when he has put forth effort(unheard of) to help others...forget the fact that he's a debator who has never "actually lost" a round...the judges just didn't like his style..so yeah forgive him for all of that, but know that your unproffesionalism is not overlooked either....

And that is all I have to say about that

A new revision to the syllabus came out today, looks like we'll hit 3 of 14 chapters this semester! Oh, the video confrence technology was on the blink today, so we didn't have class....what a surprise that was.....part of me wants to post my own little away message in 4 of my classes saying "just call me when its over"

..they went too far.."we went to far" they knew too much "we know too much"...those are my lines.."those are his lines"

the title..yeah you just gotta hear pablo francisco say it...he's a comdeian..and yeah it seemed fitting considering the little mix ive gotten myself into...like i mentioned previously we were going to go up to NY for the model UN bit..that fell through..so i went about lookin for another place..and found it out in santa barbara,California..i figured heck if the rotary club is lookin to spend some money investing in the "youts of society" i thought it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and fill out the prelimary registration form online...and it didnt hurt, i still feel ok about it..its just that it turns out there was a real person on the other end who took it as i was acting completely legitimately and not some rogue student off trying to get his way..which its not really that so much, is that i just have this feeling that the other people down here dont give two shits about getting 1.off this island, and 2. participating in an event where they might actually be challenged to step up to the rest of the world's standards...eesh that sure sounded harsh, but its true, and i'll say it again and again...the professor (bless her heart) does not have what it takes to get the class on track to accomplish anything..im no education major, but really, really now, who goes a month into the semester and doesn't have a set schedule for what exactly it is the course is going to cover, on top of that..who sets dates for presentations, and then scrubs them when it looks like we might actually hop this rock for a week?? without the fundamental knowlege of how the international system works, any attempt to stammer out a position at any sort of UN confrence would result in utter annihilation...something i really dont want to be a part of..so yeah...anywhoo..i got a response back from the admin. over in cali, but haven't heard back from the prof. on island...surprising..i think not...

in other news i got called an asshole, and an "f'n tourist" on friday, both times i was trying to look out for other people. ahemm instance A.) standing in line at the Kmart..16 checker stands, but only 1 worker, thus lines of 8 or 9, and everybody just had a handful of things..myself 5,yet i waited patiently without any major grief, not so for some tourists who just get fed up and walk out..only to find out that they have to go back in there to get their stuff,since there isnt anywhere else to go..hello McFly! you're on an i-s-l-a-n-d!...anywhoo waitin in line..its my turn to check out..when next i look over there is this woman holding two candy bars and says "i could go before you?" ..(they phrase their questions like that around here, i think its rude as hell, but thats just me) and i looked at her, and said "no mam, im sorry, it wouldn't be fair to the other 10 people waiting in line behind me"..."but i only have these two things"..."Im sorry, but you'll have to ask them, I'm not going to do that, as they have been waiting just as long as i have..it wouldn't be fair"...so she freakin goes and asks the whole line if it would be ok, and says they all said it would..hell by that time i already had the checker goin on my stuff so she had to get behind me...i walked outside a little bit upset by what had just happened, and she walked up to chris(tupe-lo chris) and said "your friend there, he's an asshole"...so its official :)

instance B.) walking down the sidewalk later that night..there were these two chicks...ill admit they were cute, but stumbling over eachother drunk is a huge turn-off..call me shallow,but im stickin to it..anywhoo these two gals i had seen at the brew pub and figured they got a little carried away and were left to carry themselves back to some car,somewhere..but they were in the middle of the road, with an on coming car...people get hit all the time around here, usually they are drunk, so its not uncommon..not trying to play super man or anything i just hollered at them "not to be rude ladies, but you may want to get out of the road, there's a car coming" ....to which i got "don't tell me what to do, i live here, you F'ing tourist!" ....that set me off, and i wanted to go over and show her my UVI id, with stickers from last semester and this semester, and explain to her the finer points of caribbean history from colonization to the present period of quasi-independance...BUT, brandon (tupe-lo brandon) held me back and said we should get on down the road...no good deed goes unpunished...

i ran the beast twice in two days and even videotaped it on the first day..the file is too huge, but imma try to shrink it and at least put a clip of it on here...for the fam. well you'll get to see it,but all you others out there will miss out on the full lenght feature presentation..