it’s my goal for 2008 anyway: both to slay and be slain; but best start at home, eh? (To slay egos one must be selfless; and remember, like seduction, the best way to attack is to ambush!)

Jake

Thanks for doing something..people talk about Massacre and how scared they are.

I think that it is miracle that such things doesn’t happen more often, because our world has very hard values right now (at least in media). There should be more love and careing.

I heard about the shooting on the radio just the day before the Oshana weekend retreat in a hotel where I was staying.

I did not believe it to begin with but then it felt strange and sad. Most shocking is that it happened in Finland…

The fact that it happened again means that we are ignoring or don’t know how to deal with a lot of serious issues in our societies, in our families, in our internal worlds. How many tragedies do we need until we start asking serious questions, find solutions and start taking actions?

For how long are we going to expect governments, scientists, specialist etc. to give us causes and solutions on silver plates?

It is time to ask serious questions and get actively involved in all aspects of our lives for all of us. It is very easy to pass the buck. It is time to grow up and take responsibility. We have to do it.

Love

FM

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

I feel very sorry and deeply sad. What happened in Jokela is a serious warning sign not only to Finland but other countries too. It was very painful to hear children in Finland were not safe from its own people. Last few days I have asked myself why a young man had so much anxiety and discontentment and growing anger and why nobody noticed or interfered. Think what is going on outside is a reflection what happens inside no matter what country is concerned.

Finland has a high self-destruction rate as Estonia and this is connected to depression – a kind of selfishness directed towards oneself. There are not enough sunlight and melancholy often rules. There are social norms in both countries, which favor individual success, wealth and money and that is in most cases the only measure of social recognition. There are cartoons, violent films on TV, computer games where children cannot unfortunately learn to respect life. And virtual world seems as real as the other world they are living every day.

I have no remedy to suggest which will improve the situation at once, only wish every person asks some questions from himself or herself: do I pay enough attention to others, do I show my sincere interest and care, do I acknowledge children enough, do I respect life myself, do my children differentiate virtual “game” world from the one they are living and do they have ethical principles they can rely on, do I feel depressed and tired carrying all the adults and parents worries and responsibilities, do I put wealth and work at first place and let them affect important choices, do I usually watch aside and take no action to correct things etc.

Feel that lack of light outside can be replaced and negativity can be reduced by warm heart, inner light (joy and happiness), attention (time) and understanding (differences). There needs to be trust and also control. I sincerely hope things go better, tensions in society will gradually ease and no fences to protect children would ever be needed in Finland or elsewhere.

With compassion from Tallinn,
Lia

It is horrifying to see that something so terrible can happen here in Tuusula, in a village where we have been living for more than 15 years. This is not even a town, just a countryside village.

I fully agree with what you just wrote and can see the damaging influence of internet and computer cames in our neighborhood too, and the problem of parents not having enough time for their kids. It is so very sad.

Our family was not attacked directly today by this massacre, but I’m sure it will have a deep influence to our kids life (our son is 18 years old like the shooter was). Kids have to go through a lot of purification to get their minds back to peaceful and trusting state.

As a father of two lovely kids it is so horrible to see how things can go so wrong with teenagers as has gone today.

There is violence built in Finnish society, like in the Army.

I feel it is high time for Finland to stop compulsory army recruits where the army forces young men (18 years old) to join the killing training. Many kids are horrified to go to army but they must or they will be sentenced to prison for longer period of time as they would spend in the army training.

I hope that Finnish government and the European union will make a stop to such violence to young men in Finland.
Finnish army anyway is so small that any country who wants to destroy it can do it easily as there are only 5million inhabitants in Finland all together including babies.

By disarmament of the army we Finns could also show the whole world that we are for the peace and not for killing. This could be a step towards more peaceful world.

I do hope that what happened today in Tuusula will open the eyes of the political decision makers and they take an active step towards non violence by any peaceful means possible.

love
arto

I’m so sorry to hear about the horrible tragedy in Finland - the last place I would ever expect for this type of thing to happen. The sages often say, “all is well, all is well, all is in its right place, etc.” How does one reconcile that with what just happened at the Finnish High School, the Iraq War, torture, etc.?

Love, Mike