2007-04-20 - I get a bit political at the end:

Hello, how are you? I am having a nightcap. Why, it's Grand Marnier, thanks for asking!

So, I have a "problem". I have a lot of hard liquor in my house, having liberally taken advantage of all of my jaunts across duty free zones in the past two years. The thing is, I'm not really much of a drinker when I'm home alone. Maybe one drink during CSI, and that's it. I do most of my drinking when I go out, and I don't entertain much, so there's that, too.

So, I have about 5 shots of rum left, 2 shots of Grand Marnier, and about 3/4 of a bottle of Crown Royal left. It has to be consumed in the next four months or so, as that is when I leave the country for keeps. Drinking that much in 4 months is kind of pushing it for me, since I maybe have 1 drink a month at home and that's about it. Weekends at the bar? Well, that's another story. The point is, I don't really drink alone that much. Just a lil taste and I'm happy. I feel like a tool if I end up drunk by myself. Around Christmastime, for instance, I dipped into the Bailey's and ended up kind of buzzed at 8PM on a Wednesday night by myself. It was Christmas, but still. I can't, in good conscience, consume that much alcohol in 4 months alone, is what I'm saying. But I can't leave it to my successor, either, because that also feels sort of wrong. I'm going to start bringing my own booze to the bar. I'll save money, AND get rid of my abundant personal stash!

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OH YES THE WEDDING

So the wedding was a huge success. I cried. At a few intervals. Which surprised me, because I am not too sentimental. I cried at Old Yeller, and at the end of Schindler's List, but that's about it. I'm not much of a crier. So imagine my surprise when the bride walks into the church and I start to feel.... funny.

Oh, I kept it under control, but at the reception, with the speeches, and the picture montages, and the first dances... well! I had to excuse myself for about 20 minutes. SHOCK!

I mean, it's fine to have feelings. I'm not ashamed that I was moved at a Significant Event and all that. I just don't usually cry at Important Things. But I did, and I didn't expect it, so I was all: WTF? TEARS? OMFG!

All in all, it was a fantastic ceremony. I had a great time, although it was weird to stop the party at about 1:30AM, having partied until at least 4AM and often later here in South Korea. I will probably miss the no closing time thing when I get back into Curfew Canada. Oh well!

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OH YES THE NEWS

So everyone, globally, is talking about the shooting in Virginia. I was admittedly curious to see how Koreans would cover it back home. So I spent the better part of my first evening in the country pouring over the two English dailies, to get insight.

So, here's the skinny: South Koreans domestically feel very saddened, of course. They also feel partly ashamed. While Western countries tend to have a very individualistic society, many Asian societies are based on groups and communities. So, when a Korean goes abroad, for instance, he or she is representing his or her family, country, and its citizens. To have a citizen go abroad and be a perpetrator of such a huge crime as at VT, Koreans feel embarrassed for his misrepresentation.

Also, many Koreans in Korea fear that Americans will take the gunman's actions as a representation of sentiments for the entire race. Admittedly, they have a reason to worry, as they typically cite 9/11 as an example as a horrible act, committed by Islamic individuals, which subsequently caused many Western nations to view Islam on the whole in a negative light.

The two English Language dailies in Korea sometimes print editorials from abroad, commenting on current affairs. The past few days have featured editorials on the massacre from American journalists. Basically, these editorials say: don't worry, this guy was disturbed, and is not going to shape our views on Koreans. We appreciate your sympathy and support during this whole affair, and we understand your disappointment re: the behavior of your countryman. But, he's an individual who had severe problems, and is in no way a representation of Koreans in general.

One editorialist went so far as to say that, since the gunman had lived in America since the age of 8, it leads one to wonder what happened in the US that would affect the boy so badly as to grow up do what he did.

I think that is a bit of a stretch: he was severely depressed, and while one can be depressed because of one's environment, certain individuals are more prone to depression than others anyway. That being said, there are so many external factors that influence the outcome and development of ANY individual over the course of their lives, that I suspect it will be difficult to find a root cause. It's a combination of factors, and the only way to really prevent these things from happening is to have good support systems, and intervention as early as possible.

Any educator worth his/her salt will attest that one can spot anti-social tendencies as early as kindergarten. Intervention and support needs to occur as quickly as possible, so that at-risk children do not grow up to become anti-social adults. Because, the anti-social behavior of a six-year-old is much easier to control, and much more benign. The anti-social behavior of an adolescent or adult can be exceedingly dangerous, as the person has harbored these tendencies throughout his/her life, and they have matured along with the individual. Intervention later in life can also be met with strong resistance, and is more difficult to administer.

In conclusion: no crime can be 100% prevented. But, intervention as early as possible, when anti-social behavior first begins to rear its head, certainly helps a lot in preventing future disasters. Support networks need to be established as early as possible in a child's development, so that at-risk children can be helped.