I received harsh treatment from Chattanoogan.com readers for "The Batman Massacre And The Daring Struggle Against Meaning," an opinion piece in July.
But I would like a second chance. People interested in the Newtown, Conn., slaughter should graciously consider my suggestions about the underlying causes that exist in the hearts of rootless, alienated people who pull their triggers not in a vacuum, but in a very real moral, economic and social dimension.
My Batman massacre analysis evaluates the religious claims of the post-modern hero. He makes war against transcendency and meaning, and ultimately against God. As Adam Lanza killed himself after his rampage. We are left with Batman shooter James Holmes as the spokesman for the totally autonomous individual who purports to control his own life and who writes his own narrative of meaning.
The day's revolt against the old order of modernism and against the engrossing claims of Christianity is typified most boldly by men such as Messrs. Lanza and Holmes. I propose we examine their struggle more fairly from their post-modern perspective.
David Tulis