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Remember Steven Curnow
Glen here...
Usually I don't do stuff like what I am about to do. None the less, I have received many
requests to do so - and believe this may (in an odd way) be both appropriate and logical.
Therefore, I am going to proceed - and hope I don't make people too uncomfortable.
I'll be as brief as possible:
Last week...while fully occupied and in the middle of a school day...Columbine High School in
Littleton Colorado was savagely attacked by two heavily armed students intent on wrecking the
most destruction possible upon their peers. Many, many lives were lost. Students, a teacher. One
girl was killed simply because she believed in god, others were slaughtered for no reason at all -
their greatest crime being that they were eating their lunches in the cafeteria, or reading books
in their library.
All of the lives taken by the gunmen that day were of equal value - it is not my intent to
suggest otherwise herein. However, there was one kid in the crowd whose interests and sensibilities
relate directly to a nature of this site, and coverage which it has often provided. As such, I thought I
would tip my hat to him, tell him he is not forgotten, and encourage people to remember him in the
exciting weeks to come.
Steven Curnow was a STAR WARS fan. He wanted to fly jet fighters because they were as
close to X-Wings as he could get. He was waiting for The Phantom Menace eagerly, and
will now never be able to see it. When I heard this, I started thinking: I'm gonna go out into the cold
darkness this Sunday evening...to wait in line for many hours...just to buy Episode I toys.
Stupid, silly toys which don't really matter all that much in the grander scheme of things.
But I can do it.
Soon I will be standing in line a week before the movie opens to get tickets to the earliest
possible screening. That's a lot of wasted time - there are many other things I could be doing than
standing there & doing nothing, fighting to see a movie "first" when it will likely be playing for half a
year.
But I can do it.
I can do it because I'm lucky enough to have the time - because I am lucky enough to be alive in
a world which doesn't always guarantee that luxury, and sometimes conspires to rip it from us. So,
I'll be thinking about Steven...and all the others as well...when when I'm buying my toys, books,
CDs, and tickets. I'll be wondering what he thought about this bizarre and twisted cultural
phenomenon known as Episode I. I'll be wondering what he would have gotten if he'd been
able to go to the store like everyone else. I'll be wondering if he might have skipped school to see
the movie on opening day like I used to do. I'll be wondering if he would have liked it. I'll be
wondering if he might have been then next Harry Knowles...Glen Oliver...or overlord of HREF="http://www.theforce.net">theforce.net.
There are currently two site dedicated to remembering Steven Curnow. Both have put a
Star Wars spin on thier efforts, and as sappy as it sounds, I kinda like that. Consider
checking them out, it's all very simple and easy. A memorial Star Wars card in his
name...buying an extra ticket and giving it to someone further back in line - and telling them you're
doing so in his memory...it's all very simple.
So, think about it. That's all, just think about. It might be a good way to remember him, and
remember what happened last week. For as Merlin said in Exaclibur: "It is the doom of
men that they forget..."
CLICK HERE to jump to the
Steven Curnow "Act of Kindness" Memorial Site
CLICK
HERE to jump to the petition to create an official memorial Star Wars card in Steven's
name.
Glen
Or call:
(512) 347-1992
Mail can be sent to:
Glen Oliver
P.O. BOX 160812
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
P.O. BOX 160812
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
USA
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Even though I'm from Denmark, this DOES somehow sit everything about EPISODE I in perspective, doesn't it !
Though my heart goes out to those who was killed, their friends and families, I all of the sudden
feel GREAT about life..
I too have the luxury to worry about silly things like Episode I ice creams and such.. -
Okay, first off, I am a STAR WARS fan. Like millions of others, I wish I could be first in line when EPISODE I opens. I also feel awful about those who were killed in Columbine; students, the teacher, and yes, in an odd way, for the perpetrators. And yes, Glen, I did read your little disclaimer at the beginning of this article. But people... COME ON! Are we going to do this every time someone gets killed between now and the time STAR WARS I comes out? "Ooh, too bad they died... they'll never get to see it!" This same crap was posted when Gene Siskel died of cancer. This kid was SHOT IN COLD BLOOD and all we can think about is its relation to movies?! I'm more saddened by the fact that this kid, along with all the others, won't have any life to live, period. He won't know what it means to go to college or the Armed Services, he won't graduate, he'll never have the chance to fall madly in love and get married and have kids, get a decent job, live in his own home, make new, lifelong friends, do anything else recreational, see his own kids get married, retire, have grandkids... do you see what I'm getting at? Try telling his parents that you feel sorry he won't be able to see STAR WARS and see how fast your face gets slapped. His family is GRIEVING; I'm sure the last thing they want to hear is something like that. Everyone wants to see EPISODE I; just don't make it the center of EVERYTHING! Sorry, Glen--have to disagree on this one. Your heart was definitely in the right place, but, in the end, I find the piece inappropriate at best.
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Can we put this in a little bit of perspective please? This nationwide orgy of pity is ridiculous. 2 nut jobs go shoot up their high school and while tragic for the people who got shot and their families - granted this is news, but how does this really affect the nation?
I mean if it's not some high school loser shooting up the place (and that seems to happen all the time)- it's a disgruntled employee attacking coworkers (most of the time a postal worker) - or it's a bank robber wearing body armor shooting cops.
We live in disturbing, violent times and this kinda shit seems to happen alot.
WHY IS THIS ONE DIFFERENT?
SURVEY SEZ: It ain't - so could we please move on.
Two quotes that seem appropriate......
"One Death is Tragedy, a Thousand Deaths is a Statistic". - attributed to Stalin
"Now the first time you kill somebody, that's the hardest. I don't give a shit if you're fuckin' Wyatt Earp or Jack the Ripper. Remember that guy in Texas? The guy up in that fuckin' tower that killed all them people? I'll bet you green money that first little black dot he took a bead on, that was the bitch of the bunch". - Virgil (played by James Gandolfini) in True Romance.
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I think that Glen's tribute is as relevant as any of those that appeared since the shooting.The Star Wars angle deserves attention.
Everything in life is a matter of perspective.There are many people around the world for whom science fiction is not just a colourful distraction or a cheap thrill-it's their life long interest.Moreover,for some, sci fi is a necessary catalyst that determines his or her life's path.Many people begun with watching Star Wars as kids and ended up in air/space industries,not to mention filmmaking.Who knows what Steven might've achieved and what role sci fi would've played in his life?In my opinion,reckognition of that by other sci fi fans is quite appropriate.It's what he'd cared about...
Farewell Steven.I'm not religious,but I desperately hope that what you're experiencing now ,wherever you are,is infinitely grander than anything the rest of us is going to see in Episode One....
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To Matt0518 - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - -- -- - There is a very simple reason why this is important. It is because it show how American culture is fundementally messed up. I hear clinton speak about how the media and entertainment industryies need to change, I hear people quote the evils of trenchcoats and wrestlers, and I hear people spout that parents and schools need more help, and I think, are people really that ignorant. Yes, all these things influence people, but come on, we go through this stuff so many times that we have to realie that alll of these issues as to who is to blame is irrelevoent, because, untill we change our fundementals, we will keep getting kids killed. And I agree with Harry, the dedications are very nice!
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I have a few issues I want to address here. First, I respectfully suggest to the poster who commented that Glen's post is about Steven missing Episode 1 that they re-read Glen's piece. It's not about that at all. It's about appreciating that one *can* see Episode 1, and an appreciation for someone who has been tragically denied that chance. It's about not taking life for granted. Star Wars is the context in which we are touched by Steven's death. It is our commonality, what makes Steven "one of us." My second point is for the poster who referenced the need to move on, that this is all a part of life, Stalin, and the "Tower Shooting" in Texas. Glen's perspective on the horrible tragedy that happened at Colombine High is not out of line here. That tower happens to be located at the University of Texas-Austin, Glen's hometown. Glen's father taught at UT. If it had not been for an odd quirk of fate, Glen's father would have been crossing that very plaza when the shots rang out. I have been there. The bullet holes still mark where people were sitting, walking. All one has to do is look up, and enormity of what happened strikes you. That kind of senseless death could have happened to any one of us. But to think that it is a part of life which we need to forget about and move on says something equally tragic about us as a species. We can not forget people like Steven and his schoolmates, and those who died at UT. Each death diminishes all of us.
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I would like to point out that the memorial to Steven is not about his not getting to see the Phantom Menace, but about the fact that he is a Star Wars fan. It could be compared to a military funeral. The Star Wars fans are the military, the ticket scrapbook is the flag, and Steven is deceased military person. Just as the military honors one of its own, we honor one of our own. I highly doubt that Steven
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I think the main point here is, how does Steven's family feel about these efforts? The websites may be well meaning, but they also might be salt in the parents' wounds. OTOH, if the parents think this is a touching and appropriate way to memorialize their precious son, then let's go for it.
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Well, I did go back and read Glen's post, and I'm still not convinced. My original point was that this post seemed to revolve around Steven Curnow not being able to see STAR WARS, and while I don't have a problem with tribute sites, per se, I find it troubling that simply because he was a STAR WARS fan (and who ISN'T these days), Glen has to wonder aloud what it would have been like for him to be in line--he goes into a whole paragraph on this--to be in line, to buy toys, to see the movie, what he would have thought, etc. Now, granted, I am not Glen; I don't know exactly how his mind works, and as I stated in my previous post, I honestly think his heart is in the right place. I just think that the perspective that STAR WARS is the be-all and end-all of everyone's lives is wrong and inappropriate. The last thing we should be thinking about when we think of Steve Curnow is his relationship to STAR WARS. Let me put it another way; if you had a relative who was gunned down in cold blood, and he/she happened to be a big STAR WARS fan, would you really feel that bad that they missed a new movie, for cryin' out loud? I'd be 100 times more upset that they were DEAD! The last thing I would think or care about would be EPISODE I. We shouldn't single this kid out simply because of his STAR WARS fandom. We need to remember ALL of the students, the teacher, and also the killers. We need to spend more time working to keep this from happening again, and just little less time worrying about our movie tickets and toys.
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Jimmer... I don't think any of us are disagreeing on the major issue here (well, except the Stalinist). Steven, his schoolmates, and a teacher died. That *is* the central issue of importance. They were part of the human fabric, with joys and sorrows, family and friends, and now will no longer be able to enjoy all that life has to offer. However, I think you may still be missing the point that Steven isn't being highlighted only because he was a Star Wars fan. He is being highlighted because of what happened. A mutual love for Star Wars is the mechanism by which we are made aware of his connection to all of us. Yes, Steven's name may have been the one mentioned on AICN, but through a connection with Steven, we are reminded of the others who died. Glen's post was a retelling of how he... one person in all of this, felt the emotional impact and resonance of the tragedy. Star Wars was secondary to that. The use of Star Wars in Glen's post was a literary device used to draw attention to and illustrate the fact that, Steven is not just a name on the nightly news. He was a human being, and very much like the rest of us.
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What I was trying to say is that though tragic, the Columbine shootings were not unique. American society has tolerated and continues tolerate random acts of violence, including mass murder and serial murder. We tolerate this as one of the prices of living in what is probably the most free society on the planet.
However, this outpouring of and wallowing in nationwide pity and grief is somewhat strange. Why this one? Why not Paducah? Why not Jonesboro? Why not the McDonald's in San Ysidero back in the 80s? Why not.....you can pick and choose your massacre because there have been so many.
The main question I'm asking is WHY IS THIS ONE SPECIAL? and I don't have a good answer, but I think you should look at who is manipulating and profiting from this situation (the news networks, the anti-gun movement, the Clinton administration) and then evaluate it.
The plain fact of the matter is that at least two maladjusted youth snapped and started gunning down their fellow students. The majority of the blame should rest with them and their parents.
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I have to disagree with the previous poster (Jimmer8) who commented..."would you really feel that bad that they missed a new movie, for cryin' out loud? I'd be 100 times more upset that they were DEAD!"
My grandmother loved piano rolls, and Gershwin music. A short time after she died, I saw that someone had recorded a CD of the actual Gershwin piano rolls set up to play on a wonderful piano, with an orchestra I believe. I thought to myself, and became rather misty eyed, boy, wouldn't she have really enjoyed hearing this. Maybe right now the family is too grief stricken to think like this, but I do believe that after a time such thoughts as this will come up, and I think that the tributes may bring some joy into their lives.
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