I had planned to do some funny posts this week, after all of the deep thinking of last week. In fact, I had a pretty good one in mind. But then today happened.
To say I am stunned, so much so that I can’t even be angry about what happened at Virginia Tech today, puts it mildly.
Details are sketchy and the police and school officials are keeping what information they have close to the vest. If you are interested in reading about it, The Drudge Report will likely have the most updated news as information becomes available.
It appears to have been based on a domestic incident, jealousy to be specific. How over 30 people end up without their lives over a love triangle I’m not sure, and if that turns out to be the case – again, I’m speechless.
I think we need to wake up – turn off the hype and take a good look at our society. Students have no reasonable expectation of being shot at while attending school. They have no reason to expect a crazed gunman to show up and open fire. They had no reason to believe, when they woke up today, that it would be anything other than a normal Monday morning. Yet, this young man felt justified in terrorizing and taking lives. And traumatizing and likely, ruining the lives of those left behind to clean up the mess he made.
Following this incident, there will be the usual parade of talking heads and politicians and special interest groups, all fighting for face time to prove that their cause would have stopped this incident from happening. Some people will be too vulnerable, too ignorant and too scared to see them for what they are – shameless panderers who will stop at nothing to advance their causes.
Gun control groups will come out and demand the government make guns illegal. Human rights groups will come out and insist we feel sorry for the murderer and try to understand his pain and torment, for surely, it was that that caused him to take these lives. Shallow and superficial displays will be made by ‘officials’ who do it because it is the right thing to do. Capital crime supporters will come out and espouse the merits of the death penalty. And so it will go. Another tragedy will be turned into a horse and pony show and no solution will be found.
Why? Because no one will really want to do that. Because that would require real examination of society and accountability and lack thereof. They would rather, form a committee, throw money some around and come up with a new mental disease than acknowledge the fact that we have stopped caring about our fellow man. That we would rather drug our children than listen to them. That we would rather let the experts handle the woes of society than do anything about it ourselves. That we would rather hang our heads, change the channel and watch reruns.
It’s a very sad day in Virginia. And my heart and condolenses go out to the families and victims of this terrible day. And it is a sadder day in America. Because this diminishes us, each of us. And if you don’t think so, then I think you’re kidding yourself.
WC