04.17.07
Tragedy in Virginia
Yesterday, Monday, April 16, 2007, became a date elevated to the memory of another of those tragic incidents that we would all too soon hope to cease. A lone gunman, a 23-year old English student at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, opened fire at those on campus at least two different times - once at 7:15AM and again two hours later. It needs not to be said that the loss of but one life is unfortunate, but as of now, the death toll stands at 33 with many others wounded. Those who survived in the classroom when the shooter unleashed his rage in the second incident surely must have been blessed by the hand of God. I hope that they will not forget such a blessing.
Certainly what the shooter did can not be justified. Nor should it be. He was said to be a loner, someone who society may have forgotten about as its members went about the hustle and bustle of every day. The greater question as to why this happened remains. There will always be theories of why the individual decided to commit such gruesome acts. But the real question is never asked. Not by the media. Not by the relatives of those who were slain. What has society done to alienate such an individual to cause him to go on such a rampage? The obvious answer that will be given is that he had a mental illness. But clearly that cannot be. He possessed a bullet-proof vest and purchased one of his two weapons as early as March. The acts were certainly well thought out in advance. It was all planned. Was he a loner by choice? Did those around him ignore him because he was intelligent and not superficial with a focus on shallow, materialistic objects? We may never truly know.
Though these questions may be answered in the upcoming years, the one true fact remains. Enjoy each and every day of your life to the best of your ability. One can never know when it will be swept away from us by the hand of God. Nothing but sorrow can be felt for those who lost their lives yesterday and those that loved them. It is the hope that this society can focus on the things that really are important in life - not money, work, and material possessions - and eradicate these types of events from the forever future.
