johnhildreth

I am moved to write a little more.

Living close to today's events at Virginia Tech has been surreal and utterly disturbing. A massacre of this magnatude truly does not sink in right away -- it's a like a deep cut that, while not initially painful, becomes ever more so as the shock of injury wears off.

So it is today in Blacksburg.

This comes on the heels of a previous shooting incident on the first day of classes in August 2006, in which two people were shot and killed by an armed prisoner who escaped from a local hospital after feigning an injury. The culprit was a townie many in the area had known for years, whose motive for the killings was as empty as the petty robbery attempt that landed him in jail. Small towns are slow to get over such an event, and after today, I don't know what's going to happen.

I found myself thinking of the September 2001 World Trade Center destruction throughout today. While the scale of each event is incomparable, the feeling of shock and loss is very similar. And as the weight of the situation sank in today (just like it did that day almost six years ago), I began to wonder how the ensuing aftermath would affect the community, and later the nation.

What the victims, their families, their friends, and everyone in this community need are the nation's thoughts and prayers. Their is little words can do, at least for now.

Yet, I began to steel myself for the coming reactions from commentators, politicians and religious pundits, and wondered how long it would take for that lot to begin leveraging political gain from the situation. On that September day of 2001, it was a matter of hours before the likes of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson were holding feminists and homosexuals responsible for the entire event, as well as the country's 'moral decline' in general. A few years prior, former House Speaker Tom Delay showed up at Columbine in CO and declared those unsupportive of prayer and religion in public schools responsible for the shooters' actions. A few years later, Michael Brown stood before Congress in a hearing directed at his criminal failures as FEMA director and suggested that Louisiana's having a Democratic governor, and New Orleans' a Democratic mayor, as contributing factors to the Katrina disaster (the implication being Democrats are immoral).

Let's be sure of the message here: when such opportunists cite 'moral decline' (in all its various guises) as the reason for a horrific tragedy like Blacksburg endured today, they are holding society at large responsible for the actions of a few -- or in the case of today, one (at the time of this writing). They are trivializing people's suffering. They are disrespecting victims. And, they are showing us exactly who they are.

Throughout today, I heard people saying the phrase 'oh, the times in which we live' as a reason for the shootings. I realize some say this as a matter of course, but I would have trouble thinking of a more intellectally weak reaction. Why? Because saying that phrase doesn't mean anything. And again, it suggests that a larger societal force, i.e., US, is to blame for the actions of a single, maniacal person. It also suggests an inability -- or unwillingness -- to come to terms with it.

And then there is the network news media. Throughout the day, news teams from all over the country showed up on the Virginia Tech campus. Katie Couric arrived to anchor the news from VT, as did Brian Williams from ABC. Don't misunderstand me, I support a free press and try to stay informed as well as the next person. I think this event deserves to be covered. But I couldn't bear to watch any of it, partially because I don't watch network television news, but mainly because I didn't want to see them trivialize this town's suffering by sensationalizing the tragedy.

This all comes down to a single, sick person. A fellow I work near summed it today in a total deadpan while watching local news coverage saying, "Someone was stupid, and now we have this." Sick people are not unique to any locale, and while this does not mean we should live in fear and dwell on such things, we must recognize that this can happen anywhere.

And today it happened here.

I don't journal publicly very often, but I feel compelled to share this one. The UK press ran an interesting headline today. Read it here.

Reading this article was an affirmation of what I, most Americans, and the world at large have felt for a long time now. Yet, we haven't succeeded in articulating these feelings. It comes down to this:

Phrases like 'War on Terror' and 'Age of Terror' are demoralizing, and do more to spread fear and division than they do to strengthen our communities. You can choose whether or not to consider the time you are living in as the 'Age of Terror.' And, you can choose whether or not to live in fear. This choice dramatically affects your worldview, and as a result, the strength and courage -- or lack of -- you feel regarding your values and place in the world.

A fearful nation is not a strong nation. Leaders who seek to make you afraid for their own political gain have no place in public office.

Define your world; do not let others define it for you.