Thinking of and Remembering Virginia Tech

Maybe this is not so political, and maybe this is therapy, but I want to voice my sadness and frustration with regards to what happened at Virginia Tech. It hits close to home not only because I am from Virginia, but because I live 80 miles from Blacksburg. Finding out what happened there flashed before my eyes on the news like a slow dream sequence, I do not often watch the news with my mouth dropped open for several hours on end, but this time, it was so. It takes several days for something like that to sink in. And you go through all the emotions. Anger, sadness, shock, feeling inconsolable. I knew people who attended Tech, but this was at least 6 years ago, still, it's such an institution here in Virginia. I could go on and on about the wonderful things about Tech, such as its engineering program or its football team. But the thing that struck me most is just what we lost. When I looked at the 32 victims and the things the majored in, their talents, the things they had achieved, so many of them at such a young age. They all seemed so interesting and bright, and they had only just begun. What things they could have achieved in the future, we will never know. And the teachers, the wonderful teachers who cared about their students, and their achievements, as well. Everyone was so innocent. Yes, it was such a loss.

I am not watching the news right now. There is only so much inundation one can take before one must turn the tv off and get through this on their own, in silence and solace. I know they are going to spend months trying to figure out what made the killer tick and why. And with regard to the tragedy, why did it happen, and how could it have been prevented, and how may it be prevented in the future. And maybe the media and society need to do that, and find out answers and discuss solutions. But for now, personally, I will remember those who died, I will attend a memorial at my college where we will hold candles and think, and remember.

I know the news is just "news" but I sense a strangeness of sensationalism when they show clips of the killer's "videos" and whatever he sent to NBC. I wish they had never shown it. I don't want him to be featured on the tv, perhaps getting fame or notoriety he may have wanted. I don't like seeing the news channels tout "round-the-clock-massacre coverage". It seems to leap above and beyond the point. We must remember those who died and move on.

And I sense no irony or excess in the need to wear orange and maroon clothing or Virginia Tech shirts in these coming weeks, or even the next year by anyone here in Virginia. I hope people across the States and beyond will consider it. It is a tribute to those who died, and those who are suffering. We must remember Virginia Tech as how it was before that day and how it will be. A place that many were proud of, a place that taught bright minds willing to learn, and a college that is in a State I am so proud to live in. Virginia. I cry today for Virginia Tech. That's all I have to say for now.