The Candidates
I’m sure that everyone has had a chance to hear the terrible news from Virginia today.
In respect for the victims and families, the Giuliani campaign has announced that they have canceled tomorrow’s events:
“Our nation mourns for those who were killed, prays for those who survived and stands shoulder to shoulder with the families, friends and loved ones of all touched by this horrific tragedy.
“Tomorrow is a day for prayer, reflection and unity. It is a time for our great country to come together.”
I think I speak for everyone here at Race 4 2008 when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with everyone at Virginia Tech University, and indeed the entire state of Virginia tonight.
If you belong to Facebook, join us in prayer here.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
I was a student there for three weeks. It was to take a mini-course sponsered by my employer at the time.
What a beautiful campus. What wonderful people. My heart truly goes out to them.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
In complete agreement. I’ve had to turn off the news out of a guilt/numbness to the situation. It seems to not come as a shock anymore, and that’s the sad loss of innocence that we as a nation have come to endure since 9/11. Tragedy is not unexpected in the times we live in, and that truly is a loss that we will never regain. It’s so surreal, but when you expect it to happen again (even when it’s not terrorist related), it leaves guilt that you don’t know how to deal with.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
….sadness that you don’t know how to deal with.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
I had to turn off the TV as well.
What on Earth could ever possess someone, no matter how bad things got in their life, to hurt the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends, of people they have never met?
I guess it’s just beyond comprehension…
For those of us outside of VA, we have to be aware in the next couple of days as to what we can do to help/support the families and survivors.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I am from Alexandria, VA, and 20% of my graduating class in ‘05 from my high school go there. I spent the earlier part of this day on the phone/text messaging/facebook. Luckily all my friends are ok, but are in shock, more so then we are… This is a horrific tragedy…
April 16th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Amen.
April 16th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Isolation, and rejection
April 16th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
I know what you mean. Anything we can do
April 16th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
When you constantly feel rejection from society, and are anti-social, you tend to become a sadomasochist. You fantasize about the pain of others so much that it feeds your anger. You seek gratification, either sexual/emotional, from the feelings so much that it feeds that hate, and overtakes in normalcy that could take hold in your life. Being bullied, rejection from a girl or guy, things that you feel are morally unacceptable, pedophilia: any one of those things can fuel this sick kind of emotional drain, and unconciously pushes one to cross that line, feeling like you’d rather be dead while causing hurt to those that hurt you.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
This is very sad. My prayers are with the families and victims at this time..
April 16th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
My thoughts & prayers will be with the families and friends of the victims.
It makes me wonder if any campus security team is equipped to handle such an incident. You can bet that many campus police groups will be thinking about that.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
cwpete:
I don’t think we’ll ever have a foolproof system. You can train all day, but in the end, you can never predict something like this, and people, no matter how much training, can never predict how they will predict when facing life or death. It’s in our human nature. The only thing we can really be prepared for is having a support system that is prepared to deal with tragedy.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
said predict one too many times. people can never know how they will REACT when facing life or death.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
The human soul is empty and dark without Jesus… my prayers go out to the families of those affected by this senseless tragedy.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Very True Tommy:
I was offered a job with campus police many moons ago. The hiring process was very long and during the meantime, a better opportunity arose so I pursued the better opportunity. I mention that because they did not want me to carry a firearm for this particular position.
I wonder how many of these campus police officers are armed nowadays.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
And to add…I, too, felt the numbness of others. At first, I had no real emotion…then the emotion hit me a few hours later…and hard.
My thoughts and sympathy to VT and VA.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
How could the campus police and administration not have locked down the campus after the first shooting? Of course this is a horrible tragedy, but I also find it to be surreal.
April 16th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
And to think this VT had a no guns policy on campus.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:04 am
We non-believers with empty and dark souls also extend our thoughts and heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those killed and injured Monday, as well as to the family and friends of the troubled man behind the trigger. There is a long and difficult road ahead for many, many people, and I wish them all the strength and peace they will surely need.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:15 am
jake, no offense intended, friend - and I hope none taken. I perhaps should have chosen my words more carefully.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:33 am
This brings into focus how much damage an evil individual can do in a gun-free zone. If we learn the right lessons, we won’t ever have to face a loss like this again.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:07 am
While religious platitudes may not be acceptable to all, lessons can be drawn from a religious context, particularly the Law of Moses.
It has almost been 24 hours in the news cycle; statements have been issued, events and Attorney General grillings have been canceled. But already, people are starting to play political football. The knee-jerks on one side are saying we need to take away more guns, while the other fringe is advocating armaments for everyone. Tomorrow and for the next week (or next headline), the politicians will be posturing and pushing their pet projects for solving our ‘national random armed suicidal gun-totting maniac problem’ or NRASGMP for short.
The easy and politically expedient answer is to legislate harsher gun laws: A mosaic law for firearms. It is too much to ask the people of America to govern themselves. They need to be protected from themselves, therefor removing guns is for their own good. This rhetoric flies against what our founders intended: having a well armed citizenry so government will not encroach on their rights as easily. This higher concept is not grasped by many and it is unfortunate that a few bad apples can ruin not only our rights to arms, but all of our rights protected by that single right.
Though if we have a citizenry which cannot abide by higher principles, then perhaps we deserve draconian gun laws. Are we capable of living by a higher law, or do we need to have everything dictated to us? And will we be safer if less people had guns, or would that make us easier targets for would be murderers or tyrants?
I think Seneca’s comments from 2000 years ago are still just as relevant as they are today:
a sword never kills anybody; it’s a tool in the killer’s hand.
Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:54 am
HeavyM. . .No offense taken at all - I meant it more “tongue-in-cheek,” which never comes across well in print. The one interesting and perhaps positive thing about tragic events like what happened yesterday in VA is that it brings people of all backgrounds together in the same hopes for peace and strength for all involved.
Regarding gun laws and such. . .every priviledge we have ever conferred upon ourselves since the birth of our Republic has been abused in some way by “bad apples.” Abuse of gun rights carry more dire consequenses to be sure, but it’s not a reason to reject those rights, just as yelling “fire” in a crowded theater is no reason to suspend free speech rights. On the contrary, increasing abuse of any law is grounds for strengthening or modifying such laws so as to protect those who abide by them while preventing those who choose not to from having the chance to do so.
However, the right to own a gun doesn’t necessarily mean the right to own ANY gun. Hunting rifles - sure. Handguns, of course. But semiautomatics, or guns that use cop killer explosive bullets, and the like? Is it really unconstitutional to ban such weapons? Would our Republic grind to a halt if we limited the types of guns allowed to the more “protection” types? (I apologize for my ignorance in the actual gun names - I hope my meaning comes across ok.) Did the founders really intend for anyone to own any gun? My own opinion is that they didn’t, and that a “well-armed militia” was in fact intended to allow the states to protect themselves against the federal government, an idea conceived during a time when authoritarian regimes in general and the British specifically often asserted itself onto local authorities.
Personally, as a good conservative who was raised by parents who abhored guns of any kind, I tend to step back from my fellow conservatives on the gun control issue and lean more towards the “less guns are better” position, admittedly not a popular position on our side of the aisle. I have always been in favor of the right to gun ownership but with the strictest background checks, realistic and logical waiting periods, and harsh penalties for those who choose not to abide by the law. There has to be a middle ground between the “Guns for Nobody” side and the “Guns for Everybody” side. Unfortunately, horrific tragedies like what we saw yesterday often become the catalyst for radical law changes that in the end provide no benefits to anyone but the criminals.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Believe it or not (considering who I support and where I’m from, and that I’ve seemed to left a good old boy impression):
I don’t like guns either. I hate hunting for sport. I tend to fall in with the NRA crowd when it comes to guns rights, however. Guns are like drugs, to me (I don’t do them, but as an example). Either you’re going to get them legally or you’re going to get them illegally. But in the end, you’re going to get them. Better to have legislature over what kind of guns are lawful.
Now don’t blast me over this, it’s not an issue I’ve put a lot of time studying or thinking about, just my 2 cents.