Sometimes things happen in real life that are so different from blog world that the two must meet. Today's blog isn't what you have come to expect from me and that's okay. I will blog about my trip to Greencastle, IN and other things I am experiencing right now. I think that the three tragedies that occurred at Virginia Tech bear some comment and acknowledgement.
As I listened to the news and the chaotic reports coming from the university, I was reminded how thin is the thread of humanity and what happens when that thread breaks. Often we are afraid of groups who are out to get us, while those quietly desperate among us slip through unnoticed until they take conscious shattering action.
The first tragedy was that of a very troubled individual who was unwilling or incapable of getting the help he needed. Along the way many people saw how troubled he was and intervened to get him the assistance he needed. Unfortunately, it didn't work.
The second tragedy was that after the first people were shot in the dorm, it was immediately classified as a "domestic". Because the crime was labeled as a "domestic" the psychology of the situation did not allow the possibility of a disturbed individual on the loose. Although we have come a very long way just in my lifetime, domestic violence is still treated as a "less than" crime. Basically, the death of a woman at the hands of a partner is so common that it does not merit the same response that other types of violence seem to received. Even worse are domestic violence situations that occur in same gender relationships. The stigma and prejudice still exist. The fact that sending a spouse or domestic partner to the hospital due to a beating is considered less of a crime than picking a person randomly off the street and subjecting them to the same violent acts. Somehow the relationship mitigates culpability, when to my mind the exact opposite should be true.
The third tragedy was that more than 30 people lost their lives. Parents will bury their children; college professors will bury their colleagues; friends will bury their friends. While now we as a nation share in their grief, in the months and years to come, our lives will not be marked by this tragic event; not because we are cold and callous, but because we are removed from the tragedy. For now we will mourn and hope not to hear the same news again.
The victims at Virginia Tech will join those of 9-11, Columbine, Paducah, Oklahoma City, and the thousands of others who die in this country every year from violence. We will remember them the next time. And the time after that.
2 comments:
Kimberly - Very touching post. I am always impressed and humbled in these situations that when faced with the most horrific actions of one (or sometimes a few) that frequently someone else steps forward to define the ideal of humanity and the human spirit. We saw it in the passengers that took down the airplane on 9-11 and we saw it this past week with the professor who barricaded himself in the doorway. While we will never completely understand the actions of the shooter, I take tremendous comfort and hope from the fact that there are such selfless people among us.
Kimberly, thanks for writing what I feel. I am so glad that you wrote it all. Blessings, MOM
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