What causes people to go on murderous rampages? Sexual jealousy, revenge, a lust for terrorizing, psychosis — God only knows the depth of depravity in the human soul.
The murders of 30+ innocents at Virginia Tech (more here) yesterday put the Duke case in perspective, didn’t it? The families of the formerly indicted three still have their sons with them. They are alive, free to get on with their lives, to create and do some good in the world. Neither the families of the murdered people at Virginia Tech nor the victims themselves have that luxury.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to watch the news and wonder if my loved one is among the casualties. My family when through that twice since I moved to D.C. Back in 1998, during my first week of working on Capitol Hill (Senate), a crazed fool named Russell Weston killed two Capitol Hill police officers in the Capitol, closer to the House side than the Senate building I worked in. The news reported that an unidentified woman had also been shot. My poor mother didn’t remember that I was on the Senate side or realize the Senate and House sides are some miles apart.
Then on September 11, 2001, she heard that the Pentagon had been attacked and the rumor that various government buildings were targets. (I was working for the feds.) She couldn’t get through to me because of jammed phone lines, and I couldn’t get through to her. She didn’t have an e-mail account, and I didn’t think to try to e-mail someone she may have known with an account.
I’m stunned about what happened at Virginia Tech. I want to say something profound or moving or helpful, but I just don’t have the words. If you have a first-hand account of what happened or just want to comment on it all, feel free.
Things are developing rapidly now. If you want to keep up, check out bloggers’ coverage at Memeorandum and news stories at Google News.
Addendum: Virginia Tech is a so-called gun-free zone. That is, law-abiding people can’t have guns — only the cops and the criminals, just like the nation’s capital. Are most college campuses gun-free zones, or is this unique to certain schools?
Update: The murderer was a 23-year-old native of South Korea named Cho Seung-Hui. More here.
Update II (4:28 p.m.): Good grief. Over 2,000 visitors have been here so far looking for info on what happened at Virginia Tech. Google loves blogs. Lots of visitors from the UK and Canada, and one from Africa. Make them feel welcome!
Update III (4/18): Special thanks to visitors from around world offering prayers and condolences to the victims at Virginia Tech. If you’d like to talk about gun control, see the latest post, Physical and Intellectual Disarmament.
