The worst shooting in modern U.S. history is what they're calling it.I know there are probably millions of bloggers covering this story with more insight and information than I have, and I don't want to necessarily clog up the Internet bandwith with more of the same. But I felt I needed to say something.
I got to know several Tech students last summer at a Leadership Training program in Wilmington, NC. Since then I've kept in touch with several through Facebook and e-mail. They are the coolest, funnest group of people you could ever wish to meet. The first thing I thought when I heard about the shootings is, 'I hope it's not one of them.' So far none of their names have appeared on any lists that I've seen, but I'm sure that among them, they knew someone who was killed, and what has happened there will have repercussions on their lives for years to come.
The question that always rises to the top when something like this happens, when people are left speechless and can barely utter the single word, is "Why?" There will be much research done into that South Korean English major's life; authorities will try to paint a picture for the public that offers some kind of reasoning, something that we can wrap our heads around if not fully understand. They will cite social factors, upbringing, cultural differences, and personality disorders. They will try to put together a composite that will explain in some way why he deviated from the 'norm.'
This makes me ask: What is the norm? What's normal? I guess, at the least, you could say it's normal NOT to kill 32 people for little apparent reason. It's normal to let others go on living, even if you have personal problems. But aren't personal problems normal as well? Don't people say encouraging things to people going through troubles, things like: 'Don't worry; EVERYBODY feels this way at some point in their lives'? But those people USUALLY struggle through and DON'T bring a gun to a dorm and class building and start shooting students and teachers. Those people, hopefully, go on to make better choices and surround themselves with others making better choices. They stay accountable to trusted friends.
But there are several things becoming 'normal' in this country that I believe are just as alarming as what happened at Virginia Tech. Things like abortion. There are thousands of babies killed every year. And yet there are groups out there fighting, really fighting, to make sure women will always have that choice. There are car wrecks that claim astounding numbers of lives every month, either as a result of some sleep-deprived worker or from somebody who somehow missed the whole Designated Driver campaign of the 1980s. And yet any corner you turn in a college town on a 'weekend' night (which includes the evening of any day except Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) you find people advocating, if not by words but by actions, the complete and total freedom and RIGHT even of ANY adult (not necessarily of the age of 21) to drink as much alcohol as they like and to just clean up the mess later, not considering the consequences that mess may have. It seems to me that it's becoming normal to encourage a person to live however they want, to live for the benefit of themselves, to make whatever choices give them the most pleasure.
There are patterns of 'normalcy' arising that have to do with abuses of freedom in this country. Yes, I believe in the freedom that many people have fought and died for, the freedom that we enjoy today. I don't want anyone to be forced to do anything. But I desperately want to encourage people to do things that promote life instead of death. And I want people to understand that there are concrete connections between the choices each of us make everyday and how much life is promoted in this world.
Maybe that South Korean student tried to make a friend his freshman year and that person decided not to befriend. Maybe he tried to join a community of some kind and was rejected for whatever reason. I'm not blaming that person or community for what happened. But I'm trying to help us see that, if we're all willing to give a little time, as we look around at the people we pass everyday, we can have a positive influence on somebody's life. Maybe you or I can be the reason somebody in the future decides to not buy that gun, to not let that anger build up with no outlet, to not go on living as a loner even though it might be easier to.
In this country it is NOT 'normal' to be friendly to strangers. It is NOT normal to live your life for the benefit of others. Let's deviate from the norm together.
