April 16: A sad day for all Americans

April 17, 2007 | Michael Foroobar | Comments | |

(Editor’s note: Michael Foroobar, a contributor at VentureBeat, attends the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech’s traditional rival a short two-hour drive away.)

Please take a moment of silence for those affected by the massacre at Virginia Tech yesterday, the worst shooting of its kind in U.S. history.

Waking up yesterday morning to news of a shooting at Virginia Tech was a tragedy. But hearing the fatality count jump from one to twenty in the blink of an eye and then settle at thirty two was surreal. There had to be some mistake–maybe they meant casualty instead of fatality? I was on the phone all afternoon with friends and family as I am sure many of my peers were. Tech’s Collegiate Times offers the most complete coverage of yesterday’s events.

The outpouring of grief was particularly immense on Facebook. 500+ groups show up on a search for “tech shooting.” Students across the nation dropped their rivalries, joined groups, offered support and sympathy, and used the site to plan vigils and other remembrance events. People often look down on these sites as a fad but their real power is evident through demonstrations such as this. My prayers go out to all those affected, their friends and families.

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  • Utku
    It is a sad day for non-Americans as well.
  • Jeremy (UK)
    It is indeed a very sad day - a completely unnecessary loss of 33 lives and many thousands of people affected one way or another for the rest of their lives. All for what?

    Until such a time as the right to carry a gun is removed from the Constitution, the US will continue to host horrific stories like this and be responsible for the ridiculous annual loss of life - dependent on which stats you believe, it's 30,000 to 50,000 gunshot deaths PER YEAR in the US, so about 1 in every 6,250 of population. This is tragic. Get proper gun laws and you'll get to the level we are at here in the UK, about 160 deaths per year, about 1 in every 375,000 of population.

    So it's no surprise that the US sends all these military people to Iraq - getting shot is more like an everyday event for the US people!

    Conclusion - The American people should be lobbying their politicians to change the gun law ASAP.
  • Mr. T
    Meanwhile, ~300 innocents died in Iraq on the same day. Why are American and, especially, Israeli lives more valuable than others'? Who selects the 'chosen people'? And what is up with the bizarre alliance between the evangelical neocons and Zionists? Their dogma dictates that only one group will get into 'Heaven.' That is whack.
  • RK
    I am a VPI& SU / Va Tech alumni myself, I have sat numerous classes in Norris hall. I think focus should be on what caused all this, and try to prevent these issues in society from further repeating themselves. posting above mention part of problem that exist on society today of gun's it might be helpful to address mental health issues as well. also firearms controls need to be pursued. We should remember the people who lost there life, most of news media is focused on covering the killer most, this is what that mentally ill person wanted publicity of his non sense. I think it would be good to cover about victims!!
  • eV
    RK,

    I think the fact that our society somehow isolates people from each other and sets us up exclusively as competitors to each other rather than more often as cooperators is another factor. Cho's rantings show how disconnected he felt. If the human environment were more loving, a mentally ill person would not pick up a gun.