VT Shooting

I can't believe what happened at Virginia Tech. I never thought anything like that would ever happen there. I didn't go to Tech, but I consider myself a Hokie. When i was younger, the only school I wanted to go was VT. It was only because my grandfather went there and I thought it would make him proud. After community college, I knew i needed to go to a smaller school, so I went to Liberty University. Even though I never went there, most of my life has been linked to that school. I was brought up to despise UVA and the elitists that went there. Tech was the school anyone could go to. It was closer to where i grew up than UVA. I went to many football games. I remember when it was still called VPI. When a friend told me yesterday that there was a shooting on campus, i didn't believe him at first. He went there, so i figured he must know what he's talking about but i also thought that shootings don't happen at Tech. Well...It did happen. I admit i spent most of the day on Monday watching the news coverage. Fortunately, no one I know attends there now, but I still felt for everyone there.

The media has really tried to pin this on the school and the police force. I feel that they probably did the best they could in this situation. Maybe they should have locked down campus and warned some of the students earlier, but I really don't think they could have done it in time. Nothing like this has ever happened before, so there was no precedent. You really can't plan for crazy people, and it is clear now that this dude was nuts. Cho Seung-Hui, a South Korean born student, killed 33 people yesterday, including himself, in 2 buildings at VT. Everyone who knows me knows I'm a little prejudiced and i was really upset when i found out the killer was Asian, but I shouldn't be mad that he's Asian, i should really be mad that he has no regard for life and is a cold-blooded assassin. What he did was clearly an assassination. I am really trying to be less prejudiced, but sometimes its really hard. I know him being South Korean has no real bearing on this.

Now, the liberals have already tried to push for additional gun control laws, but this killer didn't break any laws. He lawfully purchased all of his handguns by legal means. If he wanted to do this and couldn't legally get the guns, he would have gotten them on the black market, where most criminals get their guns anyway. If students and faculty would have been allowed to have concealed weapons on campus grounds, this lunatic may been taken out before he massacred all those innocent people. More will come out in the days to come about this guy, but in simple terms, he's just a nutjob who blamed everyone for his problems and took the cowardly way out of this situation by killing himself.

My prayers go out to the familes who've lost a loved one, to the students who have had to live through this tragedy and to the entire Tech family. We as Hokies will overcome. It has been incredible the last 2 days to once again see the closeness of this university. Hokie fans are really like family. This campus will overcome and come out of this tragedy. I urge everyone to continue praying for everyone involved in this situation. I used to think that the fear I felt on 9/11, being trapped in DC while the Pennsylvania plane was on its way back to DC, was something so enormous that nothing would be worse. I think those students who were trapped in their classes while this madman slaughtered their classmates and professors and tried to slaughter them have experienced more than I ever did.

President Bush did not do a good job in conforting the nation after this tragedy. He didn't seem like he cared, unlike when President Reagan gave us the conforting after the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion. I remember watching the explosion in school and i remember feeling better that night after the inspiring words of the great communicator. If you'd like to see how a real leader comforts in a time of crisis, please take a look at the entire speech right here...http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/challenger.asp. Reading that speech again and hearing his words make me feel better now. I want to thank all the other schools around the state that have rallied around Tech to support them. That's why I love Virginia. We take care of our own.

To the ones who lost their lives and to those injured, i pray they are in Paradise right now with our Lord. To their families, i'd like to say I know its hard and I can't comprehend how you feel, but know that the Lord will watch over you and carry you through this time.

Long Live Virginia Tech.
Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy.
Techs, Techs, V.P.I. Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah.
Polytechs - Vir-gin-ia.
Rae, Ri, V.P.I.

I'll post more in the coming days, but i had to get this off my chest now.