Virginia Tech
Title
Virginia Tech
Description
Anyone who is not living an incredibly secluded life (if you are, can I join you there?) has probably heard about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. where a gunman killed some 33 people, including himself. I've struggled whether to weigh in on this or not, but I felt that I would do so because I feel like a lot of the subtext of what is being said is awful.
First and foremost, as a Christian, I am praying for those actually affected by this. Friends, families and Virginia Tech's students and faculty are hurting right now. God of all comfort, be near to them and somehow work this evil towards good. Christ, have mercy.
I implore people to not use this as a springboard for their agendas. Gun control lobbyists, anti-video game lobbyists and people of this ilk: I'm talking about you. While you may have some valid points, just shut up for a while and grieve with those who are mourning.
I also understand that, in pain, people want someone to blame. Since the killer committed suicide, he does not prevent the convenient target. Please don't turn the school's president and the the chief of campus police into scapegoats to satisfy your pain-fueled desire for justice. Guess what: there won't be any here. The pain won't go away just because you feel like you have someone to blame.
To the news media: you disgust me. Human suffering is not a commodity to be packaged, sensationalized and delivered to consumers. You're a pack of vultures; a bunch of parasites of pain. Stop giving voice to the lobbyists who want to twist this for their own cause. Learn to listen, learn to suffer with those who are suffering. Tell us what's happening, and get the hell out of the way. Please.
To those who will inevitably say, "let's ensure this never happens again," I have news for you: you can't do that. What you can do is learn to live a life that is full of joy and pain amidst many uncertainties. I'm not saying that nothing can be done, but I am saying that fear and pain do not drive anyone to make good decisions about the way things can be.
Every crisis is an opportunity. Let us not miss out, no matter how ugly the package this crisis came in.
Published on April 17th, 2007
--
Original Source: mattwiebe.com
<a href="http://mattwiebe.com/2007/04/virginia-tech/">http://mattwiebe.com/2007/04/virginia-tech/</a>
This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License</a>.
First and foremost, as a Christian, I am praying for those actually affected by this. Friends, families and Virginia Tech's students and faculty are hurting right now. God of all comfort, be near to them and somehow work this evil towards good. Christ, have mercy.
I implore people to not use this as a springboard for their agendas. Gun control lobbyists, anti-video game lobbyists and people of this ilk: I'm talking about you. While you may have some valid points, just shut up for a while and grieve with those who are mourning.
I also understand that, in pain, people want someone to blame. Since the killer committed suicide, he does not prevent the convenient target. Please don't turn the school's president and the the chief of campus police into scapegoats to satisfy your pain-fueled desire for justice. Guess what: there won't be any here. The pain won't go away just because you feel like you have someone to blame.
To the news media: you disgust me. Human suffering is not a commodity to be packaged, sensationalized and delivered to consumers. You're a pack of vultures; a bunch of parasites of pain. Stop giving voice to the lobbyists who want to twist this for their own cause. Learn to listen, learn to suffer with those who are suffering. Tell us what's happening, and get the hell out of the way. Please.
To those who will inevitably say, "let's ensure this never happens again," I have news for you: you can't do that. What you can do is learn to live a life that is full of joy and pain amidst many uncertainties. I'm not saying that nothing can be done, but I am saying that fear and pain do not drive anyone to make good decisions about the way things can be.
Every crisis is an opportunity. Let us not miss out, no matter how ugly the package this crisis came in.
Published on April 17th, 2007
--
Original Source: mattwiebe.com
<a href="http://mattwiebe.com/2007/04/virginia-tech/">http://mattwiebe.com/2007/04/virginia-tech/</a>
This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License</a>.
Creator
Matt Wiebe
Date
2007-07-16
Contributor
Brent Jesiek
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License
Language
eng
Citation
Matt Wiebe, “Virginia Tech,” The April 16 Archive, accessed November 2, 2024, https://april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/754.