A vigil for Virginia Tech, at the University of Virginia on Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottegeary/463708138/ Photo Courtesy of Charlotte Geary
Permission: Charlotte Geary http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottegeary/463708138
A vigil for Virginia Tech, at the University of Virginia on Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottegeary/463699620/ Photo Courtesy of Charlotte Geary
Permission: Charlotte Geary http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottegeary/463699620/
Va. Tech victims remembered by candlelight
Students and community members gather at MemChu to reflect, pray April 19, 2007 By Rahul Kanakia Several hundred Stanford community members gathered yesterday evening at a Memorial Church service for the 32 Virginia Tech students and faculty who were slain Monday by a gunman. Deans of Religious Life Rev. Scotty McLennan and Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann presided over the service. "We come together as religious and non-religious people. As faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends, we are all part of one community here at Stanford University," McLennan said. "Many of us have been overcome with feelings of shock, sorrow, fear, incomprehension, anger and hopelessness since Monday, all mixed up together. We come here to offer all of that up in prayer and contemplation and thoughtful reflection." As Karlin-Neumann read the names of the dead, McLennan rang a bell. The tone hung in the air after each name, fading almost to silence before Karlin-Neumann read the next name. Some attendees looked upwards, some stared at the floor, while others fixed their eyes on the front of the church. Alyssa Battistoni '08 said she lost a good friend from high school, Daniel O'Neil, who was an environmental engineering graduate student at the Blacksburg, Va. university. "I don't know," she said. "I wasn't really there, to tell you the truth. I was just thinking about how much it all sucks. He just got married, my friend Dan." After the service, Takeo Rivera '08 drew parallels between the victims' lives at Virginia Tech and student life at Stanford. "Their lives were cut tragically short," he said. "And that all sounds cliche and such. But the fact that it happened on a college campus makes it all so real. For instance, one of the victims was an RA, and I'm an RA. It was one of those things where you kind of reflect on your own mortality." Calley Means '08, a Washington, D.C. resident who was at the service because many of his friends at Virginia Tech lost friends in the attack, said he was surprised that the events resonated so strongly 3,000 miles away. "There were so many people wearing Virginia Tech sweatshirts and crying," he said. "People who had gone to lecture in Norris Hall. People who had taken classes with those professors. It just shows the ripple effects of those 32 people. This event really showed me the magnitude of what had happened." McLennan told The Daily that the Office of Religious Life has been flooded with phone calls and emails requesting an organized gathering. "The scope of [the massacre] is unprecedented," he said. "This kind of thing usually does not happen in a college and university. And there is identification with the other students, faculty and staff and their friends. This touches pretty close to home; it could have been us." After Karlin-Neumann read a selection of prayers, attendees were given the opportunity to light candles in remembrance of the victims. Half of the mourners lined up and down the center of the church as the other half looked on. For more than 15 minutes the silence of the procession was broken only by a few people who delivered short messages after lighting their candles. One man, a graduate of both Virginia Tech and Stanford, read a statement taken from Virginia Tech Prof. Nikki Giovanni's speech at Tuesday's memorial service in Blacksburg. "We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile," he quoted from the speech. "We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech. We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly. We are brave enough to bend to cry, and sad enough to know that we must laugh again." -- Original Source: Stanford Daily - April 19, 2007
Permissions granted by James Hohmann Editor-in-Chief The Stanford Daily <jhohmann@stanford.edu>
Hero Librescu's son addresses Hotnews.ro readers
Joseph (Joe) Librescu, the son of Liviu Librescu, the teacher who protected his students at the cost of his own life in the Virgina Tech killing spree yesterday, sent a heart-felt message to all Hotnews.ro readers. "I am professor Librescu's son and I want to thank all those who wrote such beautiful notes about him", the letter reads. "Even though he left the country for a long time, he never forgot its beauty. We were supposed to meet in Predeal this summer, for a family reunion. Once again I want to thank you for all the beautiful things you wrote about him". Professor Liviu Librescu's gesture was widely commented on in the Romanian and international media. First announced on the Virginia Tech official site, the story soon reached the HotNews.ro English version, and was quoted by the blogs at the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statemanship and Political Philosphy. An Associated Press article was almost instantly quoted by all international media. CNN, The Times, The New York Times and Haaretz are just a few of the TV stations and newspapers that brought an hommage to the lost professor. Romanian media ware just as present as the international ones: "Romanian hero in mourning America", Evenimentul Zilei reads on the first page; "The Hero", is the simple and powerful title in Jurnalul National. "Romanian hero at Virginia Tech", reads Cotidianul. "Romania origin hero", is the headline in Romania Libera and so on. HotNews.ro, Apr 18, 2007 -- Original Source: http://english.hotnews.ro/Hero-Librescu%27s-son-addresses-Hotnews.ro-readers-articol_44751.htm
Cristian Pantazi (cristian.pantazi@hotnews.ro)
A community in tears said its goodbye on Thursday from one of its members, professor Liviu Librescu, killed in the Virginia Tech massacre, helping his students flee to safety in an act of heroism. A moving service was held for Librescu in New York, before his body left for Israel. Hours after receiving Romania's highest distinction, Librescu was also honored by president George W. Bush. Liviu Librescu sacrificed himself blocking the door in the way of the shooter, so that students may escape through the classroom windows. Librescu, a Holocaust survivor and a teacher for 20 years at the Virginia Tech university, remains known in the media as "the hero in room 204". HotNews.ro, Apr 19, 2007 -- Original Source: http://english.hotnews.ro/Liviu-Librescu-honored-in-New-York-articol_44763.htm
De, Silvia Vrinceanu Nichita | 01.05.2007 Focsanenii emigrati in Israel cer municipalitatii ca o strada din Focsani sa poarte numele profesorului erou din America, Liviu Librescu u dascalul care s-a sacrificat pentru propriii studenti a copilarit la Focsani in timpul Holocaustului u un focsanean caretraieste in Haifa a povestit lucruri inedite despre Liviu Librescu Focsanenii emigrati in Israel dupa cel de-al doilea razboi mondial cer Primariei Focsani sa ofere numele profesorului erou Liviu Librescu unei strazi din municipiul de pe Milcov. Dascalul israelian de orgine romana, care si-a sacrificat propria viata, pe 16 aprilie, pentru a-si salva studentii in amfiteatrul Universitatii Virginia Tech din SUA din fata unei ploi de gloante, a trait in Focsani alaturi de familia lui in perioada celui de-al doilea razboi mondial si tot aici a cunoscut-o pe cea care i-a fost alaturi toata viata, vaduva sa, Marilena. Israelianul de origine focsaneana Zvi Ben Dov, directorul general al organizatiei A.M.I.R. care militeaza pentru infintareaunui muzeu al evreimii romane, i-a trimis zilele trecute primarului din Focsani, Decebal Bacinschi, in numele fostilor focsaneni emigrati in Israel, o scrisoare in care militeaza pentru recunoasterea numelui omului de stiinta Liviu Librescu in orasul in care acesta s-a format ca om. De altfel, acestia il numesc "focsaneanul" pe Liviu Librescu. Comunitatea de focsaneni din Israel a luat decizia de a-i scrie primarului Decebal Bacinschi la funeraliile "profesorului erou". "Prof. univ. dr. Liviu Librescu a trait si a invatat la scolile din Focsani si era atasat de locurile unde a copilarit. Presa romana, americana si israeliana a publicat pe larg istoria vietii sale si exceptionalele realizari in domeniul aeronauticii si nu numai. Fapta eroica a prof. univ. Liviu Librescu a fost elogiata de Presedintele Romaniei, Traian Basescu, ca si de Presedintele USA, George Bush. Noi sugeram ca, in memoria sa, o strada din Focsani sa primeasca numele profesorului focsanean Liviu Librescu", a detaliat Zvi Ben Dov, sustinut de israelienii de origine focsaneana. Primarul Focsaniului, Decebal Bacinschi, ne-a declarat ieri ca are toata deschiderea pentru acest proiect, declarindu-se impresionat de destinul omului de stiinta plecat din Focsani. "Am citit si eu in presa povestea acestui om extraordinar. Ar trebui conceput un proiect de hotarire de Consiliu Local in acest sens. Ar trebui sa facem si niste cercetari, sa vedem cam in ce zona a orasului a locuit profesorul Liviu Librescu, pentru ca viitoarea strada sa fie pe acolo", ne-a spus primarul Decebal Bacinschi. Amintirile unui coleg Chiar in timpul prigoanei antisemite, regretatul profesor Liviu Librescu s-a mutat la Focsani cu familia, unde locuiau bunicii sai din partea mamei si unde tatal sau, un avocat exclus din barou pe motive etnice, a avut domiciliul fortat inainte de a fi deportat inlagarele din Transnistria. Inginerul Matei Grisaru din orasul israelian Haifa, fostul sau coleg de scoala, isi aminteste ca in acea perioada portile liceului de stat din Focsani "s-au inchis ermetic"pentru tinerii evrei. "La Liceul Evreiesc infiintat in pripa cu sprijinul Comunitatii, in afara colegilor pe care ii cunosteam de la scoala primara, a aparut unul nou. Nu ne-a trebuit mult timp pentru a afla ca in cadrul persecutiilor la care au fost supusi evreii in acele timpuri a fost si izgonirea lor din orasele considerate de importanta strategica. In felul acesta, familia Librescu a ajuns in Focsani, orasul in care locuia unchiul lui Liviu, avocatul Ianconescu, nume cunoscut de marea majoritate a locuitorilor orasului. Liviu avea pe atunci 11 ani. Integrarea lui in rindurile celorlalti elevi s-a facut aproape instantaneu. De Liviu m-am apropiat din primele zile,poate chiar din primele ore in care el a aparut in clasa. Apropierea s-a reflectat nu numai in cadrul scolii, dar ea s-a concretizat si prin vizite reciproce, prin vizionarea unor filme la care ne era permis sa mergem si, oricit ar parea poate de curios pentru virsta copiilor care eram atunci, prin controverse pe diverse teme, inclusiv cele religioase. Discutiile, incercarile de a patrunde in miezul lucrurilorpentru aflarea adevarului sint poate amintirile care, in decursul multor ani, mi-au revenit in minte cu prioritate. Cind razboiul a luat sfirsit, drumurile noastre s-au despartit", isi aminteste fostul focsanean Matei Grisaru, despre care si regretatul Liviu Librescu spunea, intr-un e-mail, ca il leaga amintiri de neuitat din anii copilariei. Inginerul Matei Grisaru spune ca inca de atunci copilul Liviu Librescu dadea semne ca va ajunge un om mare. "Dintre toate materiile cel mai mult il interesau cele cu caracter tehnic, matematica avind prioritate aproape absoluta. Il invidiam uneori pentru modul direct in care prindea, din aer as zice, explicatiileprofesorului, dar niciodata nu ezita sa explice si celor care il solicitau ceva ce ei nu intelegeau. Pe Liviu l-am mai intilnit uneori la Bucuresti, nefiind deloc mirat atunci cind am aflat ca a devenit cadru universitar in domeniul tehnic", isi aminteste fostul sau coleg de scoala. (Silvia VRINCEANU) -- Sursa Originala:http://www.ziaruldevrancea.ro/index.php?articol=11943
From Out of the City for April 22, 2007: Death and Memory (April 22, 2007)
128Kbps MP3 12.5M The poet presents three works; the poem "April 16, Blacksburg, Virginia" about the Virginia Tech shootings; the poem "at a former lover's graveside" about the death of those we have loved and "the taste" a new song by his band, the Gods of Love. This item is part of the collection: Open Source Audio Author: William F. DeVault Date: 2007-04-22 -- Original Source: http://www.archive.org/details/City20070422 Creative Commons license: Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0
VBR MP3 3.2M Dedicated to the Victims at Virginia Tech University - 2007, april 16th Song Info Bass: Tony Guitar: Warhorse Synth: Marika Year: 2007 Genre: Freestyle Created and developed at the Open Music Factory (http://www.openmusicfactory.com) This item is part of the collection: Open Source Audio Author: the Open Music Factory Date: 2007-04-27 -- Original Source: http://www.archive.org/details/for_now_and_forever Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Connected to the news by a generation of wired witnesses
Posted by Dale Peskin | April 23rd, 2007 Unaware of a shooting in a dormitory that left two people dead, Virginia Tech graduate student Jamal al Barghouti headed across campus to meet with his advisor. Nearing Norris Hall he ran into police, guns drawn, rushing inside. As al Barghouti took cover, he pulled out his Nokia camera-phone and started recording. Then came the haunting sound of 26 gunshots. As the volley increased in intensity he unexpectedly recorded his own startled voice: "Wow," he said. Across campus, freshman Bryce Carter was hiding in his dorm room. When word reached him that fellow students had been shot, he went online. After assuring friends that he was alive, he wrote these works on Bryce's Journal, his blog: "My friends could be dead." Over at the business school, computer science-business technology major Kevin Cupp was locked down, distanced from the computer servers he manages as webmaster of Planet Blacksburg. So he sent an instant message on his cell phone to Twitter, the new digital network where people describe what they are doing at the moment. His first of many posts that day: "Trapped inside of Pamplin, shooter on campus, they won't let us leave. What we experienced about the horrific events on a black day in Blacksburg owes to a savvy, social generation connected emotionally and technologically to its media. Their eyewitness descriptions, photos, video and reporting from a remote, rural Virignia town - one of the world's first connected communities — made a story visceral to the world. The ability to instantly capture and disseminate information at a time when it was most needed, as well as to communicate with each other across time and geography, has not only helped unite a community but has become a real-time example of how personal media empowers and defines communication in today's connected society. Watching events unfold, the shift in the power of media was perceptible. Traditional broadcasters and publishers competently covered the tragic events in Blacksburg. But the story belongs to Virginia Tech students. They were at once reporters, witnesses and subjects of the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. It was like watching a new kind of reality show where the stars used their devices, their social networks, and their wits to survive and to cope. News organizations responded by plundering material posted on the web and pumping their own content into the online ether. The Internet encouraged a collective expression of emotion that was faithfully reported by traditional media outlets. As if the world outside newsrooms didn't already know, CBS News ran this story a day after the shootings: Students turn to web in time of tragedy. The Los Angeles Times went with: Students Trace a Tragedy Online. So, too, did adults. While social networking sites such as Facebook and My Space became an integral part of the story, millions turned to the sites produced by mainstream news outlets for the latest from Blacksburg. But the Internet had done more than create a distribution center for news and information; it became a place for news to happen. An online community emerged around the story. The immediacy of the medium helped to relay both the scope of news as well as the full emotion of the event. Once again, citizen journalists armed with mobile phones supplied invaluable material, including pictures and video footage of the shootings, to established news organizations. Newspapers lost more hallowed ground in the media war for immediate attention and influence. An editor for The Washington Post lamented the "dead-tree" limitations of covering a breaking story that made newspaper editions the harbingers of yesterday's news tomorrow. A day late and many breaking developments short, the mighty Post was relegated to this headline on Tuesday, April 17, a full day after the shootings: "Gunman Kills 32 at Virginia Tech In Deadliest Shooting in U.S. History." There can be no denying now that We Media - the ecosystem in which everyone is media - is the dominant force of communication in our culture. The digital network has changed the way we create, access and distribute news and information. Virginia Tech's students shined even as it they were portrayed as victims. One articulate student-witness set the record straight while being interviewed by a testy CNN reporter. "Don't you get it?" he asked the reporter. "Its our story, not yours." As the student went off to awaiting cameras for a series of interviews and special reports with the other television networks, a CNN producer channeled the network's coverage to a report on counseling services on campus. The TV moment recalled the recent complaint by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams that the had spent a career as a journalist only to compete now with "some guy named Vinny." But it was not Vinny with whom Williams had to compete in Blacksburg. It was Jamal, Bryce and Kevin. They are, for the moment, the celebrated journalists of their generation, embedded correspondents reporting from a war zone with all the courage and authenticity that radio reporter Edward R. Murrow famously exhibited covering the bombing of London during World War II. Undeniably less sophisticated than Morrow's reporting, their citizen journalism is shown, replayed, recast, remixed and referenced over-and-over again on the Internet as well as on traditional newscasts. The unfettered, unfiltered coverage of the shootings is accepted for what it is, unapologetic for its lack of cohesiveness or for its personal perspective. The audience understands the story is personal and incomplete, a work in progress that continues long after the network camera crews and out-of-town reporters leave Blacksburg. Suddenly, the Internet looks less like a threat to 'old media', and more like a resource it can easily exploit. The We Media Generation now looks to pick up the pieces, to remember their friends, their community, and to share their stories of survival with the rest of the world. It is the informing story of their lives. No wonder they asked NBC and the outside media to leave for violating their fragile community by repeatedly overplaying, then replaying over and over, the grotesque rants of a killer, once a disturbed fellow student. The story of a generation turned quickly to coping with unimaginable tragedy, a cruel and unforeseen twist for college students living in the sanctuary of a college campus. Amid tragedy there was pathos and authenticity in the way they mourned, grieved and supported one another through public acts of catharsis. At the Tuesday night vigil for their slain comrades Virginia Tech students lit "The Drill" with candles and the glow of screens on their cell phones. Virtual vigils emerged across the web. Happy Slip, a vlogger in New York City, posted a photo sent via a cell phone from the vigil. These words accompanied the photo: "Know that a community here in New York was on their knees praying for you tonight." Thousands of bloggers shared similar sentiments. Technorati, a web site that indexes blogs, tracked nearly 30,000 posts about Virginia Tech the following day. As expressions of sorrow and support, memorials proliferated on the web. West Virginia Blogger collected links to the personal web sites of victims, many on My Space or Facebook, as a way of paying tribute. "It's one thing to hear a list of names on TV, or read them online," she wrote, "but if you take a second to view a bit of the person's personal life it will give you a deeper understanding of that person." Forums were established on sites such as VTtragedy.com and VTincident.com for students to express their condolences and grief. The creators of OneDayBlogSilence.com proposed a day of silence in the blogosphere to pay tribute to the victims. Citizens of the virtual world Second Life established a memorial for visitors to leave virtual notes and flowers. The big news organizations did their best to compete with the raw elegance of user-generated tributes, but their stories seemed trite amid the outpouring of personal expression. As the world tries to understand what happened in Blacksburg, the conversation should once and for all dispel the "derivative myth" spun by newspapers and news broadcasters. The myth holds that most news of value is created and owned by the newspapers who publish it or by the broadcasters who air it. While there is no denying that news organizations may add value to news by employing large numbers of specialists to gather, create, edit, produce and distribute it, the notion that they either "own' the news or that they are the original source for it becomes irrelevant, if not absurd, when everyone is media. Today's news tumbles through a connected society, spiraling through media, changing as it goes, an organic story with no beginning, middle or end. What seems chaotic is actually a story arc that assumes clarity, context and meaning as it unfolds through a proliferation of sources, many accessible to anyone. The days of once-a-day publishing cycles and scheduled news broadcasts are mere supplements to a continuous stream of news and information available any time through a variety of sources and ubiquitous devices. With their cell phones, networks and knowledge of place, Virginia Tech students were better prepared to report the events overtaking them than the swarm of professional reporters who descended upon Blacksburg following the shootings. On camera the students appeared more composed, informed and sure-footed than the confused reporters from the big cities. Community - a word that is now used to describe the digital connections among people, as well as the social and emotional ones - was the word heard time-and-time again from Blacksburg. Extended by personal media, the Blacksburg community quickly expanded to include students on campuses everywhere, as well as a diverse, caring generation connected to each other through digital media. "Today we are all Hokies," student leaders proclaimed when asked by reporters how the tragic events would impact Virginia Tech. In a show of support, fellow students at universities across the U.S. created video tributes and memorials on You Tube, some remixing an audio track of Avril Lavigne's "Keep Holding On" with slideshows of photos grabbed from Flickr. Many of the videos ended with a slide displaying the logo of their universities next to the words "today we are all Hokies." Powerful forces were in play in Blacksburg that week. One was the invisible infrastructure of digital networks, wired and wireless, connecting a geographically isolated community to itself and to the world. Another was the connected culture of young adults, savvy content creators and communicators who instinctively use social media as integral parts of their life. When shots rang out, the story unfolded through their devices and their networks. A new generation of media experts provided an indelible record of what happened on a terrible day in Blacksburg. They have created a lasting tribute to and by its community. The way we are informed will never be the same. -- Original Source: ifocos - institute for the connected society http://ifocos.org/2007/04/23/connected-to-the-news-by-a-generation-of-wired-witnesses/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5.
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5
Profesorul Liviu Librescu, romanul erou al Americii, impuscat mortal intr-un amfiteatru al Universitatii Virginia Tech din SUA in timp ce incerca sa-si salveze studentii din fata atacatorului sud-coreean, a copilarit la Focsani, unde a trait din plin ororile antisemite. Aici locuiau bunicii lui din partea mamei, aici a avut domiciliul fortat tatal sau inainte de a fi trimis in lagarele de exterminare din Transnistria si tot aici a cunoscut-o pe sotia lui, Marilena Semian, fiica unui stomatolog cunoscut in acele timpuri, cu care s-a casatorit in 1968. Sotia, medic de profesie, a urmat liceul de fete din Focsani. Ulterior si-a urmat sotul in Israel si mai apoi in Blacksburg - SUA. Prigonit de legionari si de comunisti Profesorul Liviu Librescu se numara printre cei care, inainte de 1989, au cerut Institutului Yad Vashem din Israel, memorialul dedicat celor sase milioane de evrei omorati in timpul Holocaustului, decorarea Reginei-mama Elena cu titlul de „Drept intre popoare". In corespondenta electronica purtata cu corespondentul EVZ in Vrancea, profesorul isi amintea de prigoana impotriva evreilor. „Au fost ani de suferinta, cand tatii nostri, al meu si al sotiei mele, au avut domiciliul fortat. Tatal meu a fost deportat de aici in Transnistria dupa ce a lucrat o vreme in munti, la Soveja, intr-un batalion de munca", scria profesorul Liviu Librescu cu putin timp inainte de masacrul din Virginia. Cu toate amintirile neplacute, profesorul isi amintea cu placere de Focsani, orasul unde a urmat scoala israelita si mai apoi Colegiul Unirea. La 60 de ani de la Holocaust, profesorul Liviu Librescu si-a amintit de copilaria sa petrecuta intr-o atmosfera profund ostila evreimii. „In anii copilariei, inaintea inceperii razboiului, Focsaniul a constituit pentru mine orasul in care veneam cu parintii sa-mi vizitez bunica, Paulina Finkelstein, si familiile surorilor mamei mele. Impreuna cu parintii, Izidor si Mina Librescu, locuiam atunci la Ploiesti. Tatal meu era avocat, dar, din motive rasiale, in tot timpul razboiului a fost radiat din barou. Tatal meu a fost dus la lagarul de la Teius. Dupa desfiintarea acestuia, a fost trimis cu domiciliul fortat la Focsani. In 1942, ne-am mutat la Focsani pentru a ne reuni cu tata, dar vremurile potrivnice au facut ca el sa fie luat la munca obligatorie, dupa care a fost deportat in Transnistria. Dupa razboi s-a intors cu sanatatea mult subrezita si cu moralul foarte scazut. Tata a reintrat in barou, dar in anul 1948, cand regimul comunist s-a instaurat la putere, a fost din nou radiat pentru motivul ca s-a opus „democratizarii baroului"", spunea profesorul Librescu. Fortat sa demisioneze In ciuda pericolelor si a greutatilor intampinate de familia sa, Liviu Librescu a urmat Politehnica la Bucuresti, Sectia de aviatie. A ajuns un nume important, dar a trebuit sa renunte la tot ca sa poata pleca in Tara Sfanta. „Pentru a-mi putea depune actele de emigrare in Israel a trebuit, in anul 1975, sa-mi dau demisia si am fost fortat sa stau trei ani fara lucru", le-a dezvaluit profesorul prietenilor sai din Focsani. „In Israel am fost atestat profesor la Tel Aviv University. In 1985 am plecat la Virginia Polytechnic Institute in SUA. De atunci, lucrez aici, ca profesor la Engineering Sciens and Mecanics Department, si imi place foarte mult munca mea", a continuat profesorul. Liviu Librescu a fost coleg de scoala, la Focsani, cu Zvi Ben Dov, fost director in cadrul Aeroportului International „Ben Gurion" din Tel Aviv, actualmente director general al organizatiei A.M.I.R. „Important e sa nu ne uitam trecutul" „Pe Liviu Librescu il pretuiam mult si eu, si sotia mea Edna. De Paste i-am trimis felicitari si mi-a raspuns cu multa amabilitate. I-am scris ca plecam la Focsani sa vizitam orasul copilariei noastre si l-am invitat sa vina cu noi intr-o excursie de suflet. Liviu mi-a raspuns ca, din pacate, nu poate sa fie cu noi pentru ca era implicat in unele proiecte la universitate, desi i-ar fi placut sa revada locurile copilariei. Mi-a spus ca este important sa nu ne uitam trecutul", ne-a spus Zvi Ben Dov. El a adaugat ca profesorul va fi inmormantat in Israel. EROU NATIONAL Si-a salvat toti studentii! Moartea tragica a profesorului Liviu Librescu a fost deplansa ieri de presa internationala, de studentii de la Virginia Tech, de profesori, si nu in ultimul rand de rudele sale. Eroismul dascalului de 76 de ani, care si-a salvat intreaga clasa, a fost evocat in declaratiile oficiale facute ieri de reprezentantii universitatii americane. Librescu a murit blocand usa clasei cu trupul sau, timp in care toti studentii au sarit de la fereastra salii de curs situata la etajul al doilea al cladirii. Unul dintre cei doi fii ai sai, Joe Librescu, a povestit pentru postul american de televiziune CNN ca este mandru de gestul eroic al tatalui sau. „Era unic in mai multe privinte. Se considera un fel de ambasador al Israelului in aceasta parte a lumii", a declarat Joe Librescu. STEAUA ROMANIEI Decorat post-mortem Presedintele Traian Basescu l-a decorat ieri, post-mortem, pe profesorul Liviu Librescu. Seful statului i-a acordat ordinul National Steaua Romaniei in grad de Mare Cruce. Potrivit unui comunicat al presedintiei, decoratia i-a fost acordata „in semn de inalta apreciere si recunostinta pentru intreaga activitate stiintifica si pentru eroismul dovedit in timpul tragicelor evenimente de la Virginia Polytechnic Institute". (Laura Gafencu) Neadaptat la societate Asasinul, un solitar incarcat de ura Autorul masacrului de la Universitatea Virginia Tech, soldat cu 32 de morti, a fost identificat, insa personalitatea sa si motivele ce l-au impins la aceasta crima oribila raman invaluite in mister. Principalul obstacol in calea realizarii unui portret cat mai exact il reprezinta faptul ca era un tip solitar, fara prieteni care sa poata povesti despre el. In opinia expertilor, cei mai multi criminali in serie sunt insi singuratici, cu dificultati de adaptare la societate. Criminalul din Virginia, Cho Seung-hui (23 de ani), un sud-coreean emigrat in SUA impreuna cu parintii, la varsta de 8 ani, era o enigma pentru colegii sai. Nu vorbea cu nimeni, lua masa singur la cantina si respingea orice tentativa din partea celorlalti studenti de a se imprieteni. Un coleg a povestit ca, in urma cu un an, la inceputul unui nou curs de literatura engleza, Cho a fost singurul care nu si-a trecut numele pe lista, punand in loc un semn de intrebare. Profesorul chiar l-a intrebat: „Semn de intrebare e numele tau?". „Nu se apropia de nimeni. Nu vorbea niciodata", a povestit studenta Julie Poole. Mai mult, tanarul cu care impartea camera de camin, Joe Aust, a relatat ca abandonase de mult orice incercare de a se apropia de Cho. Nu-si spuneau nici macar „buna dimineata". La fel s-a intamplat si in dimineata crimelor. Cand s-a trezit, Aust l-a vazut pe Cho deja la calculator, poate punand la punct ultimele amanunte ale planului sau dement. Nu si-au spus o vorba. In mod ironic, in momentul in care a patruns in cladirea Norris Hall, unde a ucis 30 de studenti, Cho si-a salutat victimele: „Buna, ce mai faceti?". Gelos pe copiii de bani gata Biletul conceput de Cho Seung-hui in dimineata masacrului lasa sa se intrevada ura pe care o nutrea fata de colegii sai. In mesajul de adio, criminalul are cuvinte dure la adresa celor pe care ii numeste „copii de bani gata" sau „sarlatani". El denunta, de asemenea, dezmatul care domneste in campus. Ura lui Cho fata de colegii mai instariti este explicabila, in conditiile in care provenea dintr-o familie modesta. Inainte de a emigra in SUA, parintii sai duceau o existenta destul de grea, intr-o periferie a capitalei sud-coreene, Seul. In America, parintii au reusit sa cumpere o spalatorie ecologica si sa duca o existenta decenta, fara a-i putea insa oferi fiului cine stie ce. Potrivit presei de la Seul, care urmareste cu mare interes drama din SUA, parintii criminalului sunt internati, in stare de soc. Ei ar fi incercat sa se sinucida dupa aflarea teribilei vesti, tatal taindu-si venele, in timp ce mama a baut o substanta toxica. Obsedat de violenta Colegii si profesorii avusesera de-a lungul ultimilor ani suficiente semnale ca tanarul sud-coreean este ciudat. In 2005, sefa departamentului de creatie literara, Lucinda Roy, a atras atentia conducerii facultatii de engleza ca Cho Seung-hui este un tip cu probleme. Acest lucru era evident din lectura a doua texte scrise de baiat, ce dezvaluie obsesia pentru violenta si furia ce-l macinau. Unul din texte a fost publicat pe internet. „Richard McBeef" este o piesa intr-un act despre un baiat de 13 ani care isi acuza tatal vitreg, aparent fara motiv, de pedofilie si de asasinarea tatalui sau natural. Dincolo de lipsa evidenta de talent, piesa socheaza prin limbajul violent al copilului, care planuieste sa-l omoare pe tatal vitreg cu o drujba. In celalalt text scris de Cho este vorba despre trei elevi hartuiti de un profesor. „Atunci cand citeam piesele lui Cho era ca un cosmar. Piesele erau pline de o violenta macabra si faceau referire la arme la care eu unul nu m-as fi gandit", spune colegul sau Ian McFarlane. GELOZIE Scanteia care a aprins fitilul Problemele sentimentale sau, mai degraba, lipsa lor par sa fi jucat si ele un rol important in drama ce a indoliat America. Prima victima a lui Cho Seung-hui a fost Emily Hilscher, o bruneta cu ochi albastri in varsta de 18 ani. Potrivit martorilor oculari ai primului act al dramei, Cho s-a dus la 7.00 dimineata in caminul unde statea Emily. Cei doi s-au certat, in scandal intervenind un alt student, presupus a fi iubitul actual al fetei. Cho i-a impuscat pe amandoi. Nu s-a stabilit cu certitudine daca el avusese o legatura sentimentala cu fata. Politia a declansat urmarirea unui alt fost iubit al lui Emily. In momentul in care il interogau pe respectiv, politistii au fost informati ca in campusul universitar se trage din nou. (Jacqueline Prager) Reteta masacrelor O traditie a violentei si arme la indemana Marginalizarea sociala, problemele legate de virilitate, violenta glorificata de productiile cinematografice sau de televiziune si usurinta de a procura arme ar putea fi, potrivit sociologilor, ingredientele care au condus la masacrul de la Universitatea Virginia Tech. „Nu trebuie sa atribuim aceste crime doar problemelor mentale ale unui individ, ci sa ne concentram asupra ansamblului de factori socio-culturali ce joaca un rol in acest tip de violenta", spune sociologul Joseph Gasper, citat de AFP. Acesta subliniaza usurinta extraordinara cu care orice american isi poate procura o arma. El ii da ca exemplu pe cei doi liceeni care au comis in 1999 masacrul de la Liceul Columbine, din Colorado, care gasisera armele in propriile lor case. „Nu cred ca o sa putem vedea vreodata strazile Americii fara arme, astfel ca e important sa ne concentram asupra factorilor psihologici si sociologici daca vrem sa intelegem si sa prevenim fenomenul." Un articol de Silvia Vranceanu, Andreea Romanovschi Integral in Romania libera Evenimentul Zilei, 19 apr 2007 -- Sursa Originala: http://www.hotnews.ro/articol_70182-Viata-de-roman-a-eroului-din-SUA.htm
Eroul de la sala 204, comemorat la New York
Corespondenta din SUA O comunitate indurerata si-a luat ramas bun de la unul dintre membrii sai, ucis in masacrul de la Universitatea Virginia Tech. Profesorul Liviu Librescu, cel care si-a dat viata pentru a-si salva studentii, a avut parte de o ceremonie emotionanta la New York, unde trupul sau a fost adus inainte de a ajunge in Israel. Zeci de membri ai comunitatilor de evrei ortodocsi si hasidici au participat la ceremonia funerara care a avut loc la capela "Shomrei Hachomos" din Brooklyn. Liviu Librescu a fost amintit pentru meritele sale ca profesor eminent, dar si ca salvator a zeci de studenti aflati luni la cursul sau de inginerie si carora le-a cerut sa sara pe geam in timp ce el a blocat usa in fata atacatorului. Librescu a fost nimerit de cinci gloante trase de asasin si a murit in sala de curs. "Eroul de la sala 204", cum a fost numit el de presa americana, s-a nascut in Romania si a supravietuit Holocaustului, dupa care a emigrat in Israel. El era profesor la Universitatea Virginia Tech de 20 de ani. Sotia sa, Marlena, ea insasi supravietuitoare a Holocaustului, a participat la ceremonia privata desfasurata in Brooklyn, vorbind de pierderea suferita dar si de abnegatia care-l caracteriza pe profesorul Librescu: "A fost un om muncitor care cerea de la toti dedicatie 100 la suta asa cum facea si el". Intrebata daca a fost surprinsa de gestul profesorului de a tine piept atacatorului, ea a raspuns simplu: "Nu, fiindca acesta era felul lui de a fi", adaugand: " Se lupta pentru ca fiecare sa fie bun, sa aiba un loc de munca, era intotdeauna de ajutor". Doamna Librescu a amintit si de dovezile de afectiune ale studentilor, care continua s-o sune si sa-i transmita mesaje de imbarbatare: "Am primit atatea emailuri si atatea telefoane in care toti spun: "Era ca si tatal meu". Membrii comunitatii evreiesti din New York s-au rugat minute in sir in fata sicriului infasurat intr-un steag negru, exprimandu-si respectul pentru profesorul-erou. Unul dintre participantii la ceremonia din Brooklyn, Michael Lamont, a declarat pentru Hotnews.ro ca a venit sa se roage pentru "acest om bun" caci "indiferent de religia lui, el va ajunge direct in paradis". Conform traditiei evreiesti, trupul profesorului Librescu nu a fost autopsiat, el urmand sa fie ingropat joi in Israel. Liviu Librescu a fost prima victima a masacrului de la Universitatea Virgina Tech al carei trup a fost incredintat familiei. HotNews.ro, Adrian Novac, New York, 19 apr 2007 -- Sursa Originala: http://www.revistapresei.ro/articol_70255-Eroul-de-la-sala-204-comemorat-la-New-York.htm
Cristian Pantazi(cristian.pantazi@hotnews.ro)
Mesajul transmis de fiul profesorului Librescu pentru cititorii HotNews.ro
Joseph (Joe) Librescu, fiul profesorului care si-a aparat studentii cu pretul vietii in timpul masacrului din SUA, a transmis un mesaj emotionant pentru cititorii HotNews.ro. "Sint baiatul profesorului Librescu si vreau sa multumesc tuturor celor care au scris note asa de frumoase despre el. Chiar daca a plecat din tara demult, niciodata nu i-a uitat frumusetea, si la vara trebuia sa ne intalnim toate familia la Predeal pentru o reuniune. Inca o data va mulzumesc pentru cuvintele frumoase scrise aici". • Liviu Librescu, profesorul de eroism • Profesorul Librescu, decorat post-mortem de Traian Basescu • Universitatile din SUA - in stare de alerta. Ieri s-a inregistrat inca o amenintare Chiar daca a plecat din tara demult, niciodata nu i-a uitat frumusetea, si la vara trebuia sa ne intalnim toate familia la Predeal pentru o reuniune. Inca o data va mulzumesc pentru cuvintele frumoase scrise aici".Reamintim ca profesorul de origine romana Liviu Librescu a murit luni, in timpul masacrului de la Universitatea Tehnica din Virginia, studentii sai povestind ca si-a sacrificat propria viata pentru a-i face scapati din fata asasinului. HotNews.ro, 19 apr 2007 -- Sursa Originala: http://www.hotnews.ro/articol_70234-Mesajul-transmis-de-fiul-profesorului-Librescu-pentru-cititorii-HotNews-ro.htm
P.I.D. Radio 4/29/07: Peter Levenda - What Made Cho a Killer?
16 kpbs MP3 6.9 MB April 29, 2007 Today we feature audio from a radio interview Derek conducted Friday, April 27th with Peter Levenda, author of the excellent three-volume set Sinister Forces: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft. Simply put, Peter is as bothered by certain details of the Virginia Tech massacre as we are, and he's concerned that the major media's superficial analysis of the case is leading us to accept Cho Seung-Hui as nothing more than the latest in a long line of lone gunmen. Links: • Peter Levenda's website • Peter Levenda's blog • "Making No Sense of a Massacre" by Peter Levenda • "Tales From the Darkside" by Peter Levenda -- Original Source: P.I.D. Radio http://pidradio.com/?p=358 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
16 kpbs MP3 6.9 MB April 22, 2007 What more can be said about the shootings that left 33 dead at Virginia Tech last Monday? About 42 minutes' worth, apparently. We ask questions about a few details that bother us about the tragedy, which include a federal "stand down" order to local police and EMTs, the jamming of local cell phone service, and differing descriptions of the shooter. We also talk about Wednesday's shooting on the streets of Columbia, less than a mile from the bunker. What all will come of this? Well, we expect to hear calls for tighter restrictions on handguns and mandatory mental health screening for elementary school students. Sounds good, but it ultimately means more government control over our lives and our children. Links: • Sources: Feds ordered VA police to stand down • Cell phones intentionally jammed at Virginia Tech by authorities • Virginia Tech shooter was autistic: Relative • Karan Grewal tells CNN's John King he and others were handcuffed • Differing descriptions of VT shooter • PID Forum: Cho's Sister an Intel Asset? • Is this a picture of 'Ismail-AX' (a.k.a. Cho Seung-Hui)? The original blog post and the photo at Flickr have since been deleted. As far as we know, Connecting the Dots is now the only place you'll see this picture. • Columbia shooting suspect had just left jail • Gunman at NASA • April: The Cruelest Month? • Gates says Washington to sell smart bombs to Saudi Arabia • Air Force fills Army ranks • Russia plans world's longest tunnel to link to Alaska • Cuba: Posada prosecution in US or extradition to Venezuela • Fallen Angel • Pet food contamination: Melamine now found in rice • Australian officials puzzle over missing yacht crew -- Original Source: P.I.D. Radio http://pidradio.com/?p=357 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
The media need our help to shift their focus from murderers and violence to the compassionate healing journeys of victims' families: After the Virginia Tech tragedy, the president of the American Psychiatric Association, Pedro Ruiz, wrote an open letter to the news media asking them to stop focusing on the murderer. Ruiz warned that the publicity would inspire copycat crimes. Please visit www.lenznichols.com and sign "The Petition" encouraging the media to stop reporting the names of school shooters along with any information related to the misguided purpose of their crime. Together we can make a meaningful difference. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead- Our prayers and thoughts are with you!
Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com] Like everyone else - here [Seattle], there [Virginia], West [United States, East [Korea], and everywhere, I am trying to make sense of something that is simply - senselesss. Personally, the emotions have been even more convoluted because I am Korean-American. I am a Korean immigrant [immigrated at the age of 6] and understand the immigrant experience; I am a Korean-American Immigrant Male [who even shares the same last name - 'C-H-O' - as the gunman]. I am a Christian pastor involved in the institution of Religion that Seung Hui Cho criticized and expressed disappointment. For these reasons, many have asked, called, IM'd, and emailed asking me to share some of my thoughts - as a person, a Christian, an immigrant, a pastor, but especially as a Korean-American man. I'm sharing some thoughts [some which are still in vomitaceous process] in hopes that we can dialogue here - that it may serve as part of the healing and redemptive process. Monday night was an incredibly eerie day for me. After watching the news with incredulity and horror, I posted a blog entry about the tragedy in Virginia Tech. About 9pm [PST], I began to literally have over hundred people instantaneously get to my blog in a span of two hours. Search Views | seung cho blog 18, cho virginia tech myspace 17, virginia tech shooting cho 17, cho 15, cho virginia tech 15, virginia tech cho 13, cho virginia 9, virginia tech student shooter Cho 9, virginia shooter cho myspace 8, Sung Cho Blacksburg 7, virginia tech blog cho 7, blog virginia tech 2, cho seung virginia tech shooting 2, Cho, Korean, Blacksburg 2CHO, virginia shooting korean 2, Virginia Tech Myspace Cho 2, Cho myspace virginia tech 2, Cho Seung virginia tech 2, virginia tech cho shooting 2, Myspace Cho Virginia Tech 2, "Cho" Blacksburg 2, viginia tech cho korea shooting 2, "Cho" virginia tech korea myspace 2, cho virginia tech shoot 2, korean virginia tech cho 2, pastoral health 2, quest eugene cho 2, cho virginia tech shooting 2, virginia cho 2 As I examined my dashboard through wordpress, it was fairly obvious to me that while the news wouldn't be shared to the larger world until the next morning, there was strong suspicion - perhaps through authorities or through some of the student body - that the gunman may have been someone named Seung [Hui] Cho. I was speechless, ashamed, angry, and afraid. [You can also add 'guilty' because of my selfishness. Like others, I felt "pathetic" in wishing the person wasn't Korean or Asian...I became more self-focused rather on mourning with those who have suffered in the tragedy]. Some vomitaceous thoughts, questions, and reflections: 1 We need to remember, foremost, that lives have been dramatically impacted. 33 people have died. 32 who were completely innocent. Each person that died or was severely injured has a name, a story, a family, a passion, a dream, and a life. Let's not forget that in the midst of the media frenzy. This is a must read. 2 It's clear that Seung Cho was unhealthy, unstable, disturbed, ill [schizophrenia?], angry, lost, and [place your words here]. But that's the only clear thing. I needed the turn the TV off because the 'stretching' for information, analysis, scrutiny, and answers to who, what, where, when, and why was overly speculative. Compare the reporting of Fox News and BBC News... While I understand the need for 'why,' we're simply not going to know the full picture. While Seung's action were horrible and evil [and premeditated], we must remind ourselves that he too is a human being - as difficult as that might be. Knowing some of the dynamics of the Asian/Korean culture and the synthesis of pain, guilt, and shame, I am sincerely worried for his family - particularly his parents. They, too, are victims in this story. Update: read the statement issued by Sun Kyung Cho and her family. One thing that the media won't touch is the simple and painful matter: Evil exists in our world. There is a spiritual dimension that the media won't discuss but the church must engage. As much as we seek to create a perfect world [and it is a worthwhile pursuit], this will not be the first nor will it be the first murder or tragedy. 3 why do the media keep calling him 'cho'? he has a first name... maybe it's me, but i'm tired of hearing and reading my last name. couple folks actually emailed me [from other parts of the country] through the blog to ask if i'm related to seung. 4 Will there be racial backlash? Do Asians and Koreans need to fear? On the most part, I do not believe there will be overt backlash but there are always going to be pockets of people that will be stupid and do stupid things. It would be nonsenical for people to associate this violent act to Koreans or Asians simply because of Seung Hui Cho's ethnicity. In that same vein, it would have been preposterous and unjust for us to place blame on African-Americans for the actions of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo in the 'Beltway Sniper attacks' of 2002 or to ask White Americans to share blame with Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma bombings of 1995. But the question must be asked. How is the media influencing the construct of the national consciousness? That's a worthwhile question for me. In the early reporting, I was perturbed that Seung was being referred to as 'the Asian killer' and 'the Korean killer.' While he is Asian and Korean, the media needs to be more responsible in their sensational reporting. What do you think? As one commenter replied in an earlier posting: i definitely wish/ hope that most would not see the shooter as representative of all asians, but in america, if the person in question is not a white, heterosexual, protestant, middle class, educated man, then their race, creed and color seems to always be part of the equation. he has been marked as the resident alien from abroad who came into our land and terrorized us, and with our heightened fear of the other, this situation seems to be full of potential for type casting and APIA caricatures. and i think if these kinds of caricatures flourish (as they did with mid-easterners post 9/11), then it's not unreasonable to fear violent reprisal. and so while i certainly hope that people can view the event as isolated, i know that it's very difficult for our culture to separate media representations of people groups from 'reality.' 5 Why are Koreans/Asians afraid of backlash? My hope is that in the midst of this tragedy, a small glimpse will be captured of the Asian-American [immigrant] experience. Asians and particularly, Korean-Americans are xenophobic. Historically, Koreans have been invaded, pillaged, and exploited...one of the foremost Korean historians Ki-Baek Lee refers to Korea as "the prostitute of Asia." From an immigrant experience, two very formative events in modern Asian American history impact our responses as Asian-Americans - particularly those who are older. In my opinion, the most significant event in modern Asian-American history is the story of Vincent Chin - a Chinese American man beaten to death by a baseball bat by two white auto industry workers - outside of a club during his bachelor party. Even worse, the white men were acquitted. For Korean Americans, the most significant event in their modern history is the LA riots and specifically, Sai-I-Gu (4/29). The United States is an incredible country and I am a proud citizen of this country; but it's not a perfect country and while I believe there won't be an overt backlash, I do worry how it will impact the individual and larger [White] collective view of Asian-Americans, Korean-Americans, "foreigners," "immigrants" and such. We should agree: if one Asian or Korean is bullied as a result of this, it's one too many. If one woman is bullied because of her gender, it's one too many. If one gay person is bullied because of their orientation, it's one too many. 6 As we mourn for those impacted, we must ask the question, "Why am I mourning?" Are Korean-Americans and Asian-Americans mourning because the perpetrator was Korean [because of shame and/or fear] or because of the larger tragedy? Are we mourning because of the 1 or are we mourning because of the 32? For Koreans, the answer is likely both. We are mourning because of the 33. This is important to understand. To be Korean - culturally - is to be communal. Koreans are interconnected in a communal culture. We rejoice and mourn with the successes and failures of our fellow Koreans or Korean-Americans. We cling and rejoice with individuals like James Sun [The Apprentice], Paul Kim [American Idol], Michelle Wie [LPGA golfer], Yul Kwon [Survivor: Cook's Island], Hines Ward [NFL Football], and Yunjin Kim [ABC's Lost]. And because we are a communal culture - interconnected - not only as Koreans but also within our KA immigrant experience, we mourn and feel deep pain and shame over Seung Hui Cho. For the larger Anglo worldview, the question must also be asked: Is Seung Hui Cho an "Asian Killer" or "the Korean Killer" or is he a Korean-American [emphasis added] or an American that committed an evil crime? What is the demarcation of what it means to be an American? He immigrated at the age of 8; grew up in Detroit; moved to the suburbs of Washington DC; educated in the States; and was an English major in Virginia Tech. A great definition of community (Romans 12:15) is when [or if] we choose to "mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice." As Asian-Americans, we must mourn with those who mourn not simply because an Asian was involved in the crime, but because our larger community - our country - is in mourning. This is also our country, our people, our college community...this can't be their tragedy. this is [must be] our shared tragedy. 7 Why are we so violent as Americans? Should we discuss gun control here? Where do we start? What is our Christian response? Why are so many Christians so adamant about the right to bear arms? Where is that found in the Scriptures? I can cite tons of places about mercy, humility, justice, the oppressed, the poor, the widows...but why such obsession with arms and yet, such silence on the items listed above? How are we as Christians and as consumers feeding the violence acceptance of our culture? Insert pop culture here. 8 The lives of those who have perished must be remembered, cherished and celebrated. Period. But today alone, nearly 200 people were killed in Bahgdad. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 children will die today because of poverty [according to UNICEF]. That's 210,000 children this week; a little under 11 million children [five and under] each year. While this is a horrible tragedy, [one life lost - is one too many] we must commit ourselves to the elevation of the sanctity of life. each person - with a name, a story, a family, a dream, a beauty... Let's remain in prayer for those impacted in this shared tragedy; let's mourn with those who mourn; hope together; and work - whatever faith, ethnicity, country, political affiliation - for the shared responsibility of being a good neighbor. _________ One last note. As a Korean-American Male Cho Immigrant Christian Pastor, I do have another response: God is love. Because He is Love, He created order out of chaos. His purpose was love and shalom. We were created for beauty - created in the image of God. Shalom was violated and marred. Our image tainted and cracked. Jesus came to redeem and restore. Invitation is extended to all - including the lonely, the outcast, the marginalized, the rich, the debaucherized, and such. And lest we forget or bathe in our righteousness, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. We are confronted by our depravity. We all need God and thanks be to God, the Lord is not far. He is near. This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 -- Archived with permission of the author. Original Source: Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com] http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/making-sense-of-virginia-tech/
seattle PI guest column on the tragedy of virginia tech
Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com] Here's the guest column I had the privilege of writing for the Seattle Post Intelligencer [published for Tuesday, April 24, 2007]. I've also included some other reads I have personally found very moving and insightful. I was limited by time and a word count, but hoped that this 'guest column' would be a source of healing, deeper understanding, and blessing to many. I wish I did a better job, [and given them my own title], and spoken from a larger Asian perspective. One clarification I want to make - while I and other Koreans/Asians grieve and feel pain and 'shame' over Seung Hui Cho, we are not the victims in this tragedy. My hope was to convey that no matter who or what we are, we are all connected to one another - not just because of our ethnic identity but our larger human collective and narrative. Because of the invitation to address the larger Washington readership, I chose not to be preachy. Much of this editorial comes from some initial thoughts shared in a blog entry from last week entitled, 'Making Sense of the Senseless.' Worthwhile Relevant Reads: Cho Family Statement [Sun Kyung Cho], Guilt, Shame,and Corporate Identity [elderj], To Blame is Human [James Choung], A Lesson in Your Apology [Philadelphia Enquire Editorial], One of Our Own [Bo Lim], Nikki Giovanni Convocation Address [N. Giovanni], Making Sense of the Senseless Comment [rk], Va Tech Victims Pics & Stories [NY Times], and Silence of a Murderer's Mother [Diana Bass]. If you have a lot of time and are bored, here's the mp3 of the sermon [57.12] I shared last Sunday at Quest Church. I preached from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Isaiah 1:17, and Matthew 5:9 entitled, 'Love Wins.' Yes, it is very long but I also have to stay true to my preaching nickname: 'Fiddy.' Here's the direct link to the Seattle PI column: Like everyone else — here (Seattle), there (Virginia), West (United States), East (Korea) and everywhere (the larger world), I have been shocked and horrified over the Virginia Tech shooting. I have been trying to make sense of something that is senseless. Personally, the emotions have been even more convoluted because of my bicultural identity. I was born in Korea, immigrated to the United States at the age of 6 and thus am Korean American. I am also a U.S. citizen; I am a Korean American male immigrant and even share the same surname as the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho. Once I discovered that the gunman was Korean American, I had some initial fears of racial backlash. As a proud citizen of this country, I do not believe there will be any overt backlash. It would be nonsensical for people to associate the heinous crime to Koreans or Korean Americans simply because of Seung-Hui Cho's ethnicity. In that same vein, it would have been preposterous and unjust for us to place blame on African Americans for the actions of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo in the Beltway Sniper attacks of 2002 or to ask white Americans to share blame with Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombings of 1995. But in the days after the identity of the gunman was revealed, many in the media and larger culture may have been perplexed by the responses of Koreans and Korean Americans. Many Koreans expressed embarrassment, shame and even guilt. State Sen. Paul Shinn fought back his tears as he apologized to fellow lawmakers. Even despite being reassured by others that an apology was not necessary, he continued. Although I personally don't feel the need to directly apologize for the actions of Seung-Hui Cho, I understand why Shinn and others feel the need to do so. Although not apologetic, I share in deep pain, embarrassment and shame. I share in the deep pain because when I see images of this young man, I don't just see a "crazy Asian killer," I also see someone whose life story sounds very similar to mine. Such words as lonely, isolated and quiet were often used to describe my younger life as I struggled to fit in as an immigrant. I share in embarrassment and shame because I see Seung-Hui Cho as a part of my larger community. As Koreans or Korean Americans, we share not only similar life stories but also a communal bond. Contrary to perhaps the more "individualistic" worldview of Westerners, Koreans have a certain communal identity. One can contend that to be Korean is to be communal. No one is an island to themselves. For that reason, Koreans tend to rejoice and mourn on the successes and failures of fellow Koreans. We rejoice with individuals such as James Sun ("The Apprentice"), Michelle Wie (LPGA golfer), Yul Kwon ("Survivor: Cook's Island), Hines Ward (NFL player) and Yunjin Kim (ABC's "Lost"). And because we are a communal culture — not only as Koreans but also within our Korean American immigrant experience — we mourn and feel deep pain and shame over Seung-Hui Cho. Last week, someone asked me "Why am I mourning? Is it because of the one or the 32″? For me, and many Korean Americans, the answer is both. We are mourning because of the 33. We are mourning because great pain and harm have been inflicted upon the lives of 32 individuals and their loved ones — each one with beautiful lives, stories, dreams and futures. We are mourning because the one, Seung-Hui Cho — a part of us — chose to commit a horrible act of violence and devastation. Last week, my wife and I have broken down in tears in random situations. We cry and pray for the 32, their families, the students and community at Blacksburg, but also cry for Seung-Hui Cho and his family. We cry because in him, we see a younger brother. And so, we grieve for the 33. Although I know that it is not necessary to apologize, I do want to share these words. On behalf of Koreans and Korean Americans, I want to extend our deepest condolences and love to all the families of those affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech. It is my sincere hope and prayer — that no matter who or what we are — we grow to understand we are all connected to one another. The Rev. Eugene Cho is lead pastor at Quest Church, a multiethnic church in Seattle (seattlequest.org);(eugenecho.wordpress.com). May each of us take to heart the ministry of reconciliation, the pursuit of justice for the oppressed and 'other' and be peacemakers. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 -- Archived with permission of the author. Original Source: Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com] http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/seattle-pi-column/
reflections on virginia tech - 2 months later
Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com] weeks have now passed. perhaps, it's become an afterthought for many. personally, a day hasn't gone by without some thoughts of the virginia tech tragedy. the tragedy exposed a great deal - it exposed what we all already know: we live in a broken and fallen word. it was never meant to be like this. i say that not for it to be an easy exit or answer but to illuminate the deep nature of jesus' redemptive live, death, and resurrection. it also exposed the reality that "race matters" and that race is something the human collective will never fully understand, grasp, and elevate. in addition, i was exposed. one poorly written post attracted about 16,000 hits in a span of two days. it wasn't the kind of notoriety i was hoping for but this blog became one of the most visited wordpress blogs during that span. local papers called [eventually had a chance to write a guest column for the seattle pi]. churchgoers called. friends around the country emailed. and like many, i found myself glued to the TV until i had to just pull the plug. because of the high traffic through the blog, i received my share of some interesting emails - those that were thought provoking and those that were downright scary. i sort of freaked out because of some of the emails which prompted me to go through the blog and delete all pics of the family and kids. it also exposed my depravity. this was a snapshot of the progression of some of my thoughts: "wow, how could this have happened? what a tragedy. i must pray for these folks." "what? they think an asian man did it? that's impossible. asians don't do stuff like that. but just in case, i hope it's not a korean person." s#@t. it is a korean person. why do the news keep insisting he's a foreigner?!? there's going to be backlash. do i send my kids to school today? as i shared in the message i taught at my church the sunday after the shootings, amidst many things, the incident exposed my self-centeredness. while i do still believe the concerns i raised are legitimate and important conversations, it's so easy to park your thoughts on the SELF. the truth is i am a selfish, self-centered, wicked, and depraved man. thank God for his mercy and grace. only through Him can i see hints of the beauty i was intended to embody. anyway, i ran across this article from christianity today entitled, "nightmare of nightmares: virginia tech's korean christians wrestle with the aftermath of a massacre," and was particularly intrigued by the following quote: In the meantime, Korean Americans continue to grapple with the massacre. Korean Baptist's Chung quotes Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who wrote, "The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being." Kang said the fundamental issue is the problem of evil. "We ask, 'Why does God allow these things to happen?'" he said, "rather than seeing this as the natural consequences of sinful society that Christ came to redeem. "Western Christians struggle to make meaning of what happens in America because we're insulated. It's a dying and degenerate world. We're [experiencing] the consequences of sin." [read full article] april 16, 2007...it's been nearly two months. how are you processing the events of virginia tech? any thoughts on the article or the quote above? This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2007 -- Archived with permission of the author. Original Source: http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/06/07/reflections-on-virginia-tech-and-new-article/
Thursday, April 19, 2007 I first saw Blacksburg, and what was then V.P.I., almost fifty years ago, the summer of 1960. A member of my high school's chapter of the Future Farmers of America, I was attending the FFA's Virginia state convention - a wide-eyed rising 9th grader. About 5 foot six, I weighed little more than a large sack of chicken feed. I was a member of our school's second-string crop judging team; we did surprisingly well. Blacksburg was the "sleepy little college town" in the mountains then, home to a small agricultural and mechanical/military school and little else. You could count the traffic lights and have fingers left over. V.P.I. was essentially all-male and all-white; being a member of the corps of cadets was the norm. Foreign students and women on campus were not. The student body generally came from rural and small-town Virginia, where it was highly regarded. A turkey was the school mascot. It was so not UVA, William and Mary, or Hollins. It was not even V.M.I. Things change and stuff happens. By the time I graduated from high school V.P.I. was beginning its remarkable transformation into a major university. My lackluster high school record and vague aspirations did not make me highly sought after college material. But V.P.I. took a chance and accepted me. They had probably seen worse. After purgatory at their Danville Branch I finally arrived in Blacksburg in the fall of 1966. Evidence of the major commitment to transform Tech was everywhere: new buildings, overflowing dorms, expanding academic programs, a much larger and more diverse student body (though still not enough girls), and a major emphasis on athletics, mainly football. We even managed a traffic jam on some Saturday afternoons in the fall. Off-campus housing grew, a fine off-campus book store opened, along with a decent restaurant or two. Long hair and an underground newspaper appeared. The 60's arrived at Tech and Blacksburg sometime in the 70's, but it arrived. I should have been happy at Tech and Blacksburg, but I was not. Blacksburg seemed like the end of the earth. I called it Bleaksburg, a reference to more than its weather three seasons of the year. Driving into town one Sunday I nearly ran off the road laughing at a road sign where someone had written "armpit of the nation" under the word Blacksburg. The school's administrators - many holdover's from its days as a military school - seemed to be truly hostile to students. Their martial vision of what college life should be was not my vision. It was a conservative campus and I was, without much self consciousness, becoming quite liberal, at least by Virginia standards. I began to enjoy walking on their grass. My first fall on campus saw the football team invited to what I believe was its first bowl game, the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. We were to play the University of Miami. I remember walking across campus one cold, cold night headed downtown for some food (I hated the food at Shanks) and seeing a student-made sign hanging in the wind. "Beat Miami" it said. Blacksburg, Miami. Blacksburg, Miami. Hunkered into the wind I had a hard time wrapping my mind around any idea that contained those words together. Yes, true to my school, I did drive what seemed like halfway across America in my Corvair to attend that game. But I wanted out. That would not be easy. I had just changed majors, from engineering to political science. PoliSci allowed the most electives at Tech and this would give me the chance to pretend I was at a liberal arts college where, by that time, I discovered I wanted to be. My academic record at that point was not much better than my high school record, making a transfer problematic. And there was a war on and a military draft, not something to be taken lightly. I needed that 2-s deferment. And I doubt I could have convinced my parents that it was a good idea to transfer. After all they were paying for my little adventure in academia. My salvation came from an unlikely series of events. That January a friend at UVA invited me to Charlottesville for a week-end. He said he would get us some dates from Mary Washington College and we would have a great time; might get lucky. I was all for a great time and good luck, so plans were made. That Friday came and with it a snow storm. I said what-the-hell and made for Charlottesville. The weather worsened and I was lucky to make it to campus. The train from Fredericksburg was canceled, as were the events of the week-end. What to do? He had a friend who had just returned from a semester aboard a ship that had sailed around the world. We went to see him. Still very much overwhelmed by the experience, he told stories for hours. When we left he gave us literature about the college program and said we should apply as soon as possible. Sounded good to me. Fast forward and I returned from that Semester at Sea with a larger view of myself, my world, and Blacksburg. Virginia Tech would continue to annoy me from time to time as it seemed slow closing the gap between what I wanted of it and what it could deliver. But I finally had matured enough to begin to take advantage of what it did offer, and to appreciate that wonderful place in the Virginia mountains, Blacksburg. I now have two degrees from Tech, having returned in the '80s for a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning. My wife also has two degrees from Tech. She grew up just outside Blacksburg. Her sister in-law works in Norris Hall, second floor. I have wonderful friends in Blacksburg who worked for Tech for many years. Even though I also have a degree from UVA and have great respect for the University, I am a Hokie. I have marveled at Tech's growth, been amazed at the transformation of Blacksburg into a world-class small city. So watching the news over the past few days has been hard. The violent death and injury of so many students and faculty at the hands of a psychopath renders words inadequate to convey the horror. One cannot look into the faces of horrified students and anxious or grieving parents without becoming one of them. Trying to make sense of it all seems overwhelming. And yet that is what each of us will try to do, needs to do. The young man with two handguns shot at us all. As tragic as the events of last Monday morning were we have the ability to make them worse. And we will. I could feel it as I was watching the first reports on CNN. Even as the news was happening I could feel the ramp up to what was coming: the second guessing, criticizing, the self-righteous placing of blame, the spin in service to political agenda. Even before we had time to learn the fate of friends and family, grieve, or learn the name or fate of the gunman, the process was well underway. Our TV hosts struggled to learn just where Blacksburg was and fumbled about trying to describe a university they knew little about. Tech was both a major university with 26,000 students and "insular" according to Brian Williams, who also placed it in the Smoky Mountains. While we were all trying to reconcile the image of a peaceful, semi-rural college environment with violence we usually associate with our urban areas or foreign theaters of war, the talking heads moved from conveying what little they knew about the horror unfolding on campus to asking leading questions and poking around trying to find an angle. They think they are reporters. It bled and it led for hours on end. After asking students what they saw or heard Wolf Blitzer and the other CNN reporters (I use the term loosely) made a point of asking if they still felt safe, if they blamed the University and if the were planning to transfer. It took a while before they stopped seeming surprised when the students usually said they loved their school, the community, and had not considered leaving. I thought generally the students interviewed sounded much more thoughtful than their hosts. And without the "like, you know what I'm saying." I was proud of them. Once it appeared that the gunman was dead and there was a two hour gap in the shootings the focus shifted to finding a way to question the University's handling of the situation. Well before any of the details were to fill out the timeline our TV hosts were pouncing, safely behind the camera miles away from danger or responsibility past filling commercial-safe airtime. Without possibly having the facts with which to assess situation they began to invite questions of competency of local law enforcement and the judgment of school administrators. When will we come to understand that when someone prefaces a statement, "I don't understand why ___", they really don't. You are being set up. Soon "experts" with little or no knowledge of the specifics began to appear and try to shape our view of the tragedy. Dr. Phil appeared early. We eventually heard from Ted Nugent (FOX?) who said this would not have happened if students were allowed to legally carry guns on campus. He did not mention bows and arrows. Can they work in Springer next? If we were not dealing with a real human tragedy, real suffering and loss, this would almost be funny. It is not funny. Once we learned the gunman was a student and was born in South Korea the press was perplexed. Even though he had lived in the US most of his life - since he was 8 years old - he was Korean. Since South Korea is an ally of the United States it has been difficult for the press to figure out how significant that was or how to play it. Now if he had been from the Middle East... Few bothered to remark that the killer was a young man and that young men are have almost exclusive ownership of this type of serial murder. You assumed the killer was male, didn't you? I did. I didn't expect the media to go there and they didn't. We now know he was recognized as a loner and "troubled," and had come to the attention of the school as such. He had received at least some attention from mental health and law enforcement professionals. The NYTimes gave us this morning, "Officials Knew Troubled State of Killer in '05." Well he was not a killer in '05. He was just a student with problems, probably not that unlike any number of other students on campuses from coast to coast. The headline whispers that the "officials" are now partially responsible for the crime. I am sure that these professionals wish now they could have seen into the future and done something. But I doubt even Cho Seung-hui could have done that in '05. Being "troubled" and dead brings us to the possibility that the tragedy includes Mr. Cho. While I am sure many would recoil at this so soon, the compassion and forgiveness that my Christian countrymen so often trot out as a model for others, might not be misplaced for this very mentally ill young man and provoke wonder how he became so bitter and twisted. No, it is much easier and entertaining to now find fault with the living, those doing their very best to ensure safety of others when that still, unfortunately, was not sufficient. Yes, I am sure campus police and other university officials wish they had done some things differently Monday morning. Given the contents of the package Mr. Cho sent to NBC that morning between shooting it is certainly possible only the location, names and number of future victims would have changed. What is likely however is that the number Mr. Cho's victims will continue to grow as some try to use the tragedy for their own ends. Regarding making sense of it all, once again our dim-bulb President got it wrong. He said on campus trying to mean well, It's impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering. Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they're gone - and they leave behind grieving families, and grieving classmates, and a grieving nation. Well, George, making sense of things is what what people at Universities try to do, and with some success. The question is what sense we will make of it. Don't try to suggest impossibilities at a place based on possibilities. And they were not in the "wrong place at the wrong time." A convenient cliche, but again off the mark. They were in the right place, Blacksburg, Virginia Tech. Go Hokies. posted by Bibb at 5:13 AM -- Original Source: http://bibbedwards.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech.html Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0.
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Desensitization, Detachment and Virginia Tech
Apr 23 2007 Written by Lynn Kindler To all family, friends, and people affected by the horrific and sad shootings at Virginia Tech, please accept my heartfelt sympathy. I know that I am joined by many others who are keeping you in their thoughts and prayers. With that said, I've been putting off writing about how the shootings affected me because I did not want to add to all the hype and gander that is already going on about it and because my initial reaction was NOT what I had expected to feel. Being an extremely intuitive person, I'm used to "getting" insights and a heightened sense of awareness before incidents like the one at VT occurs—often weeks before. This time not only did I not intuit anything but as the events unfolded I had no feelings about it. I'm a very caring person and since my initial non-feeling bubble, have had many insights but the initial non-feeling sensation really caught me off guard. I checked with many of my friends to find out how they reacted and found out that there were many very caring, spiritual people who had the same initial reaction as I did which was the absence of intense emotion. After listening and reading some of the news about VT, what was revealed to me was the seemingly collective response of not wanting to fan the fire of the media. The way that many of the people from Blacksburg handled this event, showed a majority of caring and thinking people who wanted to respect the event and all its complexities without the media circus. I am inspired by the people who have been writing and communicating under the mass media radar through www.facebook.com At first glance, I wondered if what "we" were experiencing en-mass was desensitization towards violence. How many of us wake up to NPR in the morning with the latest recount of a suicide bomber event? But someone very close to me noted that as listened to me she could hear anger under my numbness and upon closer inspection I realized that I was angry about our ignorance of mental illness and how to handle it fairly and successfully. I was angry about gun control (a rifle I can see, an automatic weapon—why?) and last but not least watching the story unfold in the media bit by bit as every one tried to become THE source for facts about the VT shootings. In many of my spiritual teachings I have learned that it is important to be able to detach with love. It seems that in order for me (and you) to be effective, we've got to be able to get our personal spin out of the mix so that we can detach from the intense reaction in order to respond thoughtfully. It's about being able to feel and yet not getting run over by our feelings. I am very hopeful about the kind of ideas and actions that will come out of this horrific event. I heard one student interviewed who responded, "What can we learn from the Amish shootings". One thing that we can do right now is to have difficult conversations such as what I'm admitting to you here and be willing to talk with each other about what is really going on. As the great Coaching guru Thomas Leonard used to say, "Be real be human". -- Original Source: http://www.smallbusinessgurus.com/content/view/460/60/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5.
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