The shootings
Apr. 17th, 2007 07:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
herveusI hold in the light the students and faculty of Virginia Tech. I don't know what else to say about the incident.
On the other hand, I've heard disturbing but unsurprising remarks by the terminally clueless. While tuning my portable radio, I stumbled across someone opining darkly that There Will Be A Reckoning over the response from VT to the initial shootings -- as in, why weren't they prescient enough to realize that those were the opening shots in a campaign of terror? Segue smoothly from that into an immigration rant. Wow. Real helpful. I'm glad I didn't catch the moron's name. 700 on the AM dial, somewhere between 8:30 and 9 last night.
I heard a student wonder aloud why they didn't immediately lock the campus down based on the first two shootings -- shootings that have not yet been definitely connected with the rampage in Norris. I heard the president of Tech and the campus police chief speak on their thought processes. I don't see where they were derelict in considering those shootings to be a domestic quarrel of some sort, and they believed that the perpetrator had left the campus and was probably leaving the state.
It is way too early to start the political posturing over this. Have a shred of decency, people! I know that is difficult for some of you out there, but please try.
On the other hand, I've heard disturbing but unsurprising remarks by the terminally clueless. While tuning my portable radio, I stumbled across someone opining darkly that There Will Be A Reckoning over the response from VT to the initial shootings -- as in, why weren't they prescient enough to realize that those were the opening shots in a campaign of terror? Segue smoothly from that into an immigration rant. Wow. Real helpful. I'm glad I didn't catch the moron's name. 700 on the AM dial, somewhere between 8:30 and 9 last night.
I heard a student wonder aloud why they didn't immediately lock the campus down based on the first two shootings -- shootings that have not yet been definitely connected with the rampage in Norris. I heard the president of Tech and the campus police chief speak on their thought processes. I don't see where they were derelict in considering those shootings to be a domestic quarrel of some sort, and they believed that the perpetrator had left the campus and was probably leaving the state.
It is way too early to start the political posturing over this. Have a shred of decency, people! I know that is difficult for some of you out there, but please try.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-17 06:42 pm (UTC)Re getting out information: I remember what happened when I was visiting The Catholic University of America one evening. It was around 10:45pm in April. J. and I were sitting out in front of her dorm talking and smoking (well, she was smoking, I wasn't) when a campus cop pulled up and told us we needed to get inside immediately because when they had an armed robbery spree crossing the campus and going into surrounding areas. Since I lived three blocks from campus, I was somewhat concerned about getting home. Luckily, the gentleman was more than willing to drive me back. We were discussing the situation, and he told me that this had been happening over a three hour period. During which time, J. and I had returned to our metro stop, said goodbye to another friend and walked up to her dorm. We'd gotten there about half an hour before. We neither saw nor heard anything until the cop drove by. While she had a cell, we hadn't gotten a message (and how many universities have a phone tree with cell numbers anyway?) Email would not have helped, and even on a small campus like CUA the campus police can't be everywhere.
Segue smoothly from that into an immigration rant.
Considering the gunman had lived in the US legally for 14 years, I'm not impressed by their logic.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-17 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-17 09:05 pm (UTC)