As 33 lives were lost at Virginia Tech by a gunman whose sole purpose it was to take their lives, one does not even know how to process the carnage created by one human being. For the over 20 victims that are still alive and being treated in area hospitals, may their wounds heal quickly so that they can live fruitful lives. They will need the love and support coming from family, friends and the community in order to find joy.
The emergency personnel that were called to respond to this tragic scene, one cannot fathom how they were able to deal with such carnage. But unlike us who are still pondering this event, these first responders go into action for all of us. They cannot even think of how one lone gunman can take out so many. They are there for the victims and they do so with great care. Normally, they would respond to man’s inhumanity to man when the count is far less, but we never think of how can deal with this madness. But, heroically, they do.
I was not going to write any column dealing with this human tragedy tonight because it is not about how I feel, but how those directly hurt by this gunman’s actions. All that lost their lives, were wounded and responded to this on behalf of all of us suffered a terror that none of us can even imagine. All are deserving of our prayers. There is real human suffering going on in Virginia and we must all think of them.
The parents of these victims sent their sons and daughters off to college with great pride and promise. They only wanted their children to be productive members of our society and to live out the rest of their days making their parents proud. So, it is tragic to see this promise cut down by the acts of this gunman. Our love must reach out to these parents as well as the siblings they leave behind. They too are victims.
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