OT: At least 22 Dead at Virginia Tech

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Posted By: Tom Hufford

I grew up 30 miles from Virginia Tech, graduated from Tech in 1973, and had many, many of my engineering classes in Norris Hall. I've probably been in every one of the rooms where the students and faculty were killed, except for the dorm, where the first two victims died.

I don't see any way that this could have been stopped. Yes, the shooter had been in therapy several years ago, but with the current patient privacy laws, there's probably no way that the university could have been made aware of what happened or came out in those sessions. He had never been convicted of a crime (that we know of), so he couldn't have been removed from school on those grounds. One English teacher, in particular, was troubled by some of the student's writings, but I'll bet that if the university had tried to dismiss him because of that, they would have been pounced upon (and perhaps, rightly so) by the ACLU and similar groups. I don't know, but wouldn't be surprised, if now-famous writers like Stephen King and Dean Koontz may have drawn similar attention from a teacher somewhere along the way.

Unfortunately, over the years shootings/killings have taken place across this country in schools, shopping centers, churches, post offices, office buildings, in private homes, and on city streets, and as long as we wish to live in a country where we are free to come and go anywhere we please, these things will probably happen again. None of us would tolerate the inconveniences and intrusions that would be caused by implementing the measures that it would actually take to make us secure.

No amount of gun laws, metal detectors, or security guards will stop someone intent on carrying out his wishes - especially someone with no regard even for his own life - from doing so. We have come to tolerate and even glorify violence in our society - in books, movies, TV shows, theater, and music. But when it happens in real life, we are horrified, and wonder why. We look to assign blame to the gun maker, the school administration, the law enforcement officials, teachers, fellow students who "didn't do something" - anyone, it seems, other than the person actually responsible. I'm afraid that nothing will really change until we do.

I am saddened and mourn for my Virginia Tech friends. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.