Virginia Tech: Enough already.

It’s a terrible tragedy that a psychotic kid bought himself a pistol or two and shot and killed 32 innocent students at Virginia Tech and isn’t it awful and let us grieve and erect a few dozen ersatz memorials and fly flags at half-staff in towns where they’ve never heard of Virginia Tech and debate gun violence because banning all handguns would have prevented this senseless slaughter and if everyone had a concealed carry permit and carried a gun this disgusting example of an immoral liberal society would not have happened and now don’t you feel better and blah blah blah.

OK - Virginia Tech was a real tragedy. (I still hope that the Mountaineers kick the Hokies’ ass in next fall’s football game.) People in Blacksburg are legitimately shocked and grieving. Hell, everybody else in the country is, too. But people don’t get a pass on hypocrisy or get excused from participation in society just because they indulge themselves in the grief du jour. None of us are off the hook.

At Baghdad Tech, there are concrete barriers to keep suicide car bombers away from the campus. Students, faculty and visitors are thoroughly searched before they can get on campus. Approximately 200 professors have been killed in Iraq in the last 4 years, because they weren’t teaching their killers’ preferred version of Islam, or were pro-women’s rights, or whatever. No one can take a cell phone onto campus because sophisticated terrorists can use them remotely to trigger explosives. (Source: NPR interview, 23 April 2007) Nearer to home, in America, about 551 people have died by gunfire in the week since the Virginia Tech shootings. Of those, about 208 have been homicides. (Source: National Center for Health Statistics) The violent crime rate on campuses (as defined by the FBI) is less than half of the crime rate in general. However, the murder rate is 2-1/2 times greater on campuses than in society at large. (Source: University of Arkansas School Violence Resource Center) In my own town, one of my students vanished without a trace some years ago, probably killed by drug dealers, and that got scarcely a notice. Last summer, a young (white) woman was talking to some young (black) guys outside some college-student apartments, and that infuriated a young redneck idiot, who put a punkin ball (a large rifled slug used in a shotgun) through the girl's brain. The trial got a good bit of notice, but the tragedy of this young life snuffed out and the pain of her family and friends went largely unnoticed. They all hurt as much as any other victim's family or friends.

We are not against gun violence unless we are against all gun violence. We are not in favor of safe campuses unless we are in favor of all campuses being safe. We are not against murder unless we are against all murder. We are not even caring about crime victims unless we are caring about all crime victims. So lots of folks who have lit candles and gone to church over the past week may feel that they have done their part. But unless you are considering and implementing solutions, you are a part of the fucking problem. It’s time we have real discourse about violence and mental health and guns and crime and morality and decency and principles. Token expressions are not a substitute for that discourse.

We are all hypocrites - me included. And we’ll stay that way until and unless we make our words and actions consistent with one another.

R