Complex Numbers

One Virginian's Perspective

I almost went to Virginia Tech, way back in the dark ages when I was applying to schools.

There's something of a rivalry between UVA, near where I live, and Tech, one which I try to downplay whenever possible. They're both good schools academically, especially for state universities. The rivalry seems to be mostly confined to football, which I couldn't give two shits about.

Today I'm hearing about shots fired there at Tech, people wounded, people dead. The worst school shooting ever, they say.

That's one rivalry we don't need.

I have predictions. I predict someone will try to pin this on video games, or violence in movies, or television. Someone will try to use this to tighten gun laws in Virginia, or maybe even on the federal level. A lot of people will thank God for sparing them or their loved ones - the same God who didn't seem interested in sparing someone else's loved ones.

Here's the thing: It's not video games. It's not movies. It's not gun laws (hell, if they'd arm all the students, I'd bet my left leg there would have been a lot fewer casualties). And if it's God, it's a God I want nothing to do with. No. There's something deeper, and it's only beginning to come to the surface. But there's only one thing we can blame, really: the person who pulls the trigger. Unsatisfying, maybe, but there can be no satisfaction here - only shock and horror.