18+ General Discussion Forum

Just as an update:

I did learn yesterday that one of the students from here had been injured and has died from the injuries he received on April 16th, 2007 at Virginia Tech. I neither knew him, or his family. It does, however, bring that horror to a community hundreds of miles away. He is being remembered here today, and his community mourns his loss.

I think this becomes a case of "every life matters". This young man, an Honor student, would have received his Graduate Degree in Engineering in May. The truth is that these are not merely victims in some far away place, whose names we do not know, or who lived lives we did not intersect.

I claim no right to mourn, or position to grieve. I am affected because it happened. I believe that we all are affected. Just as I will never forget where I was on November 22nd, 1963, or September 11th, 2001, I will remember the events of April 16th, 2007. These events do not define who we are, or who we become. But, I do not see how we can not be affected by them. "I was shocked, and sad. I have moved on." I'm not certain that is the appropriate response. Somewhere on the spectrum, we all have a reality that will forever be tied to these events. A disturbed young man will perhaps never realize that Martyrdom is not fitting--for anyone. But, surely there is something to be said for the turning point these lost lives create for us all.

At least, I surely hope and pray that is true. To go on "for" them, or "because of" them, is surely a positive thing. To go on "in spite" of them? This is a national tragedy. But, in a real way, I believe it is a tragedy that becomes quite personal for each one of us. Perhaps that is just the way I process my feelings, I am not certain.

Mine is no better way than anyone else's. It is only my way. But, it IS my way. For me, those victims matter, a lot. But, there is no doubt that my life will proceed. I hope that something good comes from this tragedy. I would even like to believe that maybe inspiration to a better good could rise from this. But then, I have long been known to be a "Hope Addict".

In His Care,

Budroe