VA Tech Tragedy

Some observations on the Virginia Tech tragedy.

First, it's already political. Before we even knew the details of the tragedy, or even the number of casualties, the White House press corps was pummeling the assistant press secretary with questions about gun control. And people on the Right were all over the Internet with the news item from January about a bill that was struck down by the Virginian legislature which would have allowed students to carry guns in self defense.

Second, there's going to be a lot of imagery available everywhere concerning this event, thanks to the fact that university students these days are, even more than the general population, almost surgically attached to their cell phones, most of which have video and camera capacity. It will surpass what is available directly from the media, and their coverage will rely on it heavily - but it falls on the scale between citizen journalism and lurid voyeurism.

What we won't see is the unfathomable suffering of these families. My perspective here is as a parent - you would do anything for your kids, and you would (and should) die before your kids. And college is the most hopeful, potential-filled stage of life. This must be blackest, most horrible loss imaginable.