Virginia Tech - Sadness and Hokie Pride

As have many, I have watched some of the coverage of the killings yesterday at Virginia Tech. Thirty-three students and falculty members were killed and we learn now that at least one professor lost his life trying to bar the gunman from his classroom, trying to protect his students. Let me say something about the heritage and bravery of Virginia Tech students. The campus has had heartbreaking experiences before. On the campus a memorial reminds us that during WWII (I believe WWII, perhaps WWI), all of the juniors in the Core of Cadets went to war. As I recall, all of the members of the Junior Class lost their lives in war. The Seniors were allowed to graduate because they were so close to graduation. Virginia Tech has a history of honor, pride, and courage. What I have to say now may not be well-received but there is another family that grieves and has now come under a burden from which they will never emerge - that is the family of Cho Seung-Hui. From my experience, students from the Far East - China, Japan, Taiwan - would never have committed such an act. In disgrace, in depression, in failure, they would have taken their own lives before killing others. It sounds like the officials at Tech did have plenty of clues that Cho was unstable, a stalker, and violent in his writing. How large a role did Political Correctness play in the ultimate carnage that took place? Was Cho treated differently because he added "diversity" to the campus? He supposedly had a history of violence and perhaps he was a stalker. So, did PC contribute to the deaths at Virginia Tech? Would any administrator or official dare speak up and say so if that were the truth? The family of Cho Seung-Hui can never recover from the shame brought upon the family and the family honor due to the heinous actions of their son. I only mention to say that another family is in crisis. When I was in Japan, a young man hijacked the ferry on the Inland Sea. Hostages were involved. Ultimately, the Japanese police talked the young man into letting the ferry dock long enough for the passengers to get off. As soon as the last passenger was off of the ferry, a sharp shooter, sniper shot the hijacker dead. The father was on the TV that night thanking the police for killing his son since the son had brought so much shame upon the family, But please, no cameras, no surveillance! Don't make the law-abiding students "criminals" by putting them under the camera. As in cases such as this, the officials tend to put the screws to the law-abiding. Note to officials: nothing you can do in hindsight could have saved these students with the exception of students and/or faculty being allowed to carry concealed weapons. You left them defenseless. You mandated their defenselessness. You guaranteed their helplessness. I'm listening to the "talking heads" talk about how you - the students and faculty at Virginia Tech - will return to normal. Well, all I can say is they don't know you and they don't know how strong you are - you are Hokies! With Hokie pride and courage!