Our Hearts Are With You

Today our nation is forced to face the carnage at Virginia Tech without our Poet Laureate of Melancholy, Kurt Vonnegut.

In Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse 5, Billy Pilgrim watches a World War II bombing attack in reverse, as planes fly over Germany, sucking the bombs out of the ground and then returning to their bases in England, where the bombs are unloaded and disassembled, their explosive contents separated into harmless minerals which are then carefully hidden in the ground so that no one will be harmed.

Reality of course only runs forward, or fast forward. There is no reverse or pause on the VCR of life, and done bun can’t be undone. Vonnegut was an anachronism, a gentle soul who tilted against the windmills of mayhem down here on Asylum Earth-- but even Kurt knew that once the bombs are truly dropped and the bullets are really fired they can never be taken back.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry today reports their country “in shock beyond description” after learning that the suspect in the Virginia Tech shootings was a South Korean native. Their ministry official for North American affairs conveyed his condolences on behalf of the South Korean people, expressing hope “that the tragedy would not stir up racial prejudice or confrontation.”

Here is what Vonnegut would have said to that: “What, are you nuts too?”

What happened yesterday had nothing to do with South Koreans. It was simply the act of a mentally unbalanced individual with amazingly unfettered access to guns and ammunition-- an angry young man whose name just happened to be Cho, but could have just as easily been Joe, Bo, or Moe.

So it goes.

This is the world we have made for ourselves. We leave loners alone instead of drawing them close. We consider violence as both a means of entertainment and a reasonable solution to our frustrations. Many of us foolishly assume that the racial or religious identity of a madman defines and condemns their race or their religion.

The Hokies of Virginia Tech know better though:

Techmen, we're Techmen, with spirit true and faithful,
Backing up our teams with hopes undying;
Techmen, Oh, Techmen, we're out to win today,
Showing pep and life with which we're trying;
V.P., old V.P., you know our hearts are with you
In our luck which never seems to die;
Win or lose, we'll greet you with a glad returning,
You're the pride of V.P.I.

Hope endures, and life endures-- even when luck turns bad and tragedy rolls up onto our doorstep. V.P.I. lost something immeasurable yesterday, but today they have reminded us of their faithful spirit and their undying hope for the future. So here’s to glad returning, and the pride of V.P.I.