This will be the only actual content regarding a horrible day in Blacksburg, Virginia from us. Then, tomorrow, back to regular scheduled programming of sodomy jokes and Steve Spurrier quotes.

It’s impossible to write something adequate about evil–which this undoubtedly was. What we can do is this:

As bystanders, contribute to the memorial fund, whenever it’s set up through the university. We’ll link to it throughout the upcoming days and weeks. As a community of readers and bloggers, we’ll do what we can to help Virginia Tech readers cope–very little, in reality, we know.

As individuals, tell the ones you love that you love them. Every single day. There’s no irony here, and no royal we. I don’t believe in any certainty in life besides its end. If you love someone, tell them sooner rather than later. Not being able to once they’re gone is more painful than any embarrassment you might feel telling them in the first place.

And yes, it’s a tragedy in a world replete with them. But it’s one I can comprehend, because it took place somewhere much like the places I slowly learned the rudiments of becoming an adult, someplace I assumed was safe, and someplace I met a lot of the people I love and consider my family in this world.

For a sanctum like that to be the scene of something so horrifying makes the crime so much more perverse to me…even if I say I understand how unsafe every square foot of this planet truly is. I evidently don’t really understand that.

I’m not qualified or able to say anything else. Back tomorrow as usual.


Burruss Hall, Virginia Tech.