(no subject)

[strredwolf]

The news of the...

Is it a massacre?  Heck, it's less than a decimation.  31 students killed, 29 injured at last report, at Virginia Tech.  The gunman is dead, possibly suicide by cop.  More details are coming in slowly, and I'd wait until it's flushed out tomorrow.

Massacre? 

I'm sorry for taking an impersonal view of this tragedy, as I heard this at work and needed to keep some sort of composure.

But massacre?  This doesn't feel like one.  I mean, Columbine was a massacre -- the entire high school was being shot up by two kids that were continuously harassed by some stupid jocks.  This... was just one guy who took out a classroom and two students in a dorm, in a college.  I mean, there's been sniper shootings on campuses that rank worse than this.  But for the amount of carnage over an area... this is just too well contained.

And I'm probably dancing on the razor-thin edge right now.

I think I'm going to wait until the details settle down.  The media overhype is getting to me, and adding to my off-negative mood (Monday + transit was a mess going up + train-and-two-buses-joke-complaint + hurry up and wait for replies + rain AND wind + transit was a mess going down). 

Comments

[raemonde.livejournal.com]

] If you're going by body-count, Harris and Klebold only killed thirteen and wounded twenty-four.

-Rob

[strredwolf.livejournal.com]

Body count is what the media is using, which I can't blame them. This is the most (killed 32, injured 15 although some say 29 injured). The next would be in 1966, where a sniper at U-of-Texas@Austin's clock tower killed 16 and injured 31; followed by Columbine which begat a misguided attempt at solving the problem by geek persecution, returned by Jon Katz and Slashdot's Hellmouth series.

I'm factoring in area. Columbine was spread out thought the school, and officals there had to shorten the school year plus hold it in other schools. I betcha when investigators went in, they said "This was a bloodbath... no, this was a massacre," as they stepped through the school.

I don't see that here. This was relatively contained in a classroom and a dorm room. It's too neat and tidy; just close those rooms while they're sanitized and repaired. If Virgina Tech is sensitive to students, they'll keep it closed until after finals.

[questorthews.livejournal.com]

I agree that they should keep the class room and dorm room closed until the following semester.
I feel sympathy for the family, friends, and others affected by this tragedy, but I dread the coming days with the near constant coverage of it.

[nikkyvix.livejournal.com]

Massacre - 1. The unnecessary, indiscriminate killing of a large number of human beings or animals, as in barbarous warfare or persecution or for revenge or plunder.
2. a general slaughter, as of persons or animals: the massacre of millions during the war.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/massacre

I believe it qualifies as a massacre, yes.

[strredwolf.livejournal.com]

I've now heard that the carnage at VTech was spread over two classrooms and a hallway after the initial killing at the dormroom.

Still feels constrained, but technically, yes, it's a massacre.