I've seen lots of posts about the sick and disturbed person who committed these crimes. I've seen posts about how George W. Bush has handled this. I've seen angry posts about gun control and mental illness care. But I've seen little about the victims.
So forgive me for a bit of a preachy diary that isn't dealing with politics, but I think it's important.
There were 32 people that were killed. These kids and their teachers were doing what they did every day. They were innocently sitting in French class or German class or working to become engineers.
When I look at the pictures and profiles of these victims, it is like a cross section of America. People from all sorts of different cultures and backgrounds.
There is the African American scholar from rural Georgia. Ryan Clark This kids smile just makes me smile. He worked at a camp for diabled kids.
There is the distinquished and loved professor from India. Loganathan Everything I've read about this man was that he was a dedicated and wonderful teacher.
There is the accomplished Lebanese dancer with the beautiful name. Reema She too had a gorgeous smile. Listening to her family speak with grace, you can't help but feel that we all missed out by her not getting a chance.
There is the Holocoust survivor who was still teaching late into his 70's....can you imagine loving your job that much? Liviu Librescu He saved the lives of his students. One student described him as quiet and was surprised that he reacted the way he did.
There is the Air Force ROTC cadat who was given a second chance at a military high school and took full advantage. Matthew La Porte
There was the Cival Engineering grad student who was born in Iowa Brian Bluhm He was a huge Detroit Tiger fan and blog poster. I am sure that he was so excited when the Tigers started winning last year!
That's just 6 of the 32 people that were killed this week. They all have stories. In the midst of deciding what went wrong and blaming whoever we want to blame, let's not forget that there were real people in this and they each have a wonderful story that was cut too short. And I think that it's important for everyone to remember this and to not forget about it because maybe the next time we see that troubled, quiet person who just seems off, we will do everything in our power to try and get them some help. Or maybe we will fight for laws that try and prevent things like this.