I'm ready. Let the negativity begin. But this is something that's bothered me since April 16, 2007. There were more than 32 victims at Virginia Tech. And I'm not just talking about families and loved ones.
The shooter was a victim. He was a victim of mental illness, insanity and evil. His parents lost the child they raised and loved. They lost the memory of him as a decent person. He is forever branded as evil, and regardless of our opinion, his family lost a child. There is no Hokie stone in his remembrance as a human being. There's no mention of him as a victim.
But this boy fell through the cracks. There were signs. And no one helped. When mental illness hits, it often changes who we are. We no longer have the capacity for logical thought. Our minds change. And we spiral. We need help, but we don't recognize our own demise. Mental illness is the evil.
I don't understand why he did it. I don't understand why those people had to die. I don't understand any of it. But what I do understand is the love of a mother. His parents didn't raise him to be a mass murderer. His sister flourished at Princeton. They were an affluent family which is now, I'm assuming, shunned by our society.
And there is no mention of their baby boy as a victim. I understand our need to label him as evil, and forget his death. It's human nature. Regardless, in my heart I know there were 33 victims. Thirty-three people died that day. And hundreds if not thousands of lives were changed forever. I know mine was. My idealistic view of my school changed. My view of society and the world changed. If it can happen in Blacksburg, it can happen anywhere.
So today I mourn the loss of 33 fellow Hokies. They all fell victim to evil. They were all Hokies, and they were all human. I know it's not a popular opinion, but 33 people did that day. And I mourn for every single one of them.
