Massacre at Virgina Tech

Along with everyone else I was shocked and horrified to learn of the shootings at the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg yesterday. I heard earlier on in the day on the radio that the shooter was apparentaly motivated by a fight with his girlfriend to kill 32 people and take his own life. A Yoruba prayer immediately came to mind:

Olorun ma jen rin irin arin fesesi (God, don't let my feet lead me into
trouble)

A friend and I were discussing the whole unfortunate incident and she pointed out that some of the students probably spoke with their parents/loved ones minutes perhaps hours before they met with their demise. Normal conversations. I imagined a VTech student calling home, checking in with their parent:

Hello?
Darling! How are you?
I am fine, how are you guys doing?
Oh we are fine, how is school?
School is fine, I have class in 30 mins
just wanted to say hello.
Thanks dear, I hope all is well, no problems ..?
Yeah we really need to discuss my allowance! Just joking.
Laugh! You do
your best and study hard ok? I am very proud of you.
Awww! Thanks, gotta run
love you
Love you too
Click.

The parent would have gotten off the phone happy to know their child was doing well and all was okay. The chile would have hauled their behind over to class, knowing this was the right thing to do, knowing they were in the right place at the right time. Go to class get that credit, get that degree. Perhaps for the students who lost their lives with hindsight we see that they would have been better off cutting classes yesterday. Hmmm ... How will that parent who spoke with their child a couple of mins/hours have felt when they turn on the news and hear of what happened on the school campus in the 7 and 9 am hours? How would they have felt when they learn later after trying frantically to reach their child that they are not picking up their cellphone because they are dead? People don't die 'doing the right thing' they don't die going about their business! Increasingly we learn that they can and that they do. Oluwa ma jen rin irin arin fesesi. My heart goes out to the families and the friends of the departed including the gunman.

I worry. I worry that at the rate at which we seem to be assimilating american culture its only a matter of time before sensless killings in Nigeria are not just the result of a N20 bribe at the illegal road block in Agege.

S.Korean student blamed for shooting rampage reuters.com