The Washington Post has had a couple articles on the start of the school year at Virginia Tech and the need for "healing". Apparently two things are going to assist in this process: a concert with big name acts and the football season. Now I don't know any of the victim's families or their close friends but I doubt if they are going to be "healed" by attending a Dave Matthews concert or watching the football team. I can't imagine that there is even one parent or brother or sister or grandparent who is going to feel less genuine grief over their loss if the Hokies contend for the national championship. If the Hokies have a bad season will it add to the grief? The people who have been most affected by the violence at VT are the immediate family and close friends of the victims. Concerts and football do nothing to help them. The number of people directly impacted at VT is large, it was an unusually large number of victims for a violent crime, but to think that a concert or the football season is going to ease their pain is to trivialize their grief.
The picture is of a faith healer who specializes in dentistry and not of Dave Matthews who, for all I know, is a decent guy trying to do something to help the VT community. Most of this rant is against the media who seem to have an insatiable thirst for trivializing and emotionalizing serious situations . People also seem to have this strange desire to tangentially participate in a tragedy by wearing ribbons, school colors, or displaying bumper stickers in the name of solidarity with the victims. Huh? Maybe its a symptom of the powerlessness people feel that they resort to such meaningless behavior. Do people really feel that VT, Columbine, and innumerable other acts of mass killing by guns are an unavoidable part of life in America? Thats probably the subject for another post.
1 comment:
this is a thought-provoking post. however, people who are familiar with blacksburg and VA tech know that the community comes alive every time football season comes around. anyone who has ever attended a VA Tech football game can attest to this. that town lives and breathes hokie football. so will the football season heal the victims' families? it probably won't. those families have suffered an incredible loss and their pain cannot be measured. will the concert heal the victims' families? probably not because music won't bring their loved ones back. but will the football season bring the blacksburg community together? will the communal celebration and hopeful anticipation of the upcoming football season bring some healing to the community of blacksburg? will the positive press from a nationally (pre-season) ranked football team help heal the blacksburg community? i definitely think so.
the fact is that some people may need help moving on. will a concert and football team heal everyone who needs it? possibly not. but it's a start.
i personally can't wait for hokie football season to start. as an honorary hokie (my boyfriend is a proud VA tech alumnus), i know that i am looking forward to the familial atmosphere that hokie football season brings. and i'm also looking forward to a sense of normalcy after the events on 4-16. and you better believe that i will be at the first game, proudly wearing my maroon and orange with the rest of the proud VA Tech family.
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