Not really paying attention
I was amazed by how quickly this day blew by. Having shown up thinking that I would have very little to do, I found myself continually bouncing from one file to another, tying up various loose ends.
During the course of my hectic little rush I found myself glancing at the little news feed on the elevator screens. New CD coming out, more cloudy weather, something about a shooting. Nothing really clicked.
That changed, of course, when I pulled my head out of the tax files and finally interacted with people immersed in weighter matters. It seems that I wasn't the only one who was caught unaware until so late in the day.
The
IHT wrote about one young student's oblivious stroll: "Bernhards recalled walking toward her class, preoccupied with an
upcoming exam and listening to music on her iPod. On the way, she said,
she heard loud cracks, and only later concluded that they had been
gunshots from the second round of shootings. But even at that point,
many students were walking around the campus with little sense of alarm."
She was on campus when the senseless brutally struck - but she might as well have been thousands of kilometres away like me. We, of course, weren't in much of a position to do anything.
The university officials who sat on their hands during the gap between the first and second shooting incidents - presumably carried out by the same deranged man - were, however, in a position to do something. If reports of their inaction are true, they have the souls of over 30 people on their consciences now. I would lambast heartily, but that will accomplish little. They will no doubt suffer countless nightmares second guessing what they did today - or if they have any decency, they certainly should - and that will be punishment enough for them.
It feels like only yesterday we were in shock over a similar event in Montreal.
The true cretin is dead - I can only imagine how many articles and magazine covers will be reserved to indulge in a thorough review and analysis of what caused this tragedy.
And hopefully some good will come of it - it seems far too early to hope for the appearance of Goodness in such a stark moment of horror, but that's really all we have to live for in times like this.
Say a prayer for all those who lost their lives today, in the US, and in all the strife-torn places in the world, of which there are still far too many.