The Unspeakable

What happened Monday at Virgina Tech begs understanding, begs some insight, and none is had. We don't expect death in this way to happen here. In this moment nothing can be said, nothing can be felt or thought that grasps the essential nature of the act. Instead, we all got slammed. We all wondered how could this happen? How could a kid walk through a couple of buildings and kill thirty-two people, wound eighteen more, and kill himself?

The news reports are full of stories about mental illness, alienation, a search for a motive. The killer wrote in a note that "you drove me to this:" a Glock, a .22, and a lot of ammunition, and unthinkable, unknowable thoughts, a totally unexpected day in a college town.

My heart goes out to the kids, the parents, the families, the teachers, the emergency responders, the survivors, those terrorized, those scared and scarred.