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no love for NIU?

This post is simply meant to be a question to cast out into the internets. No judgment is passing, no intended social commentary nestled between the lines. Just curiosity that has momentarily struck me in light of current events.

I expected yesterday, and then again today, to turn on my computer, open my feed reader and see an explosion of commentary on the shootings at NIU. But what I found instead was... nothing. Am I missing something? Did I miss your post? I admit I have dwindled my reader down to the bare and most notable of my minimum - a skinny 34 feeds reside in my Bloglines.

I find it strange that no one in my blog circle (selective as it may be) has written anything about the shootings at NIU. Maybe its the same reason I also have not...but then I didn't blog about the shootings at Virginia Tech last year either. Personally I don't feel as connected to this school as I do to Tech. But all the same, there was a LOT of blogging about it last year. And I know there are a lot of people who ARE connected to NIU, even here in Nashville. Last year there were constant updates and even webpage ribbons. This time is different. Is it because not as many died? Is it because we're over it? No matter what the reason is.. I just thought I'd send out the question. Comment as you like.

I just think it's strange that I see more blog love on and for a day that comes every year on 2/14 than I see for a school that is experiencing one of the worst days it's ever known, and hopefully ever will know.

Read one memorial here

Comments

holly wynne said…
Way to hold our feet to the fire. This is actually very valid, and I'm glad you spoke up.

I can't speak for anyone else. When the VT thing happened, I was a very new blogger and so shocked and saddened that all I did was link to the developing story. I didn't feel my $.02 was going to help the discourse any--and, really, what they needed was not discourse, but prayers. I sent a lot of those up at the time.

I guess I kind of feel the same way about this. Only now, it's like we're all shell-shocked. Personally, it all just seems so absurd--like there's this scary movie always being filmed before our eyes and the director just doesn't know when enough senseless violence is enough. Only the senseless violence is actually real violence, and we just don't know what to do with--to say about--the overkill.

Side note: You're obviously a good writer and a deep thinker--have you ever considered keeping a blog to share your thoughts with people?

:P
Anonymous said…
I don't know. To be honest, I didn't even hear about the shootings at NIU until the day after it happened. Weird, huh? As much as I'm on the computer, I didn't see one single thing about it until the next day. I also don't watch the news much or frequent news sites like CNN or MSNBC, etc.

And once I did hear about it...I was a bit speechless. This fallen world we live in is so complex and confusing sometimes. I don't understand why people think the only way out of their problems is to hurt others and then to take their fear out on themselves so that they don't even have to face the consequences of their actions.

My only guess is since "only" five people (+ the shooter) died, it doesn't "seem" as big of a loss as the 32 at VT. And maybe too, VT is a better known school? Not that that makes it more tragic. I'm just grasping here. I do remember though that since the shootings at Columbine, shootings at other non-university schools (high schools, etc) haven't been played out in the media as much as that one was. Of course, before VT, Columbine was the "biggest" tragedy in terms of lives lost at an educational institution.

Personally, my heart goes out to the NIU community. I know what they are going through.
Tanya said…
I actually didn't hear about either until the day after it happened. I was out of town. I checked my e-mail and saw that the president of VT sent out an e-mail to the VT community. That's how I found out. Today (2/18), the VT community is asked to wear red and black and they are also having a candlelight vigil tonight on campus.

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