ismail ax

mood: saddened.
state i'm in: sullen and dismayed.
tune: foreigner "i want to know what love is" cheesy 80's.


just before closing my laptop yesterday i logged out of hotmail to see a big red banner reporting the news of the heinous massacre of students and academics at virginia tech. at first i was shocked and saddened, then angered by the thought of the USA's ridiculous constitutional laxity on gun control and the saturation of that nation with firearms.

what has saddened me more and more over the last 24 or so hours is the reports on the people and place that fell victim to what appears to be a victim himself, of depression and self-imposed social isolation. from reports, virginia tech and the adjacent town of blacksburg were quiet and safe locations. an australian student interviewed spoke of how she felt much safer walking around the campus late at night then if she were walking around the streets of brisbane city. much like how i feel about my own campus and the streets here in saint lucia.

the students and academics who fell victim were from far and wide: the USA, but also canada, india, peru, puerto rico, and romania. they were reported as being achievers, go-getters - tomorrow's leaders and social engineers - and so many appear to be rich in talent and motivation. in the case of the academics, i can only assume that their motivation to teach alone speaks volumes of their characters. reminds me of my own peers and academics in medicine and science before that, some serious and straight-forward, some eccentric and original, all unique and talented.

i guess it makes me saddest to think that the community within virginia tech and blacksburg seems to carry itself in much the same way as saint lucia and my university does. safe, fun, relaxed, but academic and serious when it gets down to business - a place for people getting themselves somewhere.

these should be the people and a community least deserving of such an atrocity.

i am sullen towards those affected as if it were my own community.














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images: nbc and 'the age'