My stomach dropped as I heard the news.
18 people shot, with 5 dead, at the university I went to in the US: NIU.
It was very strange as I navigated to the CNN page after Jacqui told me about the shooting. Instinctively I knew it was NIU; don’t ask me why, but she started to read the story out to me and I thought, “Oh no. NIU.” And glancing through the story, I found the name of the lecture hall the shooting took place in, and instinctively knew (even though I hadn’t been to that campus for years and I only had a few classes out of my 3 year career there in that hall) where it was; consulting a map on the NIU Web site confirmed it.
I guess I’m in shock. A part of me says, “This is why America needs gun control.” (I’ve been an advocate for that for years.) Another part of me says, what I’ve always said, that the more laws and restrictions and clamps a government puts on the people, the more likely the occurance of some people snapping and lashing out in ways like, well, shooting a classroom full of students.
I guess I can’t wrap my head around what makes someone so angry or full of hate or full of rage that makes them want to kill others, whether they be strangers or people they know. What possesses a person to feel they have the right to take the life of another (except in self-defense)?
I took classes in that hall. I even took geology classes, at the same time on the same days, in that very same classroom. Maybe that’s why I’m upset. I’m not sure why.
What’s even scarier is I said to Jacqui, even before they reported it on the news, that I bet the gunman came in the emergency exit near the stage. And sure enough… I was right.
Anyway… I’m sorry that this blog is a bit of a mess… but I’m still upset about it!
Beam Me Up, Scotty 