Here's What I Think......Virginia Tech Massacre

I thought I would give my spill on this whole ordeal. I really don't have a 'Here's What I Think' page on here yet, but I will talk about what I do think about it all. Here's What I Think....

This is a terrible tragedy that no one should go through. When news of this massacre came up I'm sure visions of Columbine immediately jumped out in people's minds. You can't help but think of what madness was going on for such a student to enter buildings and slaughter other students that surrounded him. I had been keeping up with this story on the web and by my co-worker's TV most of the day picking up pieces of information here and there. The thought of something like that didn't really register in my mind that it could have easily happened here at UT until I was leaving campus yesterday afternoon. I began driving from campus and saw news vans parked near the Torchbearer. There were cops standing around among students keeping a vigilant watch. I saw one cop keeping guard over a teacher parking lot. That's when it hit me that UT was no different that VT. Maybe one letter away. One nut job away. What would I do? Where would I go? Would I go to the area that it had happened and try to help students? There are so many things that go on in a person's mind when they see such a horrible thing as this happen on a campus full of students. That could have been UT.

So do I still feel safe where I am here on campus? Of course. I don't think I am in any huge danger unless an athlete or crazed fan comes to my office mad about a video or photo on the web, but that doesn't necessarily mean I am safe. I've heard people complain about the response of the school administration to what had happened and to be honest I don't think that they deserve the ridicule that they are getting. Small shooting incidents have happened on campuses before. A guy got shot in some dorm room and the school sends out an email warning students. The problem is, half of the students are already on campus and headed to class. How many of those students have a laptop and Internet accessible to them to check to see if classes were canceled or not. The administrators did what they thought best. They didn't know some nut case was going to shoot up classrooms full of people. For all they knew, the first shooting was an isolated incident. See if you would have acted differently. Sure you say now that you would call off classes, but you're looking through the eyes of hindsight. There is no way of knowing.

Now I'm going to close out with a few concerns that come to my mind. Some people are calling for teachers to have guns. Bad Idea. I don't think it will ever get to that and it's just not going to work. Because one day you will have a nut job teacher who will shoot up his classroom because they are being jerks to him. The biggest concern I do have is the idea of having people calling for stricter gun control laws. Another bad idea. People will get guns and do stupid things whether you have strict gun control laws or not. Even if you have stricter gun control than you do now, you won't stop a mental case from doing what he or she is going to do. When you're on a mission, you won't stop to register a gun. You will find a gun one way or another. Whether it's yours or someone else's. This is just one of many incidents that happen because a guy off his rocker didn't see life the way it should be in his eyes. It happens and no amount of gun control will stop it.

The only thing that can stop people killing each other is the gospel. I see all of this unfolding and only one conclusion can be drawn. A world directly opposed to the God of this universe can only be brought to peace and order through the cross of Jesus Christ. Without the gospel, the world will continue on in this manner of death and destruction. I'm not saying that sin would stop if everyone came to know Christ as their Lord and Savior, because that isn't true, but at least the Spirit guides a person's heart to know what to do and what not to do. The only hope for the world is the gospel, the saving grace of God through His only Son Jesus Christ. Christ alone is the only hope that can be found in such a tragedy as the Virginia Tech Massacre.