An unsafe world takes its toll

By Staff
Leada Gore, Editor
When I first saw the news of the shooting at Virginia Tech Monday, the announcer said two people had been killed. I thought to myself how that was horrible and senseless and then went on with my day.
Sadly, the news of two deaths doesn’t raise much response in today’s world.
It was about 30 minutes later when I saw another report, this one showing the death toll had reached 20 and was still climbing. That’s when the small “oh, that’s terrible” story became one that consumed all our thoughts. Each time I checked the internet, the death toll rose, as did the horrifying stories from the university. There were tales of students hiding behind desks and jamming doors shut to keep the shooter at bay. Other students opted to jump out windows to flee from the bullets.
As of Tuesday morning, there still was little known about the entire situation other than it was pointless, unbelievable and amazingly horrifying.
I thought a lot about the parents of those attending Virginia Tech. I’m sure there were lots of rushed phone calls and searching for children, waiting for the hopeful reassurance when they heard their voice and learned they weren’t injured.
I can’t imagine the feelings of those parents who tried unsuccessfully to reach their children.
We all know this world is a dangerous place. No one is assured another day. However, no parent thinks their child is in danger when they send them off to school. Parents worry about a lot of things when they send their child off to college. I doubt armed gunmen are one of them.
There will be those who place the blame for this incident on the school administrators and law enforcement but the bulk of the blame must lie with the person who did these terrible things. No amount of passing the buck can resolve the fact that evil people do evil things.
Society, however, does play a role in this tragedy. We are a society that accepts ultra-violent video games and movies. We don’t provide adequate mental health services for those most in need. We offer almost unfettered access to weapons.
Situations like Monday’s make us all feel less safe, less secure in our own worlds. And while one’s first reaction is to keep yourself and your children at home behind locked doors, we know that’s not possible. We must go on and find ways – however small – to make this world a better place.
The questions from the Virginia Tech massacre will linger for years. The pain will linger, too.

At a Glance

PowerGrid Services in Hartselle evacuated for bomb threat

Morgan County

20 under 40: Trey Chowning

Falkville

20 under 40: TJ Holmes

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Spencer Bell

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Shelby Keenum

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Rachel Howard

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Mary Virgina Halbrooks

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Maggie McKelvey

Decatur

20 under 40: Maegan Jones

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Lindsey Tapscott

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

‘He lets us have sex’: More details emerge on Hartselle man accused of child exploitation 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Hartselle church creates Easter-themed escape rooms 

Danville

Family tradition: State livestock show legacy spans generations

Editor's picks

Baseball for Beau: More than $8k raised for scholarship named after Hartselle child  

Falkville

20 under 40: Lela Weeks

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Kalleigh Thomas

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Jaime Hatcher

Hartselle

Veteran Hartselle firefighter charged with possessing child porn

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Cerrowire expansion named finalist in Business Alabama Awards  

At a Glance

Work begins on repairing two bridges over I-65 in Morgan County in coming weeks

At a Glance

Tickets for Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame banquet available

Falkville

Morgan County volunteers celebrated at annual fire department banquet 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Man jailed for stealing car from jail after earlier release 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Police: Hartselle man encouraged children to have sex inside his apartment

x