VTech: The Morning After

I hesitated to post about VTech in no small part because how do you even begin to discuss it? Do I just post a link to the CNN coverage only to have it followed by a post about housing? Talk about how scared it made me? Talk about how I think Wesleyan’s administration should in its authoritative capacity do in this situation? Really, who am I to say? I think I’m afraid of hurting more than I could possible help. I guess these are why I hesitated to say anything.

I’m not trying to be overly cynical about this. It’s a frightening act and it’d be an understatement to say that people are scared. Our deepest condolences go out, obviously, to anyone who lost a friend, child, brother, sister to this act. And we extend our sympathies to everyone involved with the campus because we can be sure that the school is reeling in confusion and pain and will continue to do so for some time.

I got the nervous phone call from my mother last night reminding me that she loved me. I know my little brother at Shippensburg got the same call. It is my hope that at more people got or made the call themselves.

I think at some level, we all understand that crises like these remind us both of our helplessness and, albeit morbidly, our mortality. It’s a painful time for everyone.

And if you will allow me this admission of sincere corniness, there is a scene from a movie I adore called Love Actually. And the reason I love it is in no small part for its opening monologue, in which Hugh Grant ruminates in the wake of 9/11:

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.

As a college blog, at a college campus, writing as a college student, these events obviously unnerve me, as they probably do everyone. But there is something here that remind us of how important we all are to each other. How crucial it is that we be there for one another.

So as for my commentary, I’m saying nothing profound. I’m not saying anything that I think is particularly eloquent. Like I said, I don’t know what really could be said in the wake of tragedy.

But at the very least, I hope there were a lot of calls made on this campus last night and if not, maybe now is a good time to make one.