Echoed in the haunting lyrics of Harry Chapin's "Sniper", the young men involved in every shooting either asked for help from those around them even though some of them didn't know how to say it, or they made their intentions clear by way of the things they were doing and saying. Like the "Sniper," we have once again answered the desperately human question "Am I?" with inhumanity.
Given the daily hostility, stress, and aggravation we are all subjected to, it's a miracle there aren't more people losing it, but who is to say there aren't more people losing it? We heard about Eric and Charles and Cho because they killed people. We aren't hearing about any of the other kids who, at this very moment, are feeling the same way they did but are instead withdrawing inside themselves. We may never see some of them ever again. Others, we may see on the news in the coming days.
The pen was thought to be mightier than the sword. Unfortunately, we've sent the message loud and clear that we will not heed words, only weapons. We didn't focus on what any of these young men were saying until they said it with bullets, and even now our focus is not on what they said but how they said it.
Robert Fulghum wrote, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will break my heart." Every one of us will find a way to be heard when the need is strong enough, and every one of us has an opportunity to listen. The Virginia Tech shooting, along with all the others like it, is proof that we will continue to be haunted by the people we choose not to see and the words we choose not to hear.
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