(Gunky being the term for the particular mental illness in the family of the dead husband of the protagonist in Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story. I picked its CD version for the commute thinking it was King’s fully formed portrait of a resourceful woman who survives a challenging life, and it is, but her challenges include ghosts, homicidal dementia — the “bad gunky” — and an alternate universe, not to mention mere family crises and a marriage.)
I’m envious of the guts to publish a strongly worded piece on the media making the Virginia Tech mass murder this month’s tragedy of metaphoric proportions. If Christopher Hitchens can take on Princess Diana and Mother Theresa he certainly can rob full-of-life innocent college students of their symbolism.
In October 2004, some workers and organizers of a cross-country event were moving a large tent at Fayetteville’s Agri Park when a metal tent pole touched an electric line. Three people were electrocuted and three others injured. I know one of the latter, a local businessman, runner and community volunteer. He happened to have been wearing rubber boots, and that saved him. Random tragedy? Yes. Preventable? Mostly.
Next time, they’ll lower the metal poles as they approach overhead wires.
At Virginia Tech, a student on April 16 off’d 32 other students and a few professors before shooting himself. It was senseless. Random tragedy? Yes. Preventable? Mostly.
Next time, colleges, schools and businesses will make different — shouldn’t hope too much for “better” — guesses on which sullen wackos will act on their impulses.
We won’t be further restricting non-hunting weapons. U.S. leaders don’t even seem to be trying for that any more.
More than 33 people died violently in Iraq that day, largely in a deliberate fashion. Random tragedy? No. Preventable? Depends on who you ask. Next time, in the next war, or later in this one, we’ll do, what again?
All these demonstrate evidence of social evolution, as opposed to social darwinism. We always do better next time. I know I’m glad it’s 2007. A thousand years ago I could shut a car door on my thumb and die of blood poisoning. Now, that’s gunky. -30-
