Bowling for Virginia Tech

The terrible tragedy at Virginia Tech yesterday brings many things to mind, the horror of random gun violence, the deep sadness of parents who are now suffering the pain of their precious child dieing before they do, how those who are normally good people can do bad things, gun control - pro or con, the tenuous nature of our lives, the potentially violent influence of video games, and more -- however, this is an E-Commerce blog.

The thing I want to point out is how so many of the students had cell phones that were used to take instant photos and videos and then upload them immediately to the Web and to TV stations. Within seconds of the event, even while it was still happening, the images and sounds were being sent throughout the globe and shown on our TVs and computers. What implications does this have? Can it be a force that can help prevent this kind of violence in the future? What does it say about the amazing connectivity of our world, and the disconnect from it that would allow someone to even consider doing this?

On a personal note. In my classroom I once had an incident where the campus police came to apprehend one of my students because he was sending threatening email to other students and another teacher. Up until then I had never felt threatened by him. He seemed like a normal student, though he was a quiet and moody person. Suddenly, I felt vulnerable and frightened.

School normally feels like such a secure and safe place. It's disturbing when that sense of security is punctured by events like these.