Might Sound Bad...

Okay, this is probably going to sound really tasteless. And I guess if it sounds tasteless, than it probably is, but I can’t help myself. See, I’m reading about the victims from Virginia Tech. I always feel its important to at least read about them, so they aren’t just numbers, and I know I won’t remember their names for more than a few minutes. But this always sits awkwardly with me, reading about how great they were. Really, it doesn’t matter which tragedy it is, the victims are always described the same.

"She really wanted to be able to help the poor people," and "gave himself 110 percent to everyone around him." And, "the kind of guy who makes you want to change your outlook in life." Were quotes I read about some of the victims, and I don’t doubt that they are true. And of course I’m not looking to read that someone thought of some victim as “a real asshole, he only cared about himself.”

Maybe I’m an asshole, but I’m just tired of those responses. They don’t tell me anything about the person, other than their friends thought kindly of them. Isn’t that what friends usually do? If they want to make it more personal for everyone reading, tell us a specific story. Shed some real light on what kind of person they were. What was on their iPod, or tell me a story about a night out with them. I don’t want to read quotes that are about as heartfelt as yearbook messages. Sorry, I just don’t.

And then I saw some quotes about how bright this kid or that kids future was. Well guess what, some of them were going to burn out and drop out of school. Was one going to save the world? Probably not. He might have ended up working at Barnes & Noble, and you know what, that’s just fine. It doesn’t make their death any more or less tragic. They may have ended up flipping burgers and taking out the trash, their loss would still be just as great. They were all probably going to end up working jobs they didn’t go to school for, trying to pay their rent or mortgage, having a few cocktails from time to time and living overwhelmingly normal lives. And it fucking sucks that they didn’t get that chance to live like the rest of us.