To those families and friends of 32 innocent people lost their lives 2 years ago this week, T.S. Eliot’s assessment of April (from his 1922 greatest hit "the Waste Land”)can’t be more harsh. This famous line rang true today when we saw many copycat shootings happened in the country this month.

Before the world known VT rampage reaching its second anniversary,we saw tragedies happened in Binghamton, NY, in Henny Ford College MI, as well as one mile from home.

What turn this beautiful month so cruel?....I wonder.

Just finished a new non-fiction by Lucinda Roy. She had many encounters with VT’s killer S.H. Cho. As a former chair of VTs English dept and Cho's one-one-one tutor, Roy, in her new book ”No Right to Remain Silent”, pointed out an unbearable fact: A Tragic event can be avoided and doesn’t have to be repeated, if we refuse to remain silent when things go wrong.

According to Roy, S.H. Cho did try to find help 18 months before the rampage. This disgruntled young adult knew (and Roy firmly suggested) that he had mental unstability and finding a professional’s help is urgent. Well, the school Counseling Center failed him , the Commonwealth Law base on the concept of “No Right to get mentally illed person seeking physician's help as long as he or she doesn't post an immediate threat to self or community” failed him, then, on this cruelest day of April 16,2007, somehow S.H. Cho felt the whole world betrayed him. He then took 32 innocent lives before ended his own life.

What disturbs me most is the way the VT’s top officials’ dealing with this traumatic event and after. Coverups and keeping silent may save face for VT community for the time being. Without finding the truth and close the loophole, no one can guarantee the tragedy won’t repeat itself in the future.

Life can be full of sorrow,

April can be as cruel as usual,

.............

if we choose to remain silent.

(寫於04/15/2009)