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Normal Service to Resume Next Week. . .

 

Arielle Anderson, Alexandria Verner, and Brian Fraser.

Three students here at Michigan State University died senselessly in yet another (apparently random) mass shooting earlier this week.  Five others were seriously injured.  

A colleague, a man with whom I have served on a committee in the recent past, taught two of them and saw them shot during his evening class on Cuban history.  

Not the first time something like this has happened in the U.S., and I expect not the last.  There really are no words to adequately describe or explain any of this. 

But yes.  Let's do keep shouting loudly about and lobbying for the right to keep and bear arms.  You know.  To keep that secretive world army at bay, which is just poised to invade beyond the Canadian border.  

If finding an academic job, picking up, and moving were easier, I am now ready to relocate to a somewhat more peaceful society.  What a world we have created. 

-- Stokes

 

Comments

meadows boy said…
I have no words.
9:36 AM
Peter Douglas said…
So sorry to hear that this took place on your campus and affected your students and colleagues.

The rest of the world has a very hard time understanding why these actions are allowed to take place in the USA.
11:26 AM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
Thank you men for your kinds words and thoughts. You never think it can happen in your own neck of the woods. And then it does. What is wrong with us??!!

Kind Regards,

Stokes
1:30 PM
A J said…
Tragic, and I would say beyond belief but yes, all too frequent an occurrence here. I saw one young student comment that she survived the Sandy Hook shooting, and here she is at another.
2:26 PM
Robert (Bob) Cordery said…
I am very sorry to read about what happened. It’s a tragedy that such things occur so often in the United States. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who died and those who knew them and who have been affected by their deaths.

If you do relocate, I’m sure that you and your family would be welcome in Canada or Europe. It’s not 100% safe, but it is a bit safer.

All the best,

Bob
2:48 PM
Rob Young said…
Sad. There are a number of aspects of American society that I think are just totally unfathomable.
3:08 PM
David Morfitt said…
I'm very sorry to hear that, Stokes. It must be especially traumatic when it happens so close to home. Yes, many of us we do look on with astonishment and horror at the all too frequent mass shootings in the US. The refusal by so many US politicians to try to do anything about it, or even to see it as an issue that needs addressing, is also a matter of amazement.

All the best,

David.
6:14 PM
The Good Soldier Svjek said…
I'm so sorry to hear about this , Tony
11:45 PM
The Good Soldier Svjek said…
I'm so sorry to hear about this , Tony
11:46 PM
Carlo said…
I’m so sorry to hear this Stokes. We have had recent gun violence in Australia and when it happens, thankfully very rarely, it shocks the nation to the core. The thing that always amazes me is how these mass shootings tend to meld into one another week after week. Thank you for putting a human face to another absolute waste of youth, intellect and life.
12:10 AM
Der Alte Fritz said…
I’ve been thinking about you Stokes, and Pat LeBeau too, ever since I first heard the news from MSU. It’s quite a shocker when this type of thing happens in your own backyard. We live in a suburb next to Highland Park, IL where there was another senseless mass shooting at the 4th of July parade.. The police caught that shooter a mere two blocks from my house.

It can happen anywhere and none of us can ever assume that it can’t happen to us.
12:51 AM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
Thank you everyone for your thoughts. What a terrible few days it has been as weeks go.

Kind Regards,

Stokes
6:32 AM
Wellington Man said…
This is just too awful Stokes. I was at an event in central London showing off some of the Royal Artillery's museum collections when terrorists started blowing up London buses. We were close enough to hear one of explosions and saw the fear and confusion rapidly spreading through the crowd. I've never really got over the sadness of witnessing this. I really hope the US finds a way to solve this issue. It wasn't always like this.

Best wishes
Matthew
2:53 PM
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