Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
The dazed post
First, to set the mood, some kind of mood, any kind of mood, today’s Random Flickr image:
(From diverken’s photostream. Amazing photographer — check him out.)
I’m in a mood. Dazed, stunned. I had to fast forward through most of Olbermann tonight because I have a hard time watching coverage of the Blacksburg shootings. What is it now — 32 dead, over 50 wounded? The only coherent thought I have is that Nancy Pelosi was right. This early after the shootings, silence is the only appropriate response. Nothing any of us say can lessen the grief of those families.
But others don’t share that sentiment, apparently — as documented in this Kos diary, asshats like Glenn Reynolds are already politicizing the tragedy. Also, now that we know the shooter was a Chinese National, how long will it take for racism to creep into the wingnut blogs? If I can’t even handle Keith Olbermann right now, you can bet I can’t stomach the wingnut blogs.
Listening to the news this morning, Karen overheard one of the talking heads asking an FBI profiler to comment on “this string of Asian gunmen,” or some such. String? Those kids at Columbine must have been hiding their Asian ancestry, and Charles Whitman must have been one of those blond Asians from Northern China.
The profiler, no doubt stunned by the question, said (paraphrasing), “I can’t comment on that right now.”
Neither can I. I can’t comment on any of it.
Maybe I would have been dazed even without the shooting. I worked nonstop from eight to four, saw thirty-four patients (Mondays are always hellish), then went to the gym and beat the crap out of myself for a while. Came home, made dinner, here I am.
And how was your day?
xxxxxo,
D.
aw, doug…*hugs*
Yeah, it’s barf & diarrhea season here. One kid actually hit my shoes….
I have a magnet with a bunch of cows in a field. It reads “Some days you step in it & some days you don’t.” Today qualifies as a “step-in-it” kind of day.
I started my ass-shakin’ class today, so I’m a little tired, but the day was good. Hope things pick up for you tomorrow.
Wonderful picture but a very sad day indeed. The shooter was insane – end of subject. “String of Asian gunmen” ?? Where?
Oh and I meant to say my condolences to you and Kid Doc but actually a little more to Kid Doc. Barf on the shoes is the winning entry.
I had the some concern regarding the racism. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Aside from the horror of the tragedy, what struck me was how effective the shooter was. He must’ve had training to be able to hit that many people. The number just seems astronomically high.
M
I took a quick look round my usual wingnut stopping places and saw that this shooting is the fault of:
1. Liberals.
2. Gun control. These first two were the most common.
3. Lack of gun control.
4. Terrorist sympathizers, which of course means liberals. Democrats, actually, if you decode it.
The last one requires a particularly agile mind to grasp.
**hugs**
Just because we all need one every now and then. (And it seems to me to be a highly significant ‘now’ time at the moment…)
xo
K.
I heard on NPR he was South Korean. So if any racists came out of the woodwork in the last 24 hours, they now get to play the “Oh, what’s the difference anyway” card (tell that to a Chinese person who gets mistaken as Japanese!)
I wonder if anyone has set up any sort of internet watering hole for condolences for the families?
I thought I read something about Facebook or MySpace pages being set up but that was mid-day yesterday… Other than that, I have no details.
Doug – I know people were posting condolences on Facebook.
I just can’t comprehend to it, so I default to a place of rage and the wingnuts who responded with “well, if only all the students had been allowed to carry concealed weapons, this wouldn’t have happened!” AAARRRGGGGRRRHH.
I’m still unemployed and grumpy, thanks for asking.
Oh, and if you want to see some more exellent macro shots of bugs and sea life, you MUST check out Fuji Bob at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_whorton/ :o)
That man sure likes his ladybugs, DN 🙂