How absolutely terrifying to see Seattle Pacific University (fyi, the school’s servers are getting hammered by the media attention) as the latest victim of a school shooting. The coverage can be followed via this Twitter feed. With the website not able to keep up, Twitter is a powerful tool to stay aware of what’s going on.
Why do we need to know? Depends on the “we”, really. If you’re a student, it should be obvious. And, of course, for those who live nearby (it’s a pretty densely packed part of Seattle). Other clear choices: parents, family, friends of students, staff and faculty. Then there’s the larger impact on the community (several major streets blocked, all that traffic rerouted, emergency vehicles moving across downtown, etc). Perhaps a goodly portion of the watchers are just gawking, staring at the latest painful horror. I lean towards a belief that people care about others, and want to feel some connection. In many ways, it seems that this is the one way to do something; some thing against the mindless, some action to resist the helplessness.
Seattle is an amazing community. I know we’ll rally around our neighbors and do what we can to heal. SPU, we stand with you.
