Some Thoughts on VT

This week, I have decided to include part of an email correspondence I had with my good friend and fellow Boston College alumnus Andrew. The topic was the Virginia Tech shootings; however I think it has some real relevance to what goes on here at Saint Vincent de Paul. Below you will find Andrew’s initial email followed by my response.

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Just some thoughts on VT. Yours to read, or not. Sometimes you just have to take a break from these things.

-Andrew

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

-John Donne, 1572-1631

I hesitate to write even one word about the recent tragic events at Virginia Tech. The magnitude of the loss, and the senselessness of the crime are so great as to place commentary outside the purview of mere human agency. It is an office of the Divine to pass the final judgment on such a heinous act. Mere mortals cannot read one another's hearts. And at the same time Divine Providence, even now, in the wake of disaster, works actively toward renewal. It is for God to draw his children to Himself. Disaster is never part of His plan, but when human free will occasions it, He does not slouch defeated, but instead raises triumph from ashes. Look at the Cross.

Yet, even though it is seemingly beyond our power to say something meaningful, our curiosity is insatiable. "Why?" we ask, as if a justification is possible. We wonder, "Who was this man?"

Who can say?

Perhaps, as certainly seems possible, he was mentally ill; a mind out of touch with reality, out of its own control. A human being in form only, its substance debased and degraded by disease.

Perhaps, as such a loathsome crime would indicate, he was evil. "Certainly," we reason, "no one could perpetrate such a horrible crime without realizing what he was doing, without consciously deciding to do it."

Of course, he gives his own reasons. I'm not fully aware of what they are. Perhaps I will pay closer attention to what are either the ravings of a madman, or the hateful spew of a soul gone bad, in the future. His victims are not yet buried. Why he was posthumously granted a national audience when those he murdered in cold blood are silenced, I will never understand. It is outside the realm of basic human decency.

It is my belief, that outside of the practical concerns of preventing an event like this from recurring, the murderer's motivations are of no consequence. They are fit subject matter for psychologists and police forces, not for national drama. He is dead. His victims will be remembered tearfully by their families and friends, who have been robbed of their presence by an act, which considered in any light, was absolutely wrong.

And so, to my mind, the appropriate view of such a disaster is not that of one staring at a circus spectacle. It is deep sorrow for the loss of the victim's grieving families, of our whole human family. "And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Its been a while since I sent anything out on the old listserve, but there was something I wanted to get off my chest too. I agree with you Andrew, but what bothers me more than the attention that the media has given to this kid is the lack of attention that is paid to the invisible victims of similarly violent and heinous crimes within our country.

A few months ago, a woman’s body was found lifeless and mangled across the street from where my roommate works. It was about 8 blocks from where I work. I talked to a lady last week who was missing an eye because a couple of kids jumped her the night before and smashed her face in with a vodka bottle. She was 62 and she didn't even have any money to give them. She lost her vision in one eye and did not have the money to pay for plastic surgery. I know a really nice guy named George who had three fingers cut off with a bolt cutter because he owed someone money. And the worst thing is... I hear stories like this every day.

All of these people are poor and black and the things that happen to them rarely even make it to their local papers, let alone national television. What bothers me is that we have learned to accept these types of crimes if they happen to poor people of color living in rough neighborhood. If they happen on a college campus, which we expect to be safe, we are disgusted and outraged (as we should be). All I'm saying is why can't we raise our standards all around the board and stand up for human life regardless of color and income.

I know there are all kinds of studies and statistics available on media biases in reporting (or under reporting) crimes against people of different races and socioeconomic groups, and I'm sure you have probably come across them too. This raises a disturbing question: Do Americans value some human lives more than others? Without a doubt, I would say yes.

peace,

Paul

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Finally... An Update

I know the Blog has been down, but I might be standing a little bit taller. My responsibilities here have multiplied since December and everything that is not an emergency or high priority has been put on the back burner. Now that things are beginning to stabilize again, I am working to squeeze some blogging time into my schedule.

Briefly: The Champion Guidance Center was closed and it has now re-opened and returned to its regular hours. In December, the supervisor of the Women’s Visitation Center left SVdP. Steve and I are now overseeing the Women’s Drop-In Center as well as the Men’s Center. There was a one month period when I changed offices and phones three times. Fortunately, I ended up with a pretty nice work space.

Another added responsibility of mine has been to manage our new Help Desk, located in the Community Center next door. The Help Desk is a place where people can come for information and referrals to local emergency services. On Wednesdays and Fridays our clients are able to receive free clothing and household items from the Help Desk. Imagine a small thrift store without the cash register. Part of my job was to set up a system using an existing database for tracking the distribution of clothing and household goods. I tried to strike a balance between helping those in need while preventing others from taking more than their share and going to the flea market (believe me, it happens). It has been going fairly smoothly since we opened, and I am constantly tweaking the system to make it better.

Homeless Court has been running full force through the closing and re-opening of the Men’s Center. In fact, my caseload has grown each session and the court is now transitioning from meeting every two months to every month. This is a very good thing for clients who are waiting to get rid of warrants (which I would say is a significant percent of them). My caseload has also grown from around fifteen clients per session to over twenty. Word is certainly spreading.

I have also been in charge of issuing winter shelter vouchers for beds at the Oakland Army Base. On days when all of our beds are filled, I feel obligated to help my clients to find spaces in other shelters. This goes to show that on top of all of my formal commitments, I find myself responding to emergency situations as they inevitably come up again and again throughout the day. For example, I helped a homeless man yesterday with an eleven-week old baby to get some supplies and find a suitable housing program. It was late in the day and he was inches away form sleeping on the street with a new baby.

Lastly, there are the fundraisers and seasonal events. Steve and I dressed up like the Easter Bunny to give out baskets to our Visitation Center clients and their children. We try to lighten things up when we can, and many of my co-workers are masters at finding humor in the roughest circumstances. I learn things from them every day.

Altogether, as my job has expanded, perhaps exponentially, my enjoyment and satisfaction has grown proportionately.