It’s not as if the massacre in Virginia isn’t already a tragedy, but I thought I’d mention that–for anyone who is familiar with SF writer Michael Bishop–his son, Christopher, was one of the faculty members slain in the assault.
Our condolences go out to his family in this time of unimaginable loss.
PAD
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My sincerest condolences to all who lost someone yesterday. I awoke to the news reports at 7:00 yesterday (Tuesday) morning Sydney time. Everyone, go give your kids/teenagers (if you have them) a really big hug right now, if they’re away from home – ring them. This is what I did yesterday after hearing the news,even though I’m on the other side of the planet. I have 2 Uni student sons & one graduate who also got a big hug as he left for work yesterday morning.
Per various other reports, it appears that Christopher went by Jamie, a derivation of his middle name of James.
What Megan said. This is beyond appalling, and a lot of families were broken yesterday.
I have a friend who graduated from Virginia Tech.
This is just so, so awful… I don’t know what to say.
May God be with those who survived and grant them the strength to bear their losses, and the horror of this horrific act of violence.
It’s almost unfathomable…as more and more comes out about the shooter he seems very much like the kind of person I’ve known in high school and college. Never thought any of them would go this far though.
The kids in school today wanted to know what we would do if a shooter were in the building and I think I convinced them that we could turn our room into a fortress if we had to. What a thing ti have to think about.
My condolences to the vitims and their families.
I found out about this earlier today at the SF Site news page…
http://www.sfsite.com/columns/news01.htm
“Jamie Bishop, the son of science fiction author Michael Bishop, was among those killed at Virginia Tech when a graduate student went on a shooting rampage on April 16. Bishop was an Academic Technology Liaison at Virginia Tech and also taught German classes. Bishop also was a digital artist, whose work included the cover of his father’s books Brighten to Incandescence and A Reverie for Mr. Ray.” (Bold emphasis mine.)
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I then looked for the cover art for those works of his father and found them. Although the second one shows only a small thumbnail of the cover it also provides a synopsis of the non-fiction book…
Brighten to Incandescence
http://www.goldengryphon.com/brighten-wraparound.html
A Reverie for Mr. Ray
http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/cat/arfmr.asp
Summary page Michael Bishop’s works at…
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/michael-bishop/
A little bit about the story collection Brighten to Incandescence can be found at…
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/michael-bishop/brighten-to-incandescence.htm
My condolences to all impacted by this senseless tragedy.
My anger and hatred to the legions upon legions of asshats coming out of the woodwork to capitalize on this incident in order to advance their causes. From Jack Thompson and his legion of “blame first-person shooter games” dolts to the idiots on both the pro and anti gun sides, all arguing that they know that their way was best… everyone just shut the hëll up and let these poor families grieve. I’m sure that we’ll soon be seeing a message from Fred Phelps and his merry crew of genetic misfires, telling us that God caused it to happen because we don’t kill queers on PPV every month for $49.99.
I can’t say for sure, but, having encountered Michale Bishop at various fanjnish functions and conventions in the Atlanta area over the years, i probably at least met his son.
And, according to an article i read on-line, the attacks occured on Holocaust Rememberance Day, and one of the victims – who blocked a dorrway woth his body to allow students to escape out a window – was a Holocaust survivor.
Life sucks.
I’m sure that we’ll soon be seeing a message from Fred Phelps and his merry crew of genetic misfires, telling us that God caused it to happen because we don’t kill queers on PPV every month for $49.99.
According to Michele Malkin, they have already announced that they plan on picketing the funerals.
be a real shame if someone accidentally backed a truck over them, over and over…
Earlier I could not get to Michael Bishop’s website, but was just able to view it now…
http://www.michaelbishop-writer.com/
“It is with the deepest sorrow that we inform you that Michael’s son, Jamie Bishop, died on the campus of Virginia Tech. Please keep Mike, Jeri and their family in your thoughts and prayers in their time of grief.”
The two books for which his son Jamie did the cover art are featured (along with others) on the page as well.
Posted by Bill Mulligan
According to Michele Malkin, they have already announced that they plan on picketing the funerals.
be a real shame if someone accidentally backed a truck over them, over and over…
I don’t know – giving loons like that the satisfaction of “martyrdom” is too kind.
Many years ago when Robertson or Falwell or one of that bunch had made some remark about AIDS being God’s judgement on homasexshuals, a friend remarked that if he were God, there would be aform of AIDS that was contagious only to barking moonbat evangelists, and that spread by just looking at each other.
But, he said, if he were God, he’d be merciful, and his AIDS would be 100% cureable, and the cure wouldn’t even require drugs.
It would involve vigourous young black men…
>I convinced them that we could turn our room into a fortress if we had to. What a thing to have to think about.
Condolences in spirit to all concerned.
But …
The “knee-jerk reaction” dept.
Informal poll in one of our newspapers asked whether airport-style security should be in place at universities. The vast majority of respondents said “yes”.
I suppose that’d be followed by airport-style security at high schools, grade schools, hospitals, libraries, community centers, office buildings, etc, etc.
Talk about being genuinely “scared witless”.
Well, that just shows that a vast majority of respondants are either still in shock (a completely understandable condition) or completely unaware of the logistics of providing security for even a small university. Myself, I’m a bit more worried about any newspaper that thinks it can actually get any sort of reasonable results asking a question like that so soon after such a tragedy.
-Rex Hondo-
>Myself, I’m a bit more worried about any newspaper that thinks it can actually get any sort of reasonable results asking a question like that so soon after such a tragedy.
Not surprising, though. THE SUN chain is maybe a step up from tabloids. But not a big one.
Still, that’s the sort of thing which led to the idiots in power up here setting up a “gun registry” following a similar, smaller scale shooting at a Montreal university. Knee-jerk reaction which accomplished nothing save seeing over a billion dollars of taxpayer funds going down a rathole. Oh and for the anti-gun sorts? One can’t legally own a gun up here without being licensed to do so the verification process is already in place at that level. The registry is thus, for all practical purposes, redundant.
My deepest sympathies to the Bishop family.
As for the kneejerk reaction, I am sickened that so many people couldn’t even wait for the bodies to cool before starting to exploit the tragedy for their political agenda. Many on the left are already using it as a rallying cry for more gun control laws, while the right, we have hatemongers like Debbie Schlussel. On the day of the shooting, she was already on her blog stirring up anti-muslim sentiment. Because the initial reports described the shooter as a “young Asian male”, she immediately jumped to the conclusion that the media was conspiring to hide the fact that the shooter was Pakistanian muslim (or “Paki” as she so eloquently described them).
Later, she “updated” her blog to say that the shooter was a Chinese immigrant and then changed tacks to say that this why we shouldn’t allow so many foreigners in the country. She eventually put in a update that the shooter was a Korean, but do you think she apologized for her slanders and racial epithets? What do you think?
I guess she’s decided to give Ann Coulter a run for the title of most despicable rightwing blonde harpy.
mike weber –
I don’t know – giving loons like that the satisfaction of “martyrdom” is too kind.
Martyrdom implies that this guy and his family actually have some support out there.
Should the Phelps family drop off the face of the earth, there would be that 15 minutes of “And there was much rejoicing”, and then we’d all quickly and thankfully forget about him.
Terrible, terrible tragedy. As usual we’ll have idiots blaming videogames, guns, television, or whatever easy target presents itself, and overlooking the obvious fact that the guy who did this must have been tremendously disturbed, and not just a normal kid that saw something on TV once and tried to emulate it.
You know, the thing that always bewilders me when I hear the nonsense about God creating AIDS to kill gays? Even if you believe for a second that God is some kind of cosmic tyrant that hates gays, why would God create a disease that currently kills a lot more African children than it kills gays? Apparently Robertson’s and Farrel’s God doesn’t hate only fággøŧš, He hates African children too…!
Dear Mr. “Den”,
I noticed in your posting that you say,” Many on the left are already using it as a rallying cry for more gun control laws, while the right, we have hatemongers like Debbie Schlussel.”
You then go on to rail against the “right”, using Debbie Schlussel as an example and yet you give us no examples from the left. Why is that?
My first thought upon hearing of this atrocity, was that is may have been committed by a Muslim fanatic. Why is that so inconceivable? They do it all the time in other parts of the world, and it has already struck here in the United States at least once, in the twisted form of John Allen Mohammed.
In case you have forgotten, we are at war. When something like this happens, during a time of war, it should be the natural reaction of all to suspect the enemy. I have read Debbie Schlussel’s statements, and see no evidence of “HATEMONGERING”. Please define that word for everyone.
As to the attack at VT, while my heart and prayers go out to all the families, the wounded, and all but one of the dead, I have to wonder how many of the people were killed trying to fight back. That is important. People on the “Left” don’t seem to think that it is.
Jeff Cooper once wrote, “The only proper response to violent attack, is immediate and savage counter-attack.” Does anyone disagree?
Here we go again.
All the best,
Robert Preston
I’m not familiar with Mr. Bishop’s writing; nonetheless, my deepest sympathies go out to him and the rest of his family for his loss, as well as those of the other families who lost children that day.
The loss of so many who were just beginning to fulfill their brightest potential as human beings will be marked as a cruel loss. No words can lessen that sadness.
You then go on to rail against the “right”, using Debbie Schlussel as an example and yet you give us no examples from the left. Why is that?
Jane Smiley has blogged on the Huffingtonpost calling for more gun control. Happy now?
Schlussel didn’t just speculate, she immediately rushed to judgment about this being a coordinated terrorist attack and started calling media conspiracy before the facts were in. As for hatemongering, she use an ethnic sluf “Pakis” to describe a group of people. That’s no different than if someone called the actual shooter a “gook”.
Living in Kansas City, I hear quite a bit about Phelps and his loony family. He has dropped out of sight, but his family is carrying the banner of his hate.
The Kansas legislature is working on a bill to ban these kinds of protests at funerals, but it will (obviously) only be effective here.
To use a tragedy like this to advance any political agenda is disrespectful and hollow.
I have to wonder how many of the people were killed trying to fight back. That is important.
I have no idea what that’s important. Does it make their deaths less tragic in your mind?
The Kansas legislature is working on a bill to ban these kinds of protests at funerals, but it will (obviously) only be effective here.
Pennsylvania passed a similar law because, for some odd reason, Phelps and his loony family took a liking to coming up to PA and protesting military funerals in our state. As a result, a local club of veteran bikers started attending the funerals to act as a “human wall” so the mourners didn’t have to see those nutjobs.
To use a tragedy like this to advance any political agenda is disrespectful and hollow.
I agree 100%, and yes, Mr. Preston, that goes for both the left and the right.
Posted by: Robert Preston at April 18, 2007 10:09 AM
You then go on to rail against the “right”, using Debbie Schlussel as an example and yet you give us no examples from the left. Why is that?
Oh, for God’s sake. Have you no sense of decency?
One of my best friends and his wife both graduated from Virginia Tech. They didn’t know any of the people who were killed but this massacre still hits close to home. This is a time for mourning. A time for prayer, for reflection.
But you want to turn this into another liberal-conservative brawl? Why? Posters here have been condemning the media across the board — and rightly so — for pìššìņg all over this moment with dumb stories. That’s not a liberal vs. conservative issue. It’s an issue of common sense.
If you have one shred of honor, if you are in any way capable of anything other than infantile self-absorption, then take your trolling elsewhere — if not to another blog, at least to another thread.
Horrible, horrible news.
As our school head put it yesterday, “For anyone who works at a school, or goes to school, this is probably going to hit very close to home.”
One of our math teachers here is a Virginia Tech alum, as is his wife … and their daughter is currently a senior there, living in one of the buildings where this rampage occurred. Fortunately, she was out of town earlier this week when everything went down.
Very unsettling stuff, to say the least.
I wish the Bishop family as much peace as they can find under the circumstances.
TWL
Bill Myers is right. Please do not post any political material on this thread. There are plenty of other places you can do so.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family. I am also keeping in mind the shooter’s family. It must be a trying time for them to discover that their son is dead and is also a mass murderer.
Dear Mr. Myers and others,
I didn’t see a posting from you complaining about “Mr. Den’s” decency. I’m not the one who brought up the “Left and Right” arguments to begin with. My concerns are in no way political. They have to do with mindset. I’m looking to understand.
And I feel very little sympathy for the “shooter’s family”. If they had raised their child properly, this would not have happened. Wasn’t he from Korea?
All the best,
Robert Preston
No, Mr. Troll, you’re the one who tried to make it a left VERSUS right issue, whereas I and the others who commented before me about people exploiting this tragedy were condemning both sides for it.
That’s it. I’m done with this discussion. You can troll all you want, but I have too much respect for the victims and their families to continue it.
Dear Mr. Den,
A question: Why would you call someone a name like “Mr. Troll”, when you said,
“As for hatemongering, she use an ethnic sluf “Pakis” to describe a group of people. That’s no different than if someone called the actual shooter a “gook”.”
Let’s see if this one gets posted.
All the best,
Robert Preston
>Jeff Cooper once wrote, “The only proper response to violent attack, is immediate and savage counter-attack.” Does anyone disagree?
Depends. If it’s a verbal assault then I’d say laughter is a good response.
If it’s physical, then take him out as fast as possible. Because if you run away, he may just turn on someone else.
My deepest sympathies to the Bishop family as well. So sad.
“My first thought upon hearing of this atrocity, was that is may have been committed by a Muslim fanatic. Why is that so inconceivable?”
Because it’s not their usual M.O. If someone bombs an airport, most people will think ‘Muslim fanatic’, sure. But school shootings bring to mind the outcast loner with grievous emotional issues. Debbie Schlussel is seeing threatening Muslims everywhere.
Besides, she sounded crazy as hëll too. The notion that the media would be able to withhold details for very long about the murderer in such a visible crime is laughable.
There is nothing political about this whole tragedy, and trying to make it so is pathetic.
Sorry, PAD. I didn’t notice you had started another thread to deal with the societal and political aspects.
First of all, condolences to the families. This is a sensekless tragedy.
An few points:
1) “I suppose that’d be followed by airport-style security at high schools, grade schools, hospitals, libraries, community centers, office buildings, etc, etc.”
Israeli universities, hospitals, movie theaters, central bus stations etc. have certain security measures. The university has guards and metal detectors. Restaurants have a man with a hand held detector, and the central bus station has an x-ray machine. All this for obvious reasons. It is annoying some time, but you accept it, while knowing it is far from foolproof. That said, I don’t know if the risk of somebody going crazy is common enough that it is worth using such measures.
2) If this tragedy had happened in Israel, my first assumption would have been that it was a terrorist attack. But there is a clear difference between making such an assumption and waiting to see what happened and hatemongering, by not waiting for the facts and trying to gain political points. We have our share of hatemongers too.
3)”I have to wonder how many of the people were killed trying to fight back.”
As was pointed out, this tragedy happened in holocaust rememberance day. This day was called in Israel the Holocaust and Heroism day, and the date picked was that of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. The reason for that was that at the early stages after the war people felt embarassed about how the Jews were so docile when slaughtered, and Israelis wanted to focus on the few cases where people fought back. But over time Israelis learned that there are other kinds of heroism, and that it is not always about fighting back. They also learned a little more humility towards people who go through tragic and extreme experiences.
I hope you don’t find this association tasteless. It’s just my association because of the time this all happened, and the holocaust is still on my mind.
My cousin, Veronica goes to University of Virginia and I immediatly thought of her. This tragedy will be remembered.
My thoughts to everyone and my prayers.
Joe V.
My sincere condolences to Michael Bishop and his family. “Unicorn Mountain” is absolutely one of the best fantasies ever written.
It’s amazing how something like this can come so close to home. I live in Kentucky and one of the victims graduated from a local high school here.
I just read that the shooter has an older sister as well. From MSN.com:
Cho had an older sister, Sun-Kyung, who graduated from Princeton University with an economics degree in 2004, Princeton officials confirmed.
The Princeton student newspaper reported Wednesday that she is pursuing a career as a State Department contractor working on the reconstruction of Iraq. It said that Sun-Kyung Cho was “palpably upset” when it contacted her and that she refused its requests for an interview.
I pray for her that the stigma of being related to a killer doesn’t destroy her life and carreer.
-Rex Hondo-
1I just want to say how sorry I am to Mr. Bishop.
“be a real shame if someone accidentally backed a truck over them, over and over…”
I drive a truck…accidents happen…backing is the single trickiest maneuver in the book…it can be arranged.
MSN I NIIPET
MSN