Va. Tech Memorial Established In Second Life
Normally, I'm someone who doesn't have anything good to say about Second Life because I generally find it to be overwhelmingly pointless. However, there are occasionally cases like this where I find myself touched by what people are able to create some truly remarkable pieces of user-created content: Ross Perkins, a research assistant at Va. Tech, has created a memorial to the lives lost in the horrific shootings that took place on Monday. Part of the memorial is a wall made out of "Hokie Stone", and visitors can leave messages on it if they desire:
The wall is just my contribution. The texture on it is ‘Hokie Stone,’ which is the stone that covers nearly all buildings on our campus.I heard that there was a candlelight vigil in one part of ‘SL’ earlier today, but I was with friends here [in Virginia] watching the ceremony and then just walking around outside… We are numb, really. As more names are released, it will get even harder as we learn about the wonderful people we lost.
Multiplayer: Virginia Tech Teacher Builds Memorial Wall In Virtual World [MTV]
[via GamePolitics]
Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Video Games on 18 April 2007
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: memorial, second life, shooting, virginia tech
Meanwhile in Iraq 115 innocent civilians died in a countrywide bloodbath on the same day but according to the media that's not important.
Jake,
I think I should point out the horrible truth of war is that, ultimately, people die. Over the past four years we, Americans in general, have become more and more used to seeing the death toll of each “bloody day” somewhere that is over 7,000 miles away. I think the biggest difference you can see between the 115 innocent civilians that died in Iraq and the 32 college students and professors is the fact that one happened right here, in our country. I will admit right now that if I was walking through the streets of Baghdad, I would probably be more scared than I have ever been in my life. But on March 17, when Cho Seung-Hui committed the worst shooting in the history of the United States, it didn’t occur just anywhere: it occurred on the campus of a college. When I wake up in the morning I don’t look out of my window and wonder whether or not I am going to get caught up in the crossfire of two warring groups. I think about what I am going to learn that day, which friends I am going to see, what I want to eat for my meals. That is probably the same thing those 32 people were thinking that day. I shouldn’t have to walk around my campus worried about what could happen or even need to think about it.
So, yes, we're going to focus on this right now because it's something unexpected, terrifying, and very, very, very close to home.
--Art