Why

So far, all the reports on the Virginia Tech massacre sound alike. Reporters assume a very serious tone to ask ridiculous questions like

How common is it for a shooting like this to take place in a school?
Why would a young person do something like this?
What is the mood on the campus today?

The shooting is the lead story on every radio and TV channel this morning. We are apparently stunned and surprised. Inquiring minds want to know all that can be known.

The deaths by gunfire of 30+ people (the number changes a little from report to report) on an American campus provoke sadness and questions and investigations and expressions of condolence.

And the thousands of men, women and children who slept on American streets last night? The thousands of dead Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq, dead in a war of deception? The thousands of souls under attack in the user-hostile work environments of corporate America?

I remain stunned but not surprised by the high tolerance for abuse, neglect and stealth violence in this country I call my home...