VT Massacre....

[JohnnyUtah]

i know my saying that will not be popular, but since someone decided to put this here in the stadium, i figured i would offer my feelings on the matter:

i think saying "lets go hokies" and cheering is sad, disrespectful, ignorant, and crude. people were MURDERED and its entirely inappropriate to 'cheer' some meaningless slogan thats normally chanted at a sporting event and pretend its somehow "honoring" the dead or their families. it doesnt honor them - it disrespects them. the people who died were human beings who had families and friends, loves, and passions. each of them was a unique individual. their lives were not "defined" by the fact they happened to attend a certain school. i understand that "deindividualizing" can make it easier for people to cope with the fact that something unimaginable happened, but it just doesnt sit right with me. in a way, it "dehumanizes" them and turns a tragedy into a "cause" that someone is going to profit off of.

you know this is going to get made into a movie and people are going to pay to go see it. it utterly disgusts me.

just for clarification, i'm not trying to say people who say "go hokies" are heartless or anything - most everyone is just going along with the crowd and trying to find some way to show "support." to me, true support is being there and consoling the families of those murdered - or if you don't know any of them, writing a letter of condolence. i'm sure the families dont want their information being given out, but it would be nice if there were some way to just send letters to a central address, and then a responsible party could forward the letters to the families. THAT would be the best way to show support, IMO.

I don't understand how you can equate a phrase stating "Let's Go Hokies" as being disrespectful, ignorant, crude, or sad. This is their cheer that they use to rally support for fellow students. How can it be any of the adjectives that you used to describe the statement, when during the candlelight vigil, the students themselves began a "Let's Go Hokies" cheer? If you are stating that this phrase is any of those things, then you are directly calling the mourning students all of those things. It has nothing to do with "dehumanizing" or "deindividualizing" any of the victims as the majority of their families have come out and said that their respective family members were very happy to be a part of the Virginia Tech family. While they were absolutely all individual human beings, they were all, unfortunately, killed within the confines of the university in the same tragic act. I can't fathom how people saying a phrase when, in their hearts, is said to honor people that were tragically murdered, has anything to do with profitting from this. You are relating that saying a phrase will eventually be turned into a movie or some other profitable venue, but ultimately this has nothing to do with people's intentions behind what they are saying. Just for clarification, people saying "Let's Go Hokies" has nothing to do with following the crowd; people mourn in different ways. I don't understand how you can equate people trying to show their support, in the best way that they know how, to simply following the masses. Obviously, I don't know you personally, but if you've ever had a close family member pass away, it would be a very gracious and caring manner in which to support a lost individual, through a mass support system. Not all people want to have letters sent to them from people that they actually do not know. I think this was a poor post and not very well-thought out at all. I don't think that it is appropriate for you to tell anyone how to mourn, which is a very personal and intimate feeling for anyone to go through. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the family members that were lost in this senseless tragedy.

[JC girl]

Prayers go out to VT! I am a Hoo but this is a horrible thing and we are all Hokies right now!

[GOSKINS_08]

This is a sad situation..RIP to everyone who lost their lives.

[aairricc]

i was on campus less than 50 yards away when it all went down, and those moments will forever stay in my memory...and we chanted lets go hokies after the poet said that we will forever stay together, and we are virginia tech, in one of the most motivating speeches ive ever heard...we cheered it to show how we are all together in this, and did not cheer about when we they were talking about the victims...so no, it wasnt disrespectful

[gclark84]

I just thought I would start a thread for everyone to offer their condolences to the victims and their families who may be part of our Redskin family. I am a former Terp, but college allegiances aside, I would like to offer my condolences to the VT students, families & ES members that were affected by this tragedy during this very difficult time. Stay strong. Go Hokies! Thank you.

Your loss is our loss.

My condolences go out to all of the victims and thier families no matter if they are a member of our Redskins family or not. This was a terrible tragedy and my prayers and I am sure the prayers of our entire country are with them!

[monkforhall]

My sis goes to Radford about 10 minutes from there. She goes over there a lot. Thank god not that day. Stay strong Hokies.

[mnj1125]

Never in a million years would I have imagined that this could occur at VT. It really hits home since I attended Radford for a couple years and knew a lot of people at VT awhile back.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and friends. Stay strong Hokies!!

[SkinsWizCubsDukes]

Honestly this is just sick and disturbing...I would like this to be the last post on the the "Let's Go Hokies" thing...some were offended, some were uplifted.

we NEED to focus on the parents, siblings, friends, and all those at a loss during this time.

Again I am praying for everyone affected by this terrible incident.

[hillbillydeluxe44]

God Bless Hokie Nation.....I wish your pain could somehow be lessened.

My condolences to all the families that lost loved ones in this terrible event.

The people of your University have shown us outsiders what a great amount of class and togetherness that you have. You should be very proud to be a part of Hokie Nation.

I am a Tennessee Volunteer fan but we are all Hokies today and until some time gradually heals a small amount of the pain.

Stay Strong Va Tech.................Go Hokies!!!!!!!!!!!

[Skins26]

My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families as well as the many friends I have at VT that were effected by this horrible tragedy.

[onnie007]

Honestly this is just sick and disturbing...I would like this to be the last post on the the "Let's Go Hokies" thing...some were offended, some were uplifted.

Enough....we've heard your viewpoint on the "Go Hokies" chant. Thanks.

[Darc Requiem]

I am not the type to get shocked or surprised by much of anything anymore but this got me. I just wanted to express my support for all the students and families of VT. I still can't fathom how something like this can occur, so I can only imagine what the parents, students, and faculty are going through. Let us pray for all those affected. Go Hokies!

Arkowi, excuse me for borrowing your image. It just seems appropriate.

[SKOALSKIN]

i know my saying that will not be popular, but since someone decided to put this here in the stadium, i figured i would offer my feelings on the matter:

i think saying "lets go hokies" and cheering is sad, disrespectful, ignorant, and crude. people were MURDERED and its entirely inappropriate to 'cheer' some meaningless slogan thats normally chanted at a sporting event and pretend its somehow "honoring" the dead or their families. it doesnt honor them - it disrespects them. the people who died were human beings who had families and friends, loves, and passions. each of them was a unique individual. their lives were not "defined" by the fact they happened to attend a certain school. i understand that "deindividualizing" can make it easier for people to cope with the fact that something unimaginable happened, but it just doesnt sit right with me. in a way, it "dehumanizes" them and turns a tragedy into a "cause" that someone is going to profit off of.

you know this is going to get made into a movie and people are going to pay to go see it. it utterly disgusts me.

just for clarification, i'm not trying to say people who say "go hokies" are heartless or anything - most everyone is just going along with the crowd and trying to find some way to show "support." to me, true support is being there and consoling the families of those murdered - or if you don't know any of them, writing a letter of condolence. i'm sure the families dont want their information being given out, but it would be nice if there were some way to just send letters to a central address, and then a responsible party could forward the letters to the families. THAT would be the best way to show support, IMO.

This comment is sad, disrespectful, ignorant, and crude. You see when people grieve they rely on eachother they look to support eachother. Let's Go Hokies is a rallying cry a way for people to look for something in a time of need. To let everyone know that this lunatic was unable to totally crush a school.

Do you consider the "Let's Roll" phrase that motivated construction workers to finish the Pentagon Ignorant and crude.

Or how about the New York Professional teams wearing FDNY or NYPD caps a sign of trendy support.

It's truly sad that you will never get why people are saying "Go Hokies." But for now I think you should keep your outlandish comments to your self.

[Captain_Sap's Skins]

My heart is with everyone involved...those who lost their lives, those who have to live with the haunting memory, and everyone else effected. LET LOVE IN & DON'T LOSE FAITH!!!

[JohnnyUtah]

Enough....we've heard your viewpoint on the "Go Hokies" chant. Thanks.

word:applause:

[SonnyRules]

Our prayers are with everyone who has been touched.

God Bless.

[drums and skins]

Thankfully, my friend from high school is safe, but no one (with a soul) can really look at this situation and not feel an ounce of sadness to the entire virginia tech campus and all involved.

[Uno Mas]

On my families behalf Id like to send our best to anyone and everyone who was directly affected by this senseless tragedy. As for the rest of us, we have all been affected, indirectly, a great deal. We are all Hokies! God Bless.

HELP: How do I edit my sig.?

[DC's FiNEST]

God bless the victims and the families!

[the burgundy and gold]

very very sad situation. you're all in my prayers.

[Aston]

My heart and prayers go out to all that have been affected by this terrible and pointless act. For those interested, this Friday is Orange and Maroon effect day, originally started a few years ago as a way to support athletics, but this year it will be a nationwide gesture of respect and honor to those students teachers who were lost on Monday. The idea is to wear orange and maroon on Friday to support the Hokies.

[PSUHeckler]

i know my saying that will not be popular, but since someone decided to put this here in the stadium, i figured i would offer my feelings on the matter:

i think saying "lets go hokies" and cheering is sad, disrespectful, ignorant, and crude.

I understand how you may interpret it like that, but slogan's like that bring people together, and is often a sign of pride and unity amongst a group. The same goes for when a Penn State we yell "We Are.....!" It's tradition, but it can give sense of hope, or determination, or whatever the case may be.

We do it at sports events, thats true, but we also do it at such events as THON (a LARGE charity event at Penn State benefiting sick children) :2cents:

[talk show host]

I understand how you may interpret it like that, but slogan's like that bring people together, and is often a sign of pride and unity amongst a group. The same goes for when a Penn State we yell "We Are.....!" It's tradition, but it can give sense of hope, or determination, or whatever the case may be.

We do it at sports events, thats true, but we also do it at such events as THON (a LARGE charity event at Penn State benefiting sick children) :2cents:

i understand that is how some people feel about it, but reguardless, it just turns my stomach. then again, this whole situation (the massacre) is horrible and people are going to feel varying ways about it and cope in varying ways. i think its similar to how some people are completely disgusted by abortion or homosexuality, while others view those as matters of personal choice. everyone has their viewpoint on things, and its not my place to demean how others chose to live thier lives or cope with this outrageous tragedy. if i offended anyone or made anyone feel "demeaned," i apologize, but its just how i feel about the matter.

I don't live in the the VT area, I dont know anyone who died, or even anyone who knows anyone who knows anyone who died there. Yet my heart goes out to them and i wish there were something "REAL" and "MEANINGFUL" that I could do to personally convey my condolences to atleast some of the victims' families. I mean, just imagine how those families would feel if they got thousands of letters from people all over the country expressing sympathy and encouragement. Wouldn't that be something?

[cavs9]

i know my saying that will not be popular, but since someone decided to put this here in the stadium, i figured i would offer my feelings on the matter:

i think saying "lets go hokies" and cheering is sad, disrespectful, ignorant, and crude. people were MURDERED and its entirely inappropriate to 'cheer' some meaningless slogan thats normally chanted at a sporting event and pretend its somehow "honoring" the dead or their families. it doesnt honor them - it disrespects them. the people who died were human beings who had families and friends, loves, and passions. each of them was a unique individual. their lives were not "defined" by the fact they happened to attend a certain school. i understand that "deindividualizing" can make it easier for people to cope with the fact that something unimaginable happened, but it just doesnt sit right with me. in a way, it "dehumanizes" them and turns a tragedy into a "cause" that someone is going to profit off of.

you know this is going to get made into a movie and people are going to pay to go see it. it utterly disgusts me.

I know people have already disagreed with you (to put it mildly) for this, and I'm gonna join the crowd. I am a student at VT, and was on campus that day. Chanting "let's go hokies" is not disrespectful to the innocent victims and thier families. It is also not a meaningless chant. If you knew anything about the school you would know that's one of the biggest things that unites the student body, alumni, and community in general. Who cares if it's used at sporting events? It's an enormous "pick-me-up" in a time of sadness and tragedy. Deumanizes for a cause to make a profit? That's what's on your mind right now? All because a school is trying to rally around the victims families and each other? Your comments are ignorant, but more than anything, they are innapropriate. I don't care if you feel that way about the chant, now is not the time for you to be typing this post. I could only hope that if one of my loved ones had died in the tragedy I could see the school chant that. It gives hope to a community that is right now downtrodden. Thank you for your disgust, though, I'm glad you got that off your chest.

[cavs9]

I typed the previous post before reading talk show host's post right before mine...so I appreciate his comments, but I still feel what I typed about his previous and original post.