Professor Of German Killed in Virginia Tech Massacre

The nation is still reeling from this senseless killing at the Virgina Tech Campus.  There are many stories to tell about the victims - most of them young students just starting out in life.  When the gunman went on his rampage early Monday morning, the first classroom he entered was Prof. Jamie Bishop's Introductory German class, and Professor Bishop was the first victim, shot in the head.

Fulbright Scholar Christopher James Bishop sounds like a great guy with many talents.  He studied at the University of Kiel and met his wife in Germany: Stefanie Hofer is also on the faculty of the German Department at Virginia Tech. In addition to teaching German, Jamie taught Web design and was an avid photograher and writer of science fiction.

Jamie Bishop's dream was to change the world with art.  Instead, his life was extinguished by senseless violence. You can see some of Jamie Bishop's work on his impressive Web site, and read about him on his friend Alex Wilson's blog. At Virgina Tech, Jamie was in charge of the student exchange program with the University of Darmstadt.

Der Spiegel has a first-hand account of Christoph Ramöller , a student from Germany who survived the massacre.

Tonight our thoughts and prayers are with Stefanie Hofer and the families of all the victims of this terrible tragedy.

Comments

[2020]

Each small candle

Not the torturer will scare me
Nor the body's final fall
Nor the barrels of death's rifles
Nor the shadows on the wall
Nor the night when to the ground
The last dim star of pain is held
But the blind indifference
Of a merciless unfeeling world...

When the wheel of pain stops turning
And the branding iron stops burning
When the children can be children
When the desperados weaken
When the sea rolls into greet them
When the natural law of science
Greets the humble and the mighty
And the billion candles burning
Lights the dark side of every human mind
Each small candle
Lights a corner of the dark...

(Roger Waters)

[2020]

when to the ground the last dim star of pain is *hurled*...sorry for the typo.