Virginia Tech engineering professor Liviu Librescu, 77, was buried today in Israel where his sons live. One said at the graveside service:
"’From our childhood, you taught us to care for people, to work hard to succeed. But you never taught us to be heroes. That was more theoretical a lesson than aerodynamics.’"
Worth a read.
UPDATE Some of the students who fled as Librescu barred the door to his classroom told his widow that they feel guilty they didn’t stay to help him.
As Michael, a commenter at SimplyJews, puts it: "So many Holocaust survivors feel guilty, wondering why they lived when others died. I guess we now know why Prof Librescu lived."
So far, Israeli engineering professor and Holocaust survivor Liviu Librescu, 77, is the only one of the victims of Virginia Tech killer Seung Cho known to have fought back. He blocked a door while his students jumped out windows. If a few had stayed to help him, would it all have turned out the same?
UPDATE Nice to be in such company as Mark Steyn: "It is a poor reflection on us that, in those first critical seconds where one has to make a decision, only an elderly Holocaust survivor, Professor Librescu, understood instinctively the obligation to act."
Comments Off on The hero
Tagged Holocaust, Israel, Liviu Librescu, Seung Cho, Virginia Tech
With at least 22 dead and as many wounded at Virginia Tech, one is naturally tempted to wonder if this be terrorism or the sadly-usual madman-with-a-gun. The former gets a lift from lines like this at FoxNews.com:
"The students and faculty were barricading themselves in their classrooms after what one person described as an Asian student wearing a vest opened fire." (emphasis mine)
We’ll see, of course. Much will also be made of the idea that the school was a gun-free zone, meaning no right-to-carry on the campus. Of course, as Glenn Reynolds notes, that would only be observed by the law-abiding and thereby put all of them at perhaps even greater risk from such as today’s incident.
UPDATE This time the first report was a good one: the killer may be a 24-year-old recent Chinese immigrant on a visa. I’m glad he’s dead so we don’t have to spend months hearing about this pathetic loser’s life.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 