“Where’s all the blood?”
Too long have I sat on the sidelines, quietly crying, dying, and fuming at all the things going on around me. The tears won’t come until later when I’m alone and the words…well, the words are lost until I have time to process my thoughts. My silence must now be silenced; I can’t take it any longer. The car wreck outside of Milner hall is meant to be a symbol everyone; a powerful symbol at that. Well, I can assure you that its purpose is not to be beaten with a stick as I observed in awe one day nor is it a garbage disposal for your empty soda cans. DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE, it says. It’s that simple. People really died in that car. Knowing this, are you still laughing? The “no parking on the grass” sign, while very clever, is still not funny. This car is a demarcation of somebody’s last breath; It is no toy and certainly no joke. Fatal car accidents are not just a concept: it’s real; it happens; it’s happened to me. As a result, the person that I depended on most has been stolen…forever. I refuse to endure the feeling of salt on an open wound every time I am forced to walk by that site and I refuse to journey back in time on a painful stroll down memory lane all in vain. If that is going to be there, I will do whatever is in my power to make its statement realized. I know I am not alone in this feeling because it is inconceivable to me that I am the only one who has lived what this display is trying to say.
My sentiments upon the commemoration of September 11th are equally as disappointing. “We Remember” did not seem quite so relevant on that night. Where is the respect? Many people walked in silence, quietly honoring those who lost their lives and believe me you did not go unnoticed, yet too many seemed unaware of the true purpose of attending this candlelight vigil. People hurt; people suffered; people died. Remember that. Remember how lucky you are to be alive and not to have suffered through such a traumatic incident. And if you did lose someone or were there yourself, I know you know what I’m talking about.
The people whose sentiments or actions were mentioned in so many words in this article (for I do not wish to put words in their mouths that may not be exact) will remain anonymous; and anonymous they will be, by my choice, and not without reason. My intention is not to embarrass anyone but instead I wish to provide a reminder; to provoke a call to action. For those of you that have not learned to respect matters of such high importance as these (and I fully acknowledge this issue does not pertain to all or even the majority), please feel free to join the rest of us on our progression towards maturity and adulthood. These things are very personal to some and we need to remember to respect those around us. There exists a world outside of each of our own individual ‘bubbles’ that is begging to be recognized. Whenever you’re ready, we will be waiting. If this article made you mad instead of making you think, well then I suppose that I failed. However, I tried…and no one can take that from me. -Tina Fitch

(if this article is chosen for publication, please send me a copy of the edited article before publication if anything is changed too much…this is such a touchy subject and I do not wish to be misinterpreted and, as a result, offensive to some)