In a 1974 speech in which he honored returning POWs including John McCain, Ronald Reagan asked where we find such men. He answered, "We [find] them in our streets, in the offices, the shops and the working places of our country and on the farms."
Yesterday at Virginia Tech, we found one in a college classroom. Professor Liviu Librescu was shot while blocking the door to his classroom, thereby impeding the gunman while his students escaped by jumping out of the window.
For Professor Librescu the road to Blacksburg, Virginia was a winding one. Originally a Romanian, Librescu survived the Holocaust and later immigrated with his wife to Israel. In 1986, he took his sabbatical in Virginia and decided to remain, lecturing in mechanics and engineering, and conducting his research at Virginia Tech.
Professor Librescu's sacrfice reminds us that we find "such men" -- our heroes -- not just among native Americans by also among those who come to this country from other lands. His confrontation with a mass murderer who also came here from another land reminds us that the U.S. is a melting pot of good and evil. Evil triumphed yesterday, but the good produced by the effort, energy, and example of those like Professor Librescu is more lasting.
Reader Comments ( Page 4 of 4)
46. Acest om va trebuii sa devina un sfant al tarii noastre, Romania! Un om ca el, unul la o mie de ani! Dumnezeu sa-l aibe-n pace!
Valentin at 8:36PM on Apr 18th 2007
47. A man like this should be a saint in our country, Romania! A man like this, one on a 1000 years. Good blass him!
Valentin at 8:40PM on Apr 18th 2007
48. I was absolutely horrified when i heard about this tragedy. My heart goes out to all of the families of the victims. Also i was happy to see the school join together in comforting one another while trying to cope. Just remember, they may be gone but they will never be forgotten. God bless you all.
paula at 8:44PM on Apr 18th 2007
49. Prof. Librescu survived the evil of the Holocaust only to be slaughtered at Virginia Tech. May his soul rest in peace, such a good and honorable man.
Stevie Gee at 10:53PM on Apr 18th 2007
50. Especially to the family of Liviu Librescu…
I do not wish to minimize the death of any victim of this horrible tragedy. My heartfelt condolences go out to each and every one of the victims families and friends. But I feel the world has lost an extrordinary person with Mr Librescu’s passing. I know only what I have read in the articles and seen on TV. Even though there are individuals like Cho in this world I feel a great comfort in knowing that there was an individual like Mr Librescu. A selfless man who thought of what he could do for others,
not what others had done to him. In years to come when this day, April 16th, is remembered I will shed tears again for this great man.
Nicki Las Vegas at 1:04AM on Apr 26th 2007
51. I am so ashamed of you people in this world. One time in our lives we will ever see this and you all be fighting over words. My words to everyone is God Bless everyone of you and excuse you all for your ignorance. RIP to everyone that was taken and to CHO's parents....we know that you had nothing to do with this.. please do not be ashamed of what your son has done it had not a thing to do with you. Yes he was yours but you have no control after 18 and we as americans know that. Take the heavy weights off your shoulders and move ahead with great stride. May god be with you both.
And May god be with everyone of the parents and loved ones that lost someone in this attack.
Jennifer at 1:25AM on Apr 19th 2007
52. he shot them cause hes angry at the world and no they idndt try to be friends with him just because soembody says hi to u in the hallway doesnt meant hey wnana be ur friend if they do then i guess i should have like 50 cause people say hi to me all the time althoughw hen iw asked them to hang out they all said no so a phony hi realyl doenst mean aynthing i dont rem reading about how anyh girls aske dhim out or any of his roomates said wanna come toa paryty with me there like i said hi to him and he was quiet oh well the reason he shot peple was cause hes mad at not being accepted who do u think is quite most of hte time people that ried to make friends and didnt suceed who usually tlaks to them ost poele the poepel with the most success so obviously if ut ried many times and failed u wont talk that much after besides that yes it is other peopels fault peple didnt accept him love him and didnt wanna be his friened point is all these killers u read about had no more than 1 friend they were all picked on doctors can say what they want but if hte person says the reason they killed was cause peopel ditn accept them then thats the reaosn a doc can anaylze all he want point is he said im angry cause people dont like me he didnt say well im gonan shoot people cuase its fun maybe he found it fun to kill the society that did him wrong yes but people with friens and love dont do that only outcasts do that i think hes a good person to be honest know what a bad perosn is soembody that picks on other liek the poepl that picked on him it was wrong for him to kill but he didtn go aroudn picking on people i believe other people piciked on him from what i read so he felt hte whoel world is agianst him wihch is mostly true to be honest some peopel are nice to him im sure but how many of htem realyl said wnana come out with me tonight and get a beer or girls said wnana come on a date or ever invited him to anyhting
marshall at 1:39AM on Apr 19th 2007
53. We live in the most diverse country in the history of the world. It truely is a land of contrasts and contraries. While we morn this tradgedy of our 33 dear brother and sister students, and ponder the killer's disillusian with society, an average of 2,750 innocent,nameless,defenseless,and'legalized' deaths occure each day of the year in certain clinics of this good and caring country. Where are we heading with our en-masse disillusian? Heads up!
Paul Schneider at 4:01AM on Apr 19th 2007
54. I HAVE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE WHAT I FEEL....I HAVE NO ANGER...I AM NOT SAD I AM JUST DISCUSTED OF KNOWING THAT SOMEONE CAN JUST COME OUT AND KILL ANOTHER PERSON I JUST DONT GET IT ...I HAVE 3 CHILDREN THEY ALL GO TO SCHOOL ,,FROM 8:30 TO 3:00 BETWEEN DOES OURS I DO HOUSE WORK OR GO OUT FOR SOMETHING .I DONT THINK THAT ANYTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM...BUT THEN YOU TURN ON THE T.V AND YOU HEAR AND SEE THAT A CRAZY KID SHOT 32 PEOPLE ..IS DISCUSTINGI JUST WANT TO GO AND GET MY KIDS OUT OF SCHOOL...I THINK THAT THE DEVIL COMES UP AND TAKES OVER A HUMAN BODY AND THOSE ALL THIS BECAUSE I HAVE NO EXPLENACION FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN...TO ALL THOSE HOW DIE I KNOW THEY WENT TO HAVEN ..TO THERE FAMILIES MY HEART AND MY LOVE GO OUT TO THEM ..GOD BLESS YOU AND THE REST OF THE WORLD...
ines at 10:51PM on Apr 19th 2007
55. Abortion For Life .. The Mass Murder Problem Solver
The supreme court just did away with one of the best tools for controling mal-adjusted people. It would have perhaps been better to expand this instead of banning it.
Of course we want to and must abort babies who have the potential of affecting the health of the mother. Then there is no way we can allow a baby to live who is an unwanted accident. And no one wants a baby around who is going to create an embarrassment or financial problem for the parents. Any baby who is deformed must be aborted. We surely don't want any "ugly" babies do we? Of course some of these problems will not be evident until the baby is born and some such as autism will not show up for several years. So as problems such as these are detected we must take action and abort this problem child. I know all parents would agree that abortion would be a great tool when these babies enter their terrible two stage. And even more cherished if and when they reach puberty. Oh those Teenagers .. who are having problems with rebellion, the opposite sex, drugs. The Moms and Dads are worrying themselves sick. Yes .. We must abort these teenagers for the health of not only the Moms, but the Dads too. Then if they should somehow reach the age of 18 or so they begin looking forward to college, and their parents realize this is going to really put a strain on their finances. The parents fail to see how they can afford this and still maintain their lifestyle, time for another abortion. Or what about when the daughter comes home pregnant and unmarried. Here's a chance to abort two for one. How about when Mom and Dad begin to have problems with aging. Health problems, attitude problems which are affecting the entire family financially and emotionally. Time for more abortions. So it appears we need to embrace this tool of abortion from conception to the grave. Hitler was a man who had great foresight into the potential of abortion and laid the foundation for the concept. Abort the imperfections and build on perfection. Should we then say .. Hail Hitler as we abort these "imperfect" babies? Another benefit would have been .. there would have been no shooting at Virginia Tech. This Cho guy would have been aborted many years ago.
Lloyd Cole at 9:07AM on Apr 19th 2007