whyznott's Blog

"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. "

This passage is from the first chapter of Moby Dick, and Ishmael refers to the wanderer, the one cast out, foresaken and alone.  In Moby Dick he was a drifter, without ties or connections, in the Bible Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar and was cast out and foresaken by his father.

The Virginia Tech shooter was an English major and certainly knew this passage from Moby Dick, it's meaning and it's source, and I think it fits that he would use the name Ishmael on the package mailed to NBC--as the shooter also appears to have felt alone and foresaken, lost and wandering--alone in the world.

This whole incident is so tragic.  The loss of life is horrific, and the fact that a person can feel so foresaken and lost, and separated from humanity, and from God that he can lose all compassion for others, and can cease seeing value in human life, it is just so very sad.

I have kept all those lost in this and other tragedies in my prayers, and pray that the next Ishmael finds the help he or she needs before it is too late.