Virginia Tech

So far I have refrained from adding to the avalanche of opinions about the massacre that took place on the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. My mother's paternal grandparents were originally from that area of Western Virginia, so to us it wasn't just some random place where news broke.
At first, I was so disappointed with NBC news for airing the tapes of the shooter. But in seeing them I realized that the poor shooter was so obviously mentally ill. I mean how could people have interacted with this young man and not noticed. Just seeing a few minutes of the tapes on the news-really it doesn't take a genius to see the illness. Why didn't someone try to help this young man before he took the lives of 32 people and himself?
I saw a pundit on Fox News, I believe it was the host of Red-Eye (not sure of his name) call Seung-Hui Cho a "coward" for his actions. To say the least, I was completely shocked with his lack of understanding of mental illness. That poor boy was MENTALLY ILL, not a coward. I want to stand on the rooftops and scream out loud, this all happened because of MENTAL ILLNESS, nothing more.
In NO WAY AM I EXCUSING HIS BEHAVIOR. This is an American Tragedy. It is also an ENORMOUS FAILURE of the mental health system, and the system that performs the background checks for weapons sales.
My heart aches for all of the families and friends who lost loved ones. So many young people with glaringly bright futures-gone in an instant.
Then there is Liviu Librescu, the 75 year old Romanian Holocaust survivor, who gave his life trying to barricade the door of his classroom, so his students could escape through a window. Words can not express my sadness and grief for his family.
If you are reading this all I can do is ask that you contact your elected representatives and beg them to reform the mental health care system in this country. I truly pray to G-D that this type of horror never happens again.