Whoa, I hadn’t been aware that the shootings in DC were getting so much attention. Now it starts to sound more worrisome than when I first read it in the news: murmurs of terrorism are in the air. And not 9-11 planes-and-buildings terrorism, but smaller, “grassroots” type ambushes, of the sort which could terrorize people at the neighborhood level.

One reason I breezed over the news story initially was because of my origins in a city where these things happen almost regularly. Everyday in Manila I would step out into the streets, ride jeepneys and buses, and walk the streets of Parañaque and Baclaran and Makati and QC; always aware that a holdup, robbery, shooting, or terrorist bombing could take place. The prevailing mentality of the general populace was that “if it’s your time, it’s your time.” Not a particularly encouraging or uplifting mode of thought, but one which hung over us all like a cloud anyway, as we went about our lives in that choked urban jungle.

Dean is right in the heart of the area. Prayers go out to him and his family. Updates and links here.