Call it the Shepard Smith syndrome, but it seems that many bloggers are wondering exactly why no visible chaos ensued after that oh-so-classy act of suicide at University Of Oklahoma’s football stadium yesterday.

The proper media reaction, it would seem, only occurs when the situation involves a young, runaway bride or a connection to the pretty blond eighteen-year old still missing in Aruba. Only then would Greta VanSusteren be on the scene and calling national attention to her latest plastic surgery. Perhaps if someone could have alleged that the suicide “victim” was the object of racial or economic discrimination, Shep and Geraldo would have flown right in. That wasn’t the case – this was persumably a well-educated, middle-class college student who was feeling socially alienated and academically desperate. Not exactly sensational or ratings-boosting news of the “breaking” variety.

Now to the nothing going on here reference. WTF? Check out that article from a newstation in my resident city. It’s pretty damn impartial – just the facts, ma’am, and none of the typical bullshit media speculation that we’ve become accustomed to in the past few decades. Were they supposed to immediately start cornering brown-skinned suspects? Or maybe hold a candlelight vigil for the idiot who blew himself up, thereby romanticizing the tragic taking of one’s life?

The Commissar, despite his usual displays of brilliancy, asks the following in regard to the pregame deployment of bomb-sniffing dogs throughout the OU stadium:

“Is that standard procedure, or was there some kind of threat that wasn”’t taken seriously before the game? Something worth asking, I think.”

Yes, this really is standard procedure in our state. A very simple explanation in regards to this inquiry is something that perhaps the rest of the nation seems to forget – the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. Maybe Oklahomans are less reactionary and sensational than the national status quo, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal. I wasn’t actually AT the game, but speaking from experience within Oklahoma, bomb threats and the like are taken VERY seriously. Safety and terrorism precautions and the appropriate followup are procedural implementations that Oklahoma actually seems to do right. I suppose we have Tim McViegh to thank for that, in a very roundabout and twisted way.

Many college freshman commit suicide every fall semester, and OU is one of those campuses where little fishes from small towns get thrust into very large ponds. This particular student just decided to be a little “different” than the dozens of his fellow classmates who jumped from the rafters of their dormrooms since classes started. This suicide will be fully investigated, and all evidence of bombmaking materials will be painstakingly picked apart. That fellow will soon be forgotten, no doubt, but Oklahoma’s vigil against terrorism will never end.

UPDATES: This insanity was to be expected, though I doubt some hack website has garnered more news than the local reporters on the scene. On a more solid note, Malkin is providing continuing coverage on this news story.