<p>I just read one of the headlines on CNN - the information about Cho goes from bad to worse - sadly it will probably get even worse as the media picks it apart. So far the info seems to go back at least a year and an half.</p>
<p>NSM - you have a very valid point ^^</p>
<p>Laxattack, your analogy doesn’t hold because I NEVER SAID ALL MEN ARE CRIMINALS. THAT is sexism! I said that women being the sole bearers of arms would be a perfect compromise between pro-gun nuts and gun control advocates. I can’t imagine a safer society than that. You know it’s true.</p>
<p>P.S. As personally offended as you are by this statement, I did not make any illogical personal attacks, as you did. Way to go in proving how superiorly <em>logical</em> teh menz are (as you contended previously) compared to women (whereas I never said the reverse). The nasty cheap shot that has nothing to do with the issue always wins teh argumentz!</p>
<p>Looks like the killer was about 15 when they came to the US, so the possibility of his having some secondary reaction to neurotoxins is extremely remote.
And his sister graduated from Princeton a few years ago. She would certainly be perfectly capable of being the spokesperson to release a statement, if and when they choose to do so. In all fairness, it hasnt even been 24 hrs since we officially learned the name of the shooter (though I suspect the family was notified before the name was released). We can just wait and see what happens. I would imagine that folks at the D.C. Korean embassy could be of assistance to this family, as S. Korea has already expressed its support and condolences.</p>
<p>1) If the shooter was 43 instead of 23, would you all still be looking for a statment from his family. The shooter was not a kid.</p>
<p>2) With each successive tragedy, I become less enamored with the 24-hour news channels. There wereseveral hours between knowing any new information, leaving plenty of time for ranting and rumors. Nancy Grace has got to be my least favorite. She is the Queen of the Vultures, to be sure. Nothing made me more sick today then hearing the promo. “Live from Virigina Tech tonight, Nancy Grace”. Shudder.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Perhaps all students should be required to have an annual physical and and annual counseling session as part of their admittance/continued enrollment.</p></li>
<li><p>You should’nt be able to suspend or expel someone for being odd, but you should once they begin acting out (like starting a fire in your room or stalking people). Once he began acting out, he proibably went from 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 1,000 (just guessing) increasing the potential for real trouble.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think it’s interesting, the level of blame people want to affix to this young man’s parents, without knowing anything at all about their situation. I keep thinking back to Columbine and the parents of Harris and Klebold. These boys were making bombs in their garage, keeping disturbing materials on their home computers, and other violent literature in their rooms. But somehow neither set of parents “had any clue” that something might be wrong. I kept waiting to see and hear from these boys’ parents, hear them offer up some kind of explanation, but to my memory, we never so much as saw a picture of them, much less a television interview. Why are this shooter’s parents being held to a higher standard than those of either Harris or Klebold? In the case of the latter, they were minors, living at home and under the legal jurisdiction of their parents. Cho was a legal adult, living on a college campus. Which parents would you say should be held more accountable for the actions of their sons?</p>
<p>NSM, I think another possibility is the medication he took for depression. SSRIs have come under fire in the past for causing violent behavior, suicide, mania, or psychosis.</p>
<p>My condolences and deepest prayers to the families of the victims, as well as the community of Virginia Tech. I watched the coverage from my congressional internship all day yesterday, and it was nothing short of heart-wrenching.</p>
<p>The Korean-American community has been reeling in shock from this event. From Virginia to California, Koreans everywhere have mourned the loss of the VT students and faculty, and have taken part in the solidarity nationwide against such a heinous act. My thoughts are also with the shooter’s family.</p>
<p>Here’s an article about the L.A. Korean community’s (the largest Korean community in the U.S.) response to the horrific act:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-korean18apr18,0,3665375.story?coll=la-home-headlines[/url]”>http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-korean18apr18,0,3665375.story?coll=la-home-headlines</a></p>
<p>After 36 hours, I don’t think the language barrier is a point. The Korean news media has huge media coverage of this tragedy, and the U.S.-based Korean media is probably in Centreville and Blacksburg right now. My understanding is the family is not willing to talk to the media at this point, but not because of the language issue. </p>
<p>Centreville has a decent-sized community of Korean-Americans, and I expect that there are some who could provide translation for the family if the limited English were to be a problem. </p>
<p>My mom called me just a couple of hours ago. Georgetown’s a ways from Blacksburg, but she wanted reassurance that I was safe. She was worried that there might be some backlash against Korean-American students, but I’m not too terribly concerned about that. In a collegiate environment, everyone understands that this was the action of one troubled individual, and that race played no factor in this horrific act.</p>
<p>Everywhere on Facebook, students from all across the country are putting up ribbons and remembrance banners on their Facebook profiles as a sign of our solidarity with VT students. Many of them read: “Today, we are all Hokies.”</p>
<p>
</p>
<ol>
<li><p>“Assault weapon” is a fiction created by legislators with little imagination but a great sense of the dramatic. I was visiting a friend of mine who sells firearm accessories to police departments (he won’t sell to individuals, and doesn’t sell at gun shows). He showed me a rifle that is perfectly legal in all 50 states. He showed me a plastic hand grip. He said if he connected the two it would create an “assault weapon” and would be a felony in California where his business is. As long as the two parts were one inch apart, there was no crime. To make sure he doesn’t accidentally commit a felony, he stores the parts in separate cabinets. In most states, the combination is legal. The whole “assault weapon” thing is just plain stupid, and was created by politicians and other interest groups trying to manipulate public emotions.</p></li>
<li><p>Even those who think “assault weapon” is a term with meaning would not apply it to a 9mm Glock pistol or a .22. The police officers patrolling in your town probably carry 9mm Glocks.</p></li>
<li><p>I am not a gun nut. I’ve never owned a gun.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your VERY first post included “if you carry a weapon, you are always thinking, even subconciously that you might kill someone today.” Doesn’t sound much like your focus was to “honor the victims.” In other words, you explicitly started discussing gun control. My response was that focusing on gun violence on campus was pointless, as it statistically doesn’t happen. It sounds like you are the one who wants to control the conversation.</p>
<p>I don’t believe in blaming the parents necessarily either, poetsheart. But I think what happens is that people want to figure out some magic formula, some set of rules, some predictable pattern of little blinking lights that we can augment into big flashing warning signs–and then we will supposedly know how to prevent a killer from being made or know who needs to be stopped before he acts.</p>
<p>Remember the speculation after Columbine? Violent video games, Marilyn Manson, bullying, etc. all flurried through the media spotlight.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s a bit naive and misguided, but it’s natural.</p>
<p>This is such a horrific tragedy. Dateline did a special tonight and I was struck by the resiliene of these incredible young people as they came together to support each other and to grieve.
As I listened to the biograghical information about those who died, I could not help but think about what a terrible waste it all is.
I believe that nothing can be gained by pointing fingers at anyone at this point. This is a time for reflection, for holding our own loved ones dear and for forgiveness. Choosing forgiveness is so powerful. It allows us to heal, where blame and hate only suspend us in time and can distroy more lives.
May we all find peace.</p>
<p>tlaktan-
Very well said.
And sarahsmom-
You are correct. My whole point in asking about (not blaming) his parents (and others asked about his parents as well) was because people were too quick to villify the Univ. president, his security staff, and the local law enforcement for the decisions they made. Dont ya just love the court of public opinion??
And speaking of court, here’s probably why we didnt hear too much from the Harris and Klebold family <a href=“http://www.boulderclassifieds.com/shooting/28blawsu.html[/url]”>Classified Ads - Front Range Classifieds, Colorado;
<p>The guy got the gun just with his green card, and now the guns store’s owner said he was surprised that the guy used that gun to murder the Virginia Tech students. He acted like he is innocent in this incident. I wonder what kind of gun control regulations this is.</p>
<p>Actually Dicey, I never said men were superior. I am still waiting for you to find the quote where I said that. I asked previously and, to this minute, you have yet to show me. And what kind of balance is that? Please. How about this balance. We let met decide if babies are aborted, that seems like a perfect comprimise between the pro and anti-abortion activists. Your sexism is clear Dicey, and your assertation that only men commit crimes w/ guns is alarming.</p>
<p>jym, I understand your point about not pointing the finger at the school or police either. When the dust settles, it’s possible that some changes will be made to policies etc. and hopefully all of us as parents will be reminded that our adult CHILDREN still need our guidance and attention even at the age of 23. I believe until your are supporting yourself completely that you are still a child, and even then we will still be parents and offer our love and support!
I really hope that when the dust settles we can have some rational discussion about how to move forward and better prepare for large scale emergencies and how to watch for signs of depression/suicidal tendencies in people. Where I live, 19 of the colleges in the city will be meeting this summer to come up w/a plan to deal with this kind of an emergency. They will be working with the police department and city officials and will hold training sessions. I can’t help but think that it would be wise and a step in the right direction.</p>
<p>LAAttack09, I thought that Dicey was kidding. Why so much anger?</p>
<p>Because to my knowledge she wasn’t kidding, and last night when we engaged in this same issue she never said she was kidding. Dicey, are you kidding?</p>
<p>Here is what was said yesterday:</p>
<p>"So we agree that not all people should have guns. That’s the whole point of gun control laws: better regulation of who gets to have them, and a crackdown on unlicensed vendors. Gun shows are notorious for banning media and women from entering, so they can sell/trade illegally.</p>
<p>Yes, women are allowed to bear them, but I meant if only women were allowed to bear them. Better yet, modern weapons should be phased out with the development of Smart Guns that only fire if they detect that a woman is operating it without coercion. </p>
<p>THAT would make society safer."</p>
<p>I’m no mood to read all that has been written above. </p>
<p>All I can say is that as long as we Americans insist on our right to bear arms, we just have to accept this sort of event. </p>
<p>“All” Americans are at fault.</p>
<p>I think that people really need to learn to have a discussion w/o insulting and polarizing. These silly arguements get us no where.</p>
<p>I agree. I started discussing this last night w/ no problem with anyone. Once I said that, in my opinion, tightening gun control laws would do nothing to stop an incident like this, I was given the quoted sexist comment…And that’s when I got mad.</p>