VA Tech shooting

Parent Cafe
681

<h2>“Actually, at a local Greek newspaper the blame was laid upon the extremely lax gun laws. What do you think about that?” </h2>

<p>debate_addict - What I think is that is to be expected. </p>

<p>I’d love for Americans to consider more than just gun laws and look to violent content in our movies, video games, music and television shows. (We had a heated discussion of objectionable content in music on another thread and the huge market for this kind of music.) Most definitely we should address the question of whether more restrictive gun laws are needed and if what we currently have in place is serving us well or not. But the bigger question is WHY does our society demand violence for entertainment and resort to violence as a solution to problems. </p>

<p>There are those who would argue that American society has become exponentially more violent just in the last three or four decades…a time when we have actually had MORE attention paid to laws governing gun ownership. I think we need to figure out what else has changed in those decades that might be the cause of this increase, rather than just having a knee-jerk reaction and blaming lax gun control.</p>

<p>And before they are quick to judge us, what the rest of the world must realize is that violence is not culturally JUST an American thing either. Look to other parts of the world…to Africa where diamonds fund civil war and children are abducted into armies; to the Middle East, Ireland, Indonesia where religious fanaticism breeds terrorism; to the drug cartels of South America, Central America and Mexico…these are just a few examples.</p>

682

<p>notre dame al, I don’t think parents “expect colleges to raise their kids,” but I do think it’s realistic to expect campus support options, as I’ve mentioned, & for the reasons I’ve mentioned. Regardless of how proactive <em>parents</em> are, students even with the best family communication do not always offer info, nor always reply with info/feedback requested by their parents. The reasons do not always accord with “dysfunction” (although I definitely agree that there are plenty of the dysfunctional models to go around). The biggest communication problem I’ve always had with my own teens/pre-teens is their perception that adults in general, including parents, “need” very little information, including when that information has no negative impact on themselves. I refer to this as the Minimalist view of communication. And while I’ve especially heard parents of sons complain about this (the assumption of what parents need to know about anything pertaining to the teen, which is practically zero), I’ve had a few near-crises about this withholding in our family with 2 daughters, & many high school students I teach neglect to tell their parents very important facts & events, which from <em>their</em> viewpoint appear unimportant.</p>

<p>Some people are simply more forthcoming, open, eager to communicate than others. Because of such communication differences person to person, family to family, and definitely culture to culture, it’s essential for there to be local <em>college</em> support (including of the confidential kind) during this transitional adolescent college experience when identity formation is in flux, when academic pressures may be just as or more stressful than high school, when seniors are anxiously anticipating readiness for grad school or the job market and all the competition that that assumes.</p>

683

<p>^^^very good post Idmom. If the demand for the guns was not present–the stricter laws would not be necessary. What is fueling the demand is the underlying question.</p>

684

<p>So true ldmom. If you look at the gunman’s writings, you can see that he is reusing cliched scenes of physical and emotional violence that are all too familiar to me – this guy’s writing comprises childish imitations of stuff that I always see on TV, in movies, in music, etc. Those screenwriters can get away with it; they use violence only because they know it entertains and grabs the attention of people. Unfortunately, psychopaths like this guy find a lot of genuine appeal in this violence and they appropriate the language and emotion of these films/shows/songs…unlike entertainers and screenwriters (Tarantino, etc.) guys like Cho like violence not for its marketing value but for its rage, which mirrors the emotions inside them. Sad!</p>

685

<p>Moominmama - That video makes me even more sad. Why should Koreans in America or anywhere in the world feel shame over this? This is just another terrible part of this tragedy. Koreans and Korean Americans are not responsible for the actions of a disturbed young man! He could have been of any race or ethnicity and suffered the same mental illness.</p>

686

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>How are you and your son feeling now about what happened at Virginia Tech. My daughter had pretty much decided to go to Roanoke when this happened. It’s made me very nervous, but she doesn’t want to hear about it. I do know that Virginia has very lax gun laws. Has this incident in any way changed your feelings about Roanoke?</p>

687

<p>No amount of gun laws was going to stop this. Cho was willing to go against the law and mass murder, so what makes anyone think he would have followed a gun law? HS students know where to get drugs, guns, etc., even tho I don’t. As to why - we may never know, except he obviously felt odd man out. But now he is BMOC, which he never was - he killed more than anyone else, the world media is out in force because of HIM! The bullets spoke for him, whereas he couldn’t at all. And he died knowing he was a big man, in his eyes, and no longer in pain. My biggest concern with all this media coverage, is a copycat, who wants to make an even bigger name for himself.</p>

688

<p>“HS students know where to get drugs, guns, etc., even tho I don’t.”</p>

<p>Um, guns aren’t easy to get for HS students where I live, and I’m thankful for that. You should be thankful you don’t know how to get guns either…because you must not live in Virginia where it’s legal for kids over age 12 to own assault weapons…I am not joking…</p>

689

<p>I don’t know if this has been covered, but has anyone determined why the murderer chose to target the girl in the dorm, Emily, first?</p>

690

<p>Though I do not know much about this topic, I do believe that lax gun laws, no matter how determined a student is. facilitate the acquisition of a gun. And that is reprehensible in my opinion.</p>

691

<p>I don’t think it is strict gun control to stop someone with a series of police investigations and a history of mental issues from buying a gun.</p>

<p>It’s not “lax” to allow someone like this to buy a gun. It’s downright ridiculous. There’s a line, people. Look behind you.</p>

692

<p>Mallamor - I would go even one step further with what you posted in #684 and question WHY audiences find entertainment value in what Tarantino, Rodriguez, etc… do. </p>

<p>It’s almost a ‘chicken or the egg’ argument. Their work wouldn’t be out there in the market for consumption if there wasn’t a demand for it. But perhaps the increase in availability of such titillating stuff fuels the demand…and because we are easily desensitized to it, i.e. the ‘shock value’ wears off, we find the entertainment industry continually ‘upping the ante’. </p>

<p>Problem is… as long as profits are to be made, morality will always take a back seat…whether we are talking gun manufacturers or video game makers or film producers. Recognizing this is the first step in getting to the crux of a complicated problem. More gun laws may be necessary; but, imho, this is way down the list of what needs to be addressed.</p>

693

<p>How was this preventable? How can you prevent a person who is willing to kill people he doesn’t even know and who were probably begging for their lives. Cho got nothing out of this, nothing!!! And that is the scary thing, he lost his life, damaged his name and disgraced his family. A person willing to do this is unstoppable, when he entered Norris Hall he knew he wasn’t leaving there alive. When he chained the doors he knew he wasn’t going anywhere. Cho was he hellbent going out like a disgrace. </p>

<p>If CHO couldn’t have bought his guns legally, than he would have acquired them illegally. Do you seriously believe tougher laws would have stopped him?
In fact, with CHO’s forethought, I am surprised that he bought his weapon legally, it is easier to get them illegaly. Ask Curtis Jackson, 50 Cent, he bought his first peice when he was 15. It is really easy for a person to sit back and say I would have done this or that. Isn’t the criminal supposed to be responsible for the crime, when did society shifted to the point where the police hold more responsibility than the murderer. I place all the blame firmly on shoulders on the mass murderer. Placing the school under lockdown would have resulted in deaths in the CHO’s dorm, lockdown would not have changed anything besides the scene of tbe violence.</p>

694

<p>As far as Cho’s parents, I read an article that it is a FALSE rumor that they attempted suicide, but that they merely are being hospitalized in shock.</p>

<p>While there is no way to prevent such atrocities as the one that occurred at VT two days ago, there are ways to make it more difficult to kill a lot of people at once with a handgun. To those who keep mentioning that there is a right to bear arms to protect oneself, nobody really needs these types of weopens being used in these violent mass killings, NOR this amount of ammunition at their disposal. Yes, people will try to obtain it illegally but we don’t have to enable them by making it easy to obtain legally. These weopens are designed to kill PEOPLE. Nobody needs these, in my opinion. Also, what justification is there to sell someone this quantity of ammunition? Even those who say it is their right to “protect” themselves with a gun (I’m not into this myself), you don’t need all these rounds of ammunition in case you come in contact with a killer in self defense. So, I don’t think it should be this easy to obtain these types of weopens (and I do not mean hunting rifles) or this quantity of ammunition by anyone, let alone anyone who has come in any contact in the past as this young man has with mental health facilities or police (even if not arrested), or with the ability to accrue this amount of ammunition. </p>

<p>Since it is hard to get rid of all guns that are already out there, I think we need some security measures that won’t prevent this from happening but will make it harder to carry out. For instance, I think all school buildings should have metal detectors at the entrance along with security personnel. We have this for airplanes or government buildings, and we need to have schools which should be safe havens, have this sort of security. Because my child attends a university in Manhattan, security is tighter and IDs are needed at EACH building’s entrance (not just dorms) and there are security personel at the entrance to each building. I think metal detectors also are needed. It would be harder to enter a building with a gun if this was in place. </p>

<p>Of course there are many other factors being discussed. I don’t see blame in this situation, or at least not until more information is available. It is very easy to look at things in hindsight, as well as when all the pieces of the puzzle are put together. I do think students reported this young man in the past, as did professors. Perhaps any one single incident didn’t take it to the level of being expelled. But I think people did act. </p>

<p>I’m not sure a “lockdown” would have worked because this young man could have been in any of the school buildings at the time of a lockdown and shot everyone up in that building who was staying put as directed. </p>

<p>I am sure there will be lessons to be learned and new measures put in place as far as notification, security, mental health issues on campus, gun and ammunition availability, and so forth, as there should be. I am not too keen on blame here. It is a tragedy that really could not be foreseen in the way it happened. If measures can be put in place to make it harder to carry out such crimes, it will help, but I doubt these events will be eliminated all together, unfortunately.</p>

<p>In the meantime, the stories and fallout, as well as family/friends’ grief from this event, are far reaching and gut wrenching.</p>

695

<p>I’m not saying that the parents <em>should</em> feel shame, or that Koreans or people of Korean descent should. But apparently some are. One might wish that “sterotyped behavior” doesn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean it won’t for some individuals.</p>

696

<p>According to the news, Cho sent a “manifesto” to NBC in the two hours between attacks (incl. writings and drawings).</p>

697

<p>It’s being reported that NBC news in New York today received correspondence, including images and writings, from the shooter. No further information was revealed at the VT news conference where the superintendent of State Police reported this.</p>

698

<p>The latest news is reporting that there was a court order in 2005 which stated that Cho Seung-Hui was declared mentally ill and “an imminent danger to others.” If so, questions arise as to whether this would warrant expulsion from school and whether this would be on a record that is viewed when being permitted to purchase guns and ammunition. </p>

<p>Also, the latest news is that Cho mailed text, images and photos to NBC right before the crime that has now been received but the contents not yet released.</p>

<p>EDIT: cross posted with coronax and AlwaysAMom. :)</p>

699

<p>Epiphany–let’s keep trying on the communication issue. It has to start somewhere, whether sons or daughter(for that matter) want to communicate. True, some students are more talkative than others. But, in our case, we keep on talking. Hopefully, colleges will wake up and realize in this day and time, hands off historically will not work. I suspect there will be more support put in place at most colleges, but that will take time.</p>

700

<p>Anyway hear that someone with a gun is at Rider College right now?
And, Univ of Minnesota closed / evacuted 7 buildings due to bomb scare .</p>