VA Tech Shootings...The Discussion Thread- Page 3

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:01pm

There are some who think that if drugs were legalized, regulated and taxed, then the necessity of guns, at least pertaining to the drug trade (which I would imagine to be not insignificant), may lessen tremendously.

[RockabyeHamlet]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:08pm

I thought I heard that his parents do not speak English, but that his sister, who does, would be releasing a statement "relativly soon" on behalf of the family.

[ABSteel]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:09pm

I've wondered if his parents would speak English.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:11pm

The Gun Law that Could Make A Difference

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:11pm

but they've been in this country 15 years and he was so american. how is it possible that they could not speak english?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:22pm

They also ran a dry cleaners. Wouldn't they need at least a rudimentary knowledge of English to be able to deal with the public?

[javero]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:23pm

It's easy to live in this country for 20 or 30 years and never gain mastery of the English language if you live in certain ethnic enclaves in most major US cities. I used to teach ESL to the kids of migrant workers & food processors in a rural part of PA. Language acquisition is very difficult for working adults who work exclusively with others members of their first language group, not that I'm making excuses.

PS: The parents could have had younger family members conversant in English man the counter while they tended to the martinizing. This scenario is far more common that many would imagine.

Updated On: 4/18/07 at 03:23 PM

[ABSteel]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:26pm

"They also ran a dry cleaners. Wouldn't they need at least a rudimentary knowledge of English to be able to deal with the public?"

Have you EVER gotten your clothes dry cleaned? I don't think I've ever been to a cleaners where the employees were American, better yet, spoke English.

(By American, I mean born here.)

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:27pm

not necessarily. the business could have been set up for them through a bi-lingual lawyer or a bi-lingual partner. you'd be surprised how resourceful the korean community is at managing without the language. it's a very tight knit and insular society even here in america. take a trip out to flushing and see how many folks look at you like yer from mars if you ask them directions.

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:32pm

'so it's not all about killing.'

But the idea in using a gun in self-defense whether fired or not, is that the result if the attack doesn't stop is death. Or maiming.

I'm not arguing against gun ownership for self-defense. And stricter gun laws wouldn't keep guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens fit to own them. It would simply make the process of owning a gun reflective of the respect and care one should take when owning a gun. It shouldn't be easier to own a gun than it is to drive a car.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:34pm

Insular...that's the word I was looking for...definitely insular. And I wonder how they, as a close-knit society, deal with mental illness. My guess is ignore it.

[ABSteel]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:36pm

Anything that brings shame to the family...

Maybe they need to have in depth psycho-analysis before being able to buy a gun. Don't you have to have one in order to get plastic surgery?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:43pm

not always, bb. but their culture is very mindful of how they are seen by others. very "what will the neighbors think?" it's also easy to speculate that they could have lost control of and fallen out of touch with their own son. korean society is very regimented and filled with tradition. the old world doesn't always mix well with the new.

it's curious. even as an english major i read lines in his plays that read like stereotypical pidgin english. was it intentional or was it an example of a factor that could have led him to feel isolated within the university?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 4:34pm

Apparently the local county offficials knew that he was "an imminent danger to self or others" in December 2005:



"The Richmond Times-Dispatch has obtained court records that show Cho Seung-Hui posed “an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness” in December 2005 but was released to receive outpatient treatment.

A Montgomery County magistrate issued a temporary detention order Dec. 13, 2005. Cho was "mentally ill and in need of hospitalization and presents an imminent danger to self or others as a result of mental illness, or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self and is incapable of volunteering or unwilling to volunteer for treatment," the order states.

Cho, who was listed as 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, was brought in by Virginia Tech authorities and was examined the next day by a licensed clinical psychologist.

The doctor, who works for a private practice in Blacksburg, reported that Cho's "affect is flat and is depressed," but "he denies suicidal ideations. He does not acknowledge symptoms of a thought disorder. His insight and judgment are normal."

Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum today said campus authorities had contact with Cho on several occasions in the fall of 2005.

Cho has been identified by authorities as the student responsible for killing 32 people on campus Monday before taking his own life.

Speaking at a news conference this morning, Flinchum said that on two occasions, female students called campus police about what they described as annoying contact made by Cho. In both cases, the women said there were no threats, and they did not want to press charges, Flinchum said.

After the December 2005 psychological examination of Cho, a special justice in Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court found that Cho presented "an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness," but that "the alternatives to involuntary hospitalization and treatment were investigated and were deemed suitable."

Cho was ordered by Paul M. Barnett, a special justice in Christiansburg, to receive outpatient treatment."



http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173350826187&path=!news!archive

Updated On: 4/18/07 at 04:34 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 5:00pm

Breaking news:

The killer mailed a package to NBC the day of the shootings...

Sometime after he killed two people in a dormitory but before he slaughtered 30 more in a classroom building Monday morning, Cho Seung-Hui sent NBC News a rambling communication and videos about his grievances, the network said Wednesday.

Network officials turned the material over to the FBI and said they would not immediately disclose its contents pending the agency’s review beyond characterizing the material as “disturbing.” It included a written communication, photographs and video.
Article

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 5:03pm

I know for the sake of my own sanity I should be watching something else, but they just announced that NBC News has received a package sent by Cho containing video, pictures and a rambling manifesto that was sent in between the two shootings. They turned over the original evidence (specification noted) to the FBI and other authorities investigating the case. Disturbing...

Edit: Addy beat me to it. Updated On: 4/18/07 at 05:03 PM

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 5:16pm

BREAKING NEWS
By Alex Johnson

MSNBC
Updated: 3 minutes ago
Sometime after he killed two people in a Virginia university dormitory but before he slaughtered 30 more in a classroom building Monday morning, Cho Seung-Hui sent NBC News a rambling communication and videos about his grievances, the network said Wednesday.

Cho, 23, a senior English major at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, killed 32 people in two attacks Monday before taking his own life.

Network officials turned the material over to the FBI and said they would not immediately disclose its contents beyond characterizing the material as “disturbing.” It included a written communication, photographs and video.

Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News,” said in a posting on the program’s “Daily Nightly” blog that the communication was received earlier Wednesday. He described it as a very long “multimedia manifesto.”

The package, timestamped in the two-hour window between Monday's shootings, was sent to NBC News head Steve Capus.It contained digital photos of the gunman holding weapons and a manifesto that "rants against rich people and warns that he wants to get even," The Associated Press quoted an unidentified New York law enforcement official familiar with the case as saying. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about it. Police said the development might be "a very new, critical component of this investigation.""We're in the process right now of attempting to analyze and evaluate its worth," said Col. Steve Flaherty, superintendent of Virginia State Police.
More.. Updated On: 4/18/07 at 05:16 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 5:23pm

It's deja vu all over again......

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 5:59pm

that's ok, margo, 'cuz ya unnn, tice, fee times a mady.

[pab]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:14pm

NBC News will detail all contents of the package they received on the Nightly News in about 15 minutes.

[xxnewgirlxx]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:40pm

CNN.com has a photo posted that he sent NBC. Between the two rounds of shootings. VERY disturbing.


Edit: Looks like they took it down. It was him holding the two guns, apparently after the first shootings. Updated On: 4/18/07 at 06:40 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:43pm

NBC just showed a dozen pictures and played several minutes of video that he took of himself, including part of his rambling whacko manifesto explaining what drove him to kill.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:58pm

it's posted on msnbc...

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 7:06pm

i feel like this is upsetting me way more than it should, and that fact alone is making me more upset.
like i dont even know anyonw who goes to virginia tech but this is really upsetting me. i feel bed that i feel so awful about it when it doesn't directly effect me, like i shouldn't be feeling this way.

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 7:48pm

Being on a college campus right now, this is insane. We have had discussions in MANY of my classes (one great thing about being an English major, we can) and college students in general are freaked out. We all understand our feelings can never be compared to those inolved, but still the same, some people haven't been able to sleep since it happened (partcially due to the media showing it all the time).

But students are scared all over the country. We look around our campus and could vizualize it happening here. We look at the doors of classrooms and notice you cannot lock them from the inside except in the three newest buildings. People are jumpy, a car backfired and the entire class jumped ten feet and had to take a break to calm down. Someone made a sick joke about it...and instead of getting a couple laughs almost got beaten up. More people are going home this weekend than most.

In general, they don't feel safe. And it isn't just my school, I hear it from my friends at other schools too.