VA Tech Shootings...The Discussion Thread- Page 4

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:01pm

Maybe they should buy guns to protect themselves.

[KelRel]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:11pm

Not funny, mjhf.

I am still in college, but am doing student teaching so I am not on campus. What is really hard is trying to explain this to elementary school students. We haven't had a whole class discussion yet because parents are apparently sheltering the kids from the news, but a few are starting to ask questions. It is so hard to see the looks on their faces as they ask why someone would do something like this. I still don't know what to tell them.

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:25pm

That was REALLY not funny

Jackass

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:26pm

whatevs' it's basically the same message Bush and McCain put out.

The question here shouldn't be "why," it's "how?"


* Many people ask "Why" at Columbine, not much was done with that information. The fact is those boys bought ammo at K-mart. That is how. They had access. Updated On: 4/18/07 at 08:26 PM

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 9:16pm

You know what, mejusthavingfun? You need to get off your high horse. You've been acting so superior to everyone all week, and I am frankly sick of it. It's everybody's fault but his, isn't it? That's certainly the impression I get from reading your posts. If you want to blame someone for this tragedy, blame Cho Seung-Hui.

[KelRel]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 9:28pm

*applauds Rose*

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 9:39pm

*joins applause*

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 9:40pm

touchy... What am I defending him? High horse you should check with some of the know-it-alls that frequent this board.

You can blame him all you want. I know I would. I have certainly been in a position in my life to assign blame to indviduals that caused a great tradgedy to my family and myself. Unfortunatly when that grieving was over it wasn't really over, I realized I had been blinded the whole time by my hate. I never saw the real truth.

I'm not about to defend this kid or his rationale. But I will tell you this much, this will happen AGAIN. And guess what? It will then happen AGAIN. At some point we are going to have to end this right? Or maybe people enjoy it? I’m frankly disgusted by it.

Updated On: 4/18/07 at 09:40 PM

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 9:55pm

And here it goes again. I'm going to break your last post down and tell you exactly what irks me about it:

"You can blame him all you want. I know I would...I realized I had been blinded the whole time by my hate. I never saw the real truth."

Which is what, exactly? I don't seem to recall Bush or bullies or whoever the scapegoat du jour is handing this kid a gun and telling him to shoot people. That is a choice that he made. Nobody else made it for him. I am no Bush fan, but putting him at fault for something like this is absolutely ludicrous.

"But I will tell you this much, this will happen AGAIN. And guess what? It will then happen AGAIN. At some point we are going to have to end this right? Or maybe people enjoy it? I’m frankly disgusted by it."

Do you think you're the only one? Do you think?

[KelRel]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 9:55pm

Just because you have dealt with your issues over a tragic event doesn't mean that everyone else on earth should be over this event. People are upset and looking for answers. People deal with things differently and you sitting there from the safety of your computer monitor are not in a position to tell us what is or isn't the truth. The truth is that this is a horrible thing, the even sadder truth is that this has the possibility to happen again, but not the certainty with which you assert in your post.

How can you ask if people enjoy things like this? That right there is what disgusts me. Your attitude of superiority about this incident. Unless you were there or you spoke with the killer you are in no better position than any of us to tell us how things were or should be. If this whole topic disgusts you so much perhaps you should refrain from coming on these threads that are dedicated to those who want/need to discuss the horrible events that unfolded this week.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:06pm

Yea me superior. Right.


but yes, I would bet cash this will happen again. After Columbine anything is possible.

[kelzama]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:09pm

MeJust, I think anyone with any inkling of history would bet cash that at some future time, someone's gonna go berserk again.
Nothing, no laws included, will stop him from aquiring the tools he needs to complete the deed.

The question is, how will the rest of us be able to defend ourselves.

By your argument, we won't.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:14pm

this almost happened about 5 minutes from my house at a high school in february... luckily they were able to catch the kid before he could so anything.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:16pm

"Nothing, no laws included, will stop him from aquiring the tools he needs to complete the deed. "

Nothing like hoplessness and fear to get people motivated. This kind of thing doesn't happen in every other country in the world.. maybe we are doing something wrong? Maybe that would prevent it from happening again. I dunno, I expect more of the same.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:22pm

I live 2 miles from Columbine High School. I was here when the shooting happened. I will never forget the hell our community went through. Don't talk about that incident like it makes you an expert. Unless you were here, living in this community, you have no idea.
Why does it always come back to CHS? It was not the first school shooting, nor was it the last, yet it has become anational idiom. I don't understand it.

[kelzama]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:25pm

This kind of thing happens everywhere. It just wears a different face.

You can psychoanalyze all you want. In the meantime, I'll speak softly and carry a big stick.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:31pm

I can't STAND "the news" in the U.S. anymore.

It's not the news, it's an infomercial to get you to watch their next broadcast.

And every time there is a national tragedy, I am disgusted with how our domestic media covers it.

It's shameful.

I think it actually ADDS to the chances of someone "going postal" again, because they will become famous in our media. They will be heard, seen, discussed and examined. Which is EXACTLY what they want. So, we will definitely have a "next one." I have NO doubt about that.

I have also turned off all broadcasts and refused to read any more about the killer or the coping. It's a complete circus, and it isn't helping anyone.

I feel terribly sorry for the victims and their families. I do mean that. And I wish, right now, that all news media would be forced into a "gag order" on this subject for the next month.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:48pm

Best12, I agree with you 100%. We've had multiple discussions about it in my classes and most people seem to agree...now I remember why I don't watch the news.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 10:57pm

If you turn off your TVs you'll never have closure.

[defygravity2]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 11:04pm

best12bars, I COMPLETLELY agree with you. The news is being extremely irresponsible by showing (and reshowing) this idiot's "manifesto" that was sent to NBC.

God help the victims and their families....why does the media give Cho Seung-Hui all this publicity?!? (and how sad that I know his name!)

I fear for what message this sends to others who are "on the brink" and ready to try to top this terrible tragedy. I have sent several emails to the news networks complaining, and asking them to STOP giving this crazy man a voice.
Updated On: 4/20/07 at 11:04 PM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 11:14pm

o.

[Yawper]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 11:52pm

I never know what to make of reactions to incidents like this...if anything it shows how insulated Americans are in the States


at least 183 killed on Wednesday as four bombs explode in Baghdad...but they're not us, eh?

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 12:06am

I wish that they hadn't made the killer's "manifesto" public because it only highlights the utter senselessness of what happened. Nothing that could possibly give insight into the crime can be gleaned from those things other than that the killer was incoherently delusional and insane. And now his deranged ramblings will be the fodder of media "expert" analysts for days to come. It would have been better for everyone if Cho hadn't gotten this recognition that shifts the focus away from his victims and immortalizes him. Exactly like he wanted.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 12:06am

While I'm generally first in line to rant about the egocentricity of Americans, I still have to admit that something like this probably has more of an emotional impact because the threat feels more personal. I can know and be horrified that 183 people were killed by bombs in Baghdad, but I experience that threat in, for lack of a better word, an abstract way. The suggestion that a troubled student could stroll into my daughter's Music Theory class and open fire is much more tangible.

Those of you who are students probably feel the same "there but for the grace of god" phenomenon I described above.

[Yawper]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 12:26am

Unfortunately university campuses are not safe, little cocoons tucked away from the rest of the real world despite how much we want to believe they are. If anything the stress induced by university might just be what pushes one over the edge.