campus massacre--virginia tech

[omnivorette]

[Rail Paul]

I see the "perp" wrote some creepily violent plays. I am in favor of pre-emptively interning all students who have done likewise, certainly including any who contribute to or maintain creepy web-sites.

 

I can do without the relentlessly moronic media coverage. I rather miss the Imus story.

I'll state the obvious - if this happened one week earlier Imus would probably have kept his job. Remember how the Chandra Levy story went on and on and on until 9/11? Then, hardly a peep.

 

The media circus tends to work that way. There's only room for one human interest story, one big business story, etc at any given time. ABC News must have ten reporters in Blacksburg covering the story

[lovelynugget]

I am troubled by the media's emphasis on the shooter being, as I have heard many times, "from South Korea" or referred to as a "South Korean". Factually accurate but misleading and overemphasized I think. Uh, he may not have been a citizen but he came to the US as a small child, went to school here, spent almost 2/3 of what appears to have been a miserable life here. He was "from" South Korea the way that I am "from" 68th Street.

I agree wholeheartedly with you, Daisy. There seems to be an effort to cast this guy as 'the other': that's he's from another country, that he wrote crazy things (he was obviously beyond troubled), that he was a loner. Somehow if he is shown to be so completely different from the norm, then we don't have to fear that whatever drove him to do this horrible thing has any effect on the rest of us. That this is an anomaly and not another link in a chain of disturbing behavior that seems unique to US society. What is it about this country that this type of anger, this type of violence is becoming more common?

[Rail Paul]

AP Report

 

The AP has reported that the accused shooter had several complaints of stalking lodged against him.

 

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- The gunman blamed for the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history had previously been accused of stalking two female students at Virginia Tech and had been taken to a mental health facility in 2005 after an acquaintance worried he might be suicidal, police said Wednesday.

 

Cho Seung-Hui had concerned one woman enough with his calls and e-mail in 2005 that police were called in, said Police Chief Wendell Flinchum.

 

He said the woman declined to press charges, and neither woman was among the victims of Monday's massacre on the Virginia Tech campus.

 

During the stalking second incident, also in late 2005, the department received a call from an acquaintance of Cho's who was concerned that he might be suicidal, and Cho was taken to a mental health facility, Flinchum said. About the same time, in fall 2005, Cho's professor informally shared some concerns about the young man's writing but no official report was filed, he said.

 

Flinchum said he knew of no other police incidents involving Cho until the deadly shootings Monday, first at a girl's dorm room and then a classroom building across campus. Neither of the stalking victims was among the victims Monday.

[g.johnson]

That this is an anomaly and not another link in a chain of disturbing behavior that seems unique to US society. What is it about this country that this type of anger, this type of violence is becoming more common?

Not unique. The Dunblane and Hungerford massacres are equally egregious. (Dunblane was worse because most of the dead were small children.)

[lovelynugget]

That this is an anomaly and not another link in a chain of disturbing behavior that seems unique to US society. What is it about this country that this type of anger, this type of violence is becoming more common?

Not unique. The Dunblane and Hungerford massacres are equally egregious. (Dunblane was worse because most of the dead were small children.) Of course, the government response was totally different -- after Dunblane all handguns were banned.

On various news reports, they have noted similar events in other countries, the two you cite being examples. But my impression was that it has happened once or twice in other countries but that's it -- isolated incidents. Recently, we seem to have a school shooting every week [Edit: maybe month, if you don't count the workplace shootings], this recent VaTech one being the most horrific. Am I wrong in my impression?

[Wilfrid1]

There seems to be an effort to cast this guy as 'the other': that's he's from another country, that he wrote crazy things (he was obviously beyond troubled), that he was a loner. Somehow if he is shown to be so completely different from the norm, then we don't have to fear that whatever drove him to do this horrible thing has any effect on the rest of us.

 

I agree that's what the media coverage is doing; the silliness is that countless millions of young people fit that profile.

 

[deleted to help Admins]

[g.johnson]

Deleted on request.

[Lex]

On various news reports, they have noted similar events in other countries, the two you cite being examples. But my impression was that it has happened once or twice in other countries but that's it -- isolated incidents. Recently, we seem to have a school shooting every week, this recent VaTech one being the most horrific. Am I wrong in my impression?

There's plenty of misery to go around. Scroll to the end and scan the table of "Criminal and non-political massacres."

[Wilfrid1]

There's plenty of misery to go around. Scroll to the end and scan the table of "Criminal and non-political massacres."

 

Interesting, but there is inevitable bias as the list is compiled by self-selected Wiki editors.

[lovelynugget]

On various news reports, they have noted similar events in other countries, the two you cite being examples. But my impression was that it has happened once or twice in other countries but that's it -- isolated incidents. Recently, we seem to have a school shooting every week, this recent VaTech one being the most horrific. Am I wrong in my impression?

There's plenty of misery to go around. Scroll to the end and scan the table of "Criminal and non-political massacres."

Well, on that list, the US is far and away #1 (the Guyana/Jonestown one should count as US, too), Australia coming in #2. How depressing.

[yvonne johnson]

Is the obvious being overlooked? The student appears to have been severely mentally ill. That's what drove him to it. He was different than the norm, he was 'other' in that sense. Not looking at people, being a loner etc suggests a schizophrenic/schizo-affective disorder.

[foodie52]

We have already asked that this thread not turn into a debate on gun control. I will ask all of you who have posted about this topic to please self-edit. We are short on admins this week. I would appreciate everyone's cooperation.

[omnivorette]

Shooting is the national sport of Switzerland.

 

 

How about *a* national sport. They have this little thing over there called skiing, too, as I recall.

[Wilfrid1]

Even more interesting, numerous young men in Switzerland above the age of 15,(when they are too young for the army), have an automatic rifle at home if they belong to the "Young Shooter" program. They are supposed to practice with it. Shooting is the national sport of Switzerland. I don't think there has ever been a school shooting in Switzerland, though.

 

No, and there probably hasn't been one in the Dominican Republic either. All countries are not the same.