After the second complaint, he was taken away for psychiatric evaluation. This was not only because he had allegedly stalked these women, he had also expressed suicidal thoughts to an acquaintance. At about this time, the concerns about his writings were also added to the mix.
He was not only showing violent tendencies in his actions, he was showing them in his writings. Not only that, he was also showing suicidal ideation. Talk about red flags fluttering in the breeze. Talk about those red flags being ignored!
Once again, a budding rampage killer gives all kinds of warnings and evidence that he's possessed of an unstable and dangerous mental state. Once again, those that should be listening to these warnings were out to lunch; not doing anything akin to their jobs. If there is any group of people who deserve to bear a large amount of the blame, it is the Kampus Keystone Kops.
The final bit of blame goes to the NRA, and other gun advocates. In their rabid support of guns, they go out of their way to make sure that no one anywhere abridges the ability to get guns. Like it or not, guns are simply far too easy to purchase. Someone like Cho Seung-Hui, whose name is known to law enforcement, whose writings and actions have shown him to be possessed of a violent streak, should never be allowed access to any kind of weapon. His second amendment rights are trumped by his mental instability!
His name should have been part of a database of people who weren't allowed to own a weapon. But no, he was allowed to go into a pawnshop with a credit card and purchase not just one gun, but two. Not only that, he was able to get a hold of more than enough ammunition to get the job done.
Notice that nowhere in any of this were the victims given any sort of blame. As a matter of fact, many of the students and professors acted in very heroic ways. Some gave their lives in saving the lives of others. These people don't deserve derision, they deserve respect, honor, and dignity.
Those people who are pouring derision on these victims need to answer only one question: have you no sense of decency? These victims have yet to even be interred, and already the armchair Rambo's think it's their duty to tell us all what pussies these victims were. The families and friends of these victims have enough grief in their lives. The last thing they need is for the ball scratching, budding military experts damning them for being victims.
To hell with the lot of you! How can you be so heartless? Let's put all you he-men into the same situation and see how many of you wind up with piss stains all down the front of your favorite jeans.
and I wholeheartedly agree. But even worse malice is using the victims and the situaiton as a whole to make money. Have you counted how many people had earned an obscene amount of money through these two days. Now, one of the most idiotic and malicious acts was the release of the ' Manifesto'. A horrible crime was comitted. Surely, such document must be sealed as evidence? Surely, it has to be examined by the FORENSICS BEFORE RELEASING IT TO THE PUBLIC IF ANY! Where the Hell is the Professionalism, where is the simple decency! In the malicious vulturism our media goes for the KILL, literally. They should better sepdn their time looking elsewhere. Katrina did not have such publicity.
by
Mark Sashine (46 articles, 19 quicklinks, 235 diaries, 3359 comments)
on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 12:07:04 PM
...and it needs to be asked loudly. As much as I respect Keith Olbermann, and as big a fan as I am of Countdown, I just can't help but think he and his show crossed a very big line last night.
While I believe it's incredibly important to get a view into the minds of those who commit such wholesale brutality, there really is a time for such voyeuristic endeavors. Before the victims of the madness find their way into their last resting place is not that time. Give it a few weeks for the shock and disgust to wear off.
While pouring salt on open wounds is a good means to prevent infection, sometimes it can be done with sadistic intent, or at least a seeming ignorance of the feelings of those left to pick up the pieces. I would never accuse Keith Olbermann of sadistic intent; however, I have to wonder if he and his production staff should have thought it through a little more before they poured the gore of the gunman all over the inside of my picture tube.
When one considers that there is still one day left before Hitler's birthday, and the associated fact that many nutjobs use this black anniversary as a way to put themselves on the public stage, I think it's a bit irresponsible to add fuel to the mental fires already burning.
While airing the dirty underwear of the shooter at VT is nowhere near as disrespectful as blaming the victims for being shot, it is still disrespectful. Yes, we need to get into the guy's mind, but do we need to do it now? I think not!
Besides, what will we really find once we get in there? Disconnection, disorganization, disenfranchisement. Few indeed are the people who can weed through the thoughts of a paranoid schizophrenic and come up with sensibility. Those that can make sense of the content are probably as fucked-up as he was. Do we need to empower the insane by giving them a spokesman?
Absolutely not!
Good point. I am glad you made it!
Blessed be!
Pappy
by
Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 863 comments)
on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 12:52:33 PM
In your list of those who rightfully deserve some blame in the Virginia Tech massacre, you failed to list the United States Congress and the American people.
Congress first. The Second Amendment clearly places the power to address this gun problem with Congress. The Second's mention of a "well regulated militia" directs us back to Article I, Section 8, paragraph 16, that says Congress has power to arm the militia, which underwent a name change in 1903 to National Guard.
The people secondly for swallowing all the crap from the National Rifle Association and not learning a thing about our Constitution.
by
tabonsell (28 articles, 0 quicklinks, 22 diaries, 250 comments)
on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 7:01:49 PM
In your list of those who rightfully deserve some blame in the Virginia Tech massacre, you failed to list the United States Congress and the American people.
Yes, you are most correct. Congress continuously caves into the gun lobbyists. Of course they do. Those people not only know how to twist the truth, they know how to aim and shoot.
Congress first. The Second Amendment clearly places the power to address this gun problem with Congress. The Second's mention of a "well regulated militia" directs us back to Article I, Section 8, paragraph 16, that says Congress has power to arm the militia, which underwent a name change in 1903 to National Guard.
I really hate debating the second amendment. It's a debate that can't be won definitively one way or another. Besides that, I can see that both sides of the argument have valid points to make.
If I were to make a choice on this issue, as much as I dislike guns, I would have to go with the Libertarian within me and say I'd prefer having guns to not having them. If only for the idea of being able to slap the government down (which was the original intent behind the second amendment), I think we need to keep guns in the hands of law abiding citizens.
However, with that said, there have to be constraints and conditions made upon gun ownership. Had the system been working properly, the VT shooter wouldn't have been able to purchase guns. Since he wasn't committed, just examined his name wasn't put into the database of the "mentally defective". This was the case even though he was judged to be a danger to himself and others. Just the very existence of that determination about him should have put him into the "mental defective" database. Obviously, that didn't happen. Is there any doubt that the reason for this is the fact that Virginia's gun laws are about as lax as those here in Texas? There's no doubt about that truth in my mind.
The people secondly for swallowing all the crap from the National Rifle Association and not learning a thing about our Constitution.
Ah, the NRA. It's too bad that so few people are willing to go up against them. Of course, since they all own guns, who wants to stand against them?
As I said above, I am all for the Libertarian ideal of gun ownership. I am all for it with the proviso that it's done in a rational way. The NRA is anything but on the issue. How on Earth is calling for legalized assault weapons, hollow point bullets, and the new bullets that can penetrate bullet proof vests the same thing as protecting the second amendment? It's not. Those things are more likely to wind up being tools used by criminals than legal gun owners.
Yet there they are, banging the drum for such lunacy. In my opinion, that negates their arguments. They aren't for responsible, reasonable, and legal gun ownership. They are all for keeping anarchists armed to the teeth. Why else would they come out on the side of the Branch Davidians, and their "profit", the kook David Koresh?
But there's no way that anyone associated with the NRA would ever admit that truth. Too bad. They'd have a lot more credibility if they actually worked for reasonable gun laws instead of the free-for-all mentality they persue instead.
Thanks for your comment. I always appreciate it when someone with a reasonable, cogent point adds it to what I said.
Blessed be!
Pappy
by
Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 863 comments)
on Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 11:54:17 PM
