I have been disheartened by some of the people who write here who seem to think that in the aftermath of the shootings at Virginia Tech, it's ok to blame the victims for the fate which befell them. From the armchair Rambo's that sit there putting forth their theories as to what they would have done, to the NRA gun fools who say that if there had been others packing heat in the rooms of that college, there would have been less deaths, I have been reading the gamut of theories about how this event could have been mediated.
I find it an unbelievable thing that anyone anywhere would even suggest such bullshit! To me, this is a walk back to the time when rape victims were blamed for their assaults. Whether their attire was "provocative", or their actions supposedly lead the attacker to think they were "asking for it", this kind of thinking left women the blame for the actions of their attackers. Surely, we haven't returned to this draconian mindset. Perhaps I should say, until yesterday night, I thought we hadn't returned to those wondrous bygone days.
Then, as I watched Countdown on MSNBC, all of Keith Olbermann's "Worst People In The World" were people who, in some form or fashion, blamed the victims of the shooting for their deaths. While I thought this was a shocking and reprehensible thing, I figured I wouldn't see such ludicrous ideas put forth here.
Was I wrong! Not only did it happen once, others also made comments that were in support of this idea. While I am one to allow everyone their opinion, there comes a time when someone has to call bullshit on an idea that is just plain wrong! This is the time!
Anyone here who would dare to accuse the victims of bearing responsibility for the fate that befell them is a heartless asshole! You are the kind of person who probably tortures puppies and thinks that DUBYA is the greatest president that has ever been in office.
If there is any blame to be affixed to anyone in this event, that blame should be offered up in the following order: 1) the shooter, Cho Seung-Hui. 2) the Kampus Keystone Kops who did nothing after the initial shooting. 3) these same morons that ignored numerous red flags in regard to Cho Seung-Hui months before the attack. 4) the incredibly lax gun laws in Virginia, and the rest of the US.
Note, nowhere on this list are the names of the victims. Their names shouldn't even be suggested as additions to the list. For anyone to even suggest such lunacy only proves their lack of connection with the real world is as dangerous as that of Cho Seung-Hui.
Let's now look at the list.
Cho Seung-Hui obviously bears the most responsibility for the actions he personally took. His giving into his insanity set the stage for the biggest rampage killing in American history. His two weapons and multiple clips were the tools of destruction he used in his killing spree. The ultimate responsibility, and therefore the ultimate blame for these killings is his, and his alone.
The next group of people on the list of responsibility are the Kampus Keystone Kops. Instead of locking down the campus after the initial attack, they drug their heels and did nothing. I suppose if you look at it the right way, they were the first ones to blame the victims for their attack.
They labeled the initial shooting a "domestic dispute". In doing this, the put off some of the culpability for the attack on the victims. Also, although it's only a theory on my part, the fact that this "domestic dispute" made victims of a white woman and a black man, racism probably played a part as well. After all, who could blame a white woman's "lover" for killing her if she had been fucking a black man?
Remember, this is Macaca land. This is the state that gave us the mental midget that is ex Senator George Allen. Is it too far out of the realm of possibility for me to suggest that part of the reason that no action was taken before the real bloodbath commenced was because it was assumed that the initial victims were assumed to have been an interracial couple? I sure don't think so. Given where this happened, I think that the possibility there was a bit of racism that played a part in this incident is well within the realm of possibility.
Even if racism wasn't a part of their mindset, the fact that it was initially thought of as a "domestic dispute" probably put its importance on a lower level than it deserved. This initial miscategorization of the crime set the stage for what would become THE record breaking mass murder of all time (so far).
If it were just the miscategorization of the crime that caused the problems, that would be more than enough to place a cloud of responsibility over the ineffectual morons that are the Kampus Keystone Kops. But, it's not where their responsibility ends. Far from it!
The Kampus Keystone Kops were warned. They were warned by his writing professor. After he turned in rather violent and twisted plays, she gave his name to the Kampus Keystone Kops. They had knowledge that he had a violent history. In November and December, 2005, two different women had complained that he called them and sent them unwanted computer messages.
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.
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Mark Sashine (42 articles, 19 quicklinks, 226 diaries, 3204 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
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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.
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tabonsell (28 articles, 0 quicklinks, 21 diaries, 234 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
