School Shooting in Virginia Tech

[King Of Hearts]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/16/vtech.shooting/index.html

I hope everyone here from Blacksburg Virginia's alright.

[GabrielsThoughts]

I heard 33 people were killed and that the guy that murdered everyone was a 23 year old English major.

[Roureem Egas]

I've seen quite a bit of discussion in class today about this topic, and on another forum that I haunt. It's terrible, to say the least. According to my professors, it's also a bit illuminating.

[Dakata]

My teachers won't shut up about it.

And I heard it was an asian guy who was like, 19. I think.

...*Stares at KOH's avatar* KAWAII ~<3

[Gareeku]

My teachers won't shut up about it.

And I heard it was an asian guy who was like, 19. I think.

...*Stares at KOH's avatar* KAWAII ~<3

33 people were killed. Show some fucking respect.

[Keleth]

I have two friends in VT.

They're alright, but they lost some of their friends yesterday.

The whole thing is horrible

[Sunblink]

My teachers won't shut up about it.

And I heard it was an asian guy who was like, 19. I think.

...*Stares at KOH's avatar* KAWAII ~<3

First off...

Sorry to sound like a bitch, but that's really insensitive. And this is coming from someone who is hardly EVER offended. What happened was a tragedy--to keep it simple--and it deserves a lot more respect, like Gar said.

Okaaaay, away from biting Dakata. Everyone watch the kitty. That's it. Now follow it below.

The idea of a school shooting still comes across as something out of a nightmare to me, especially since the school I go to is pretty peaceful (despite the fact it's near a bloody SHOOTING RANGE... blegh) and filled with nice kids. I'd never want to see anything bad happen to my teachers or friends, so imagining something like this... yeah. It makes me ill.

I guess it'd be pretty stupid to say on a public board that the families of those who have been killed or hurt are in my thoughts. But they are.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[bill]

I've got friends in VA Tech, and couldn't contact them for a while. They seem to be fine, though.

[nikename2]

It is a tragedy. I got family down there an hour away from the college and I heard that they are speculating there may have been two shooters. The first shooting happened around 7amish....then the second around 9 I believe......mabye its just me, but why would the shooter leave campus for atleast an hour and a half.....you'd figure that would be the last place you'd go due to the heightened security, and the police and all....even if they didn't get the word out atleast until around the time the second shootings began....

It just doesn't seem right.

[Dakata]

33 people were killed. Show some fucking respect.

Sorry. But it gets fucking OLD when EVERYONE at school keeps talking about it. (And I'm in a shitty mood too.)
"HEY, DID YOU HEAR WHAT HAPPENED AT VT?"
"ANY OF YOU GUYS HEAR ABOUT THAT VT SCHOOL SHOOTING?"
"I JUST HEARD ABOUT THAT SCHOOL SHOOTING AND..."

DRIVES ME INSANE. *Leaves the thread*

[Damaris]

While it's your perogative to feel that way, then next time I suggest not posting in the thread at all.

Let's let Dakata's feelings on the matter drop, anyone- we don't need to spend five pages dissecting it now, and I definitely forsee that happening.

Has there been any new news?  I don't keep up with any news sites that have been following the story.

[Aridas]

I think I just saw something on TV that was detailing everything about the person and blah blah blah... all these things the news article here pretty much said nothing about. I'm not sure if it was this, though... I didn't stick around long enough to see what it was, or if it was some other shooting.

[xHaZxMaTx]

Dakas comment was unnecessarily insensitive, however I'm afraid I share the same mindset;  yeah it sucks, and it's a tragedy for the victims and those who knew them, but my mourning is not going to change the situation any.  So 32 people are killed in a school shooting, it's all over the news, flags are at half-staff, etc., while people are starving to death every day.  How many?  I don't know, because it's apparently not that big of an issue to be mentioned anywhere in public media, but I can guarantee that it's a hell of a lot more than 30 people.

[Zedd]

Such a shocking day it was too.....It hurts me so

[Toric]

I will keep this as short and non-aggressive as i can because 1. if I don't I'm sure it'll kick up even more flames and 2. part of it is most likely the result of pre-graduation stress. This is my opinion, and I think it is something that Dakata was leading towards. If you disagree, my PM box is wide open.

I've heard the news. Thirty people were shot dead at an institute for higher learning before their shooter's rampage was permanently ended. Bright minds with shining futures ahead of them lost their lives. It's tragic, yes. It's terrible, yes. I'm honestly sad for the victims both injured and deceased, as well as their friends and family and those who were affected by this horrible event.

That being said, I strongly dislike tragedies like this being treated as gossip, which is what seems to be happening as I observe national media, my college community, and other social circles. This is a hot subject right now. People are already forming their conclusions as to what caused the shooter to do this deed, while others are eagerly approaching friends and family as the first to tell them the big news and express their sympathy.

Public mourning is perfectly fine, it is in fact admirable to me. Frantically telling others about it and discussing it like it's the latest development in Lost is not, in my opinion. It's a tragic, emotional event, but something about hearing it in every group conversation I'm in strikes me as wrong.

I apologize if this post has offended anyone, I will remove the above portion if necessary, and I give my assurance that it I am not targeting ANYBODY here, but treating a tragedy as the latest hot topic strikes me as disrespectful for those who experienced it.



That being said, [at the understood risk of being a hypocrite] I do feel for the families of those who died. Hearing that the potential of a loved, bright young life has been extinguished must be more terrible than I can imagine.

[Teroniss]

*shrugs* Yea it sucks, but I'm still dealing with the people who were present during the murder/suicide that occured 2 semesters ago on my own campus across from my dorm at the time.

As much as I dont wish to sound insensitive, the topic really interests me more from a criminal justice perspective then a sympathetic perspective. Gods i hate thinking that i seem too insenstive about this :-/. Perhaps this country is becoming too desensitized to violence and death...

Its just as a CJ major, its interesting to me the details of the event, and that it is the largest mass shooting in the last 40 years......

[Gareeku]

I guess I understand people's annoyance at it being discussed as a "topic of the month" or something, but let me ask you this; can you HONESTLY say you've never discussed an event in that manner? i HIGHLY doubt the answer is a "no".

Take the holocaust - 6 million people died in that sickening act of evil, yet people make jokes about it and discuss it in a matter-of-fact manner. Hell, people are now doing that about 9/11, as horrid as it sounds. The reason why I blasted Dakata like that is because it was extremely insensitive. It's a major news event. What the hell do you expect? For people not to talk about it? Come on, switch your brains on, please.

Think of what the families of the students who were killed must be going through. 32 families lost someone they love, and thanks to one man who they can never see be brought to justice, they will never see the young men and women they loved again. If you can feel anything about that then, in my honest and blunt opinion, you are fucking sick.

And yes, I know people are dying every day. You think I don't know that? Loss of life is a tragedy, no matter the situation.

My point is, is that while it may be annoying to hear about it like a hot-topic or something; it's just part of society. Get over it.

[Ryudo Lee]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1611569,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

Methinks it was more than stress that caused it.  He left a "you made me do this" note.

[xHaZxMaTx]

...it's just part of society. Get over it.

I could just as easily say death is a part of life and to get over it.

[Alondro]

He was treated for depression and showed every classic profile point of a psychotic personality.  His writings were filled with obscenities and violence, and also showed the random, disjointed style stereotypic of violent sociopaths.  The professors and teachers he had even notified the counsellors about him after reading his writings.  But, thanks to the idiotic, illogical nonsense that you can't force treatment upon these people until they actually do something criminal (which he had, actually; setting a fire in the dorm and stalking women on campus.. and why he wasn't in jail for that already is beyond me), leads to things like this.  This is simply the worst example of what happens when clearly deluded and violent individuals are allowed to roam around.  As one who watches the news, "American Justice", "Cold Case Files", and court TV frequently, I can say with absolute assurance that this kind of thing happens too frequently.  The warning signs are always there, people are afraid of being sued and having the ACLU descend upon them if, God forbid, you force someone to be treated so they don't murder someone else. 

Yes, lets defend the rights of the criminally insane, while to hell with those innocent people who's rights they end forever.

[Brunhidden]

for a while many places have been kicking around the idea of letting certain professionals carry guns to work with them, encouraging it actually, for thier self protection and the protection of others.

on the top of the list are teachers and plumbers. i have no idea why a plumber would need self protection but this scenario just cries out to me that if the teachers had been armed they could have saved two dozen lives.

i would suggest that anyone reading keep an eye and ear out to see if their regional governments are putting this to a vote and say "YES! arm my teachers! save some lives cause you sure as hell aren't going to arm the honor roll"

i remember going to high school, shortly after the columbine shooting. to me it was senseless how they handled 'school safety' by drilling us on coordinated huddling and hiding. the doors on the classrooms could be smashed down by anyone determinated and possessing half of my strength, so they present no obstacle, most of the classrooms actually HAD stuff which could be used as weapons to defend yourself if you waited by the doorway to protect your class....specifically the first school shooting drill i was in took place in machine shop- there were enough sledgehammers and pry bars for everyone NOT INCLUDING the various pieces of sharp, heavy, strong pieces of  metal scraps which could be swung very easily.

We sleep safely in our beds because rough men wait in the dark to visit violence on those who would do us harm

[Gareeku]

...it's just part of society. Get over it.

I could just as easily say death is a part of life and to get over it.

Oh right, yeah sure. People going into a university and gunning down students is part of life. Riiight, yeah... Use your brain, plzkthnx.

[Teroniss]

However in a way though he is not entirely wrong Gareeku. There are an average of 2 mass murder events in America each month. The number of large scale mass murders like this occur at a far greater rate in the last 40 years, and its become a common part of our society. That said, an event of this magnitude is still shocking and terrible and no matter how many times it occurs, it will continue to be such when it occurs.

Now then, on the concept of what these people generally are like. Have a really bad day, lots of stress from life on your shoulders and add in a swirl of depression from thoughts of not being able to cope then look in the mirror. Unfortunatly, there has yet to be a decent profile created to fit the type of person who goes out and commits this type of act without massing in half of society into it. From studies theyve done on the different people who have done this over the years since Whitman in Austin Texas, they have seen virtually no signs of insanity, sociopathy, or psychopathy. To most criminal profilers and analysts, they seem to be ordinary people.

Thats why creating a profile is so difficult, because they dont suddenly snap and even though it is planned out, they dont have signs of criminal behavior in their pasts. And I'm sorry Jack Thompson, mass murders on this scale were occuring way before the advent of violent video games, so they arent to blame either.

[Zina]

I remember the days when people would wait at least a couple of weeks before complaining about how they were 'so sick of people talking about it'. Not a couple of days.
Oh America and your ADD.

[Teroniss]

*shrugs* Im not really sick of talking about it. Like I said earlier, as a Criminal Justice major, I find this to be extremely interesting. Perhap's they should examine Cho's brain like they did Whitman after his college shooting?

[Dakata]

Gar, it's not that I don't give a shit. But idiots at my school are using it as an excuse to be a lazy fuck and stuff. And it gets annoying when I can't even ask someone to borrow a pencil or something without them asking if I know about it.

They'll look all sad and pathetic in front of the teacher, and tell him/her how "depressed" he/she is about the incident, and he/she'll ask if she can do the classwork later/tomorrow, and when the teacher says "YES, YOU POOR CHILD ", they'll go sit next to their friends and talk and be happy. Like the shooting never happened and everything is gumdrops and rainbows.

Same thing happened when some guys at my school who went to a part, got drunk (They were underage. BUT NO ONE CARES ABOUT THAT. ) and died in a car accident. All of my classmates kept talking about it, but when I asked them what the victims' names were, they didn't know. And they also used their deaths as an excuse to not do classwork/homework.

I think using someone's death to talk to your friends about boys and sex and whatever-else is more insensitive and jerk-ish than wanting everyone to shut up about it.

[Shadrok]

i remember going to high school, shortly after the columbine shooting. to me it was senseless how they handled 'school safety' by drilling us on coordinated huddling and hiding. the doors on the classrooms could be smashed down by anyone determinated and possessing half of my strength, so they present no obstacle, most of the classrooms actually HAD stuff which could be used as weapons to defend yourself if you waited by the doorway to protect your class....specifically the first school shooting drill i was in took place in machine shop- there were enough sledgehammers and pry bars for everyone NOT INCLUDING the various pieces of sharp, heavy, strong pieces of  metal scraps which could be swung very easily.

We sleep safely in our beds because rough men wait in the dark to visit violence on those who would do us harm

I remember doing similar drills in school after Columbine and I agree on the whole safety protocol being inadequate.

For example when we had bomb threats/drills they would take the entire school to the same spot in the parking lot. Now if it had been the real deal where a student was planning to blow it up they wouldn't put it in the school but in the parking lot.

Luckly most were drills.

[Gareeku]

*shrugs* Im not really sick of talking about it. Like I said earlier, as a Criminal Justice major, I find this to be extremely interesting. Perhap's they should examine Cho's brain like they did Whitman after his college shooting?

I'm a Criminal Justice major as well. Doesn't mean I continually analyse it all the time instead of actually feeling some emotion.

Gar, it's not that I don't give a shit. But idiots at my school are using it as an excuse to be a lazy fuck and stuff. And it gets annoying when I can't even ask someone to borrow a pencil or something without them asking if I know about it.

They'll look all sad and pathetic in front of the teacher, and tell him/her how "depressed" he/she is about the incident, and he/she'll ask if she can do the classwork later/tomorrow, and when the teacher says "YES, YOU POOR CHILD ", they'll go sit next to their friends and talk and be happy. Like the shooting never happened and everything is gumdrops and rainbows.

Same thing happened when some guys at my school who went to a part, got drunk (They were underage. BUT NO ONE CARES ABOUT THAT. ) and died in a car accident. All of my classmates kept talking about it, but when I asked them what the victims' names were, they didn't know. And they also used their deaths as an excuse to not do classwork/homework.

I think using someone's death to talk to your friends about boys and sex and whatever-else is more insensitive and jerk-ish than wanting everyone to shut up about it.

If you had actually said that in the first place I wouldn't have gone off on one.

[RJ]

-_- I had Media Studies on Wednesday, and my teacher decided to bring in some of the national newspapers so we could study the media's reaction and coverage of the situation... As usual, the Aussie media managed to miss all the points and go to 'a friend of a friend in Australia whose friend 'survived', though being 20km out of town when it happened'.

I'm just wondering how the hell the university failed to ring the alarm and evacuate the campus. I'm really angry about that- you'd think that with all the security measures that have popped up in the past few years, that something like this would have been reported and treated immediately. Instead all we have to show is 33 people dead. It's just sad.

Though, I'm also wondering about how the media is going to treat the shooter. I heard on the radio that he was known for some rather disturbing behavior- including his particularly violent creative writing. I'm a writing student, but I still find that so weird.

Anyway... If this isn't a sign that gun laws should be stepped up, I dunno what will be.

[Dakata]

I agree with Brun, teachers should be armed and stuff.

I mean, the school drill at my school is pretty stupid. Get in the classroom, lock the door, hide in the corner, and if you can't get in a classroom in time, you're fucked, just go to the damn office (I don't see how that's a good idea at all). And when it's "safe", the principal has to come and unlock everyone's doors. One by one. And no, he can't just say "KAY GUISE ITS SAFE" over the intercom, because he might just be held hostage. Oh sure, like the principal's gonna get over 2000 people killed. And it's not like, you know, the shooter could kick the [old and wooden] doors down. (My school -is- like 80 years old) He could probably take the principal's keys too.

And I'm kinda wondering how they failed to ring the alarm too. I mean, if the shooter was busy in one classroom, couldn't a nearby classroom hear it and call the police or the office or something?