33 dead people in university

[Enerccio]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6566379.stm

what is wrong with world?!

[monele]

*ponders*. Have such events ever occured outside of the US?

[lordcloudx]

yeah saw that one on the news. I don't think I've lost my faith in people just because of one deranged individual though. Monele: yeah sometime before martial law was declared in the Philippines, this was a local event, but during the prom dance of a local public school, some dropouts hurled five molotov cocktails at the site of the dance killing about 15 people and injuring many more.

US media reported that he had been referred for counselling after producing "troubled" work in his creative writing class.

charming guy this Cho, kinda reminds me of myself... after five beers and a day of not sleeping that is.

[mikey]

Well, I'm sure on that day there were disasters or incidents around the world that took away far more lives, but this gets publicity, of course. It's still a tragedy though, don't get me wrong.

US media reported that he had been referred for counselling after producing "troubled" work in his creative writing class.

All that it needs now is for the investigators to find "violent videogames" that he played, and the press will be occupied for weeks.

what is wrong with world?!

So in light of that, I don't think there's that much wrong. It's a spectacular story, but as lordcloudx said, it's going to take more than a few deranged people to make me think the world is marching towards doom.

In a strangely perverted way, you could even say such tragedies "go well with the masses", there's the discussion of how to write a story that will be popular, there is undoubtedly a formula that works with tragedies as well, that determines which ones will get the viewer attention.

[monele]

All that it needs now is for the investigators to find "violent videogames" that he played, and the press will be occupied for weeks.

mikey, there's has already a certain well known personality doing some speech on Fox apparently. Before *anything* was known about the guy and his habits.

it's going to take more than a few deranged people to make me think the world is marching towards doom.

I know there are the "omg, end of the world!" people and the "yeah whatever" people, but uh... still... It's not like a volcano erupted and killed people. That's nature and, while predictable, not easy to contain. Here, I think it's in our capabilities to prevent such events, isn't it?
I'm still disgusted at how easy it is for events like this to happen. All it takes is a twisted brain. All the other tools are freely available all around.

I mean... 33 people died. Ok, this might happen everyday, in bus accidents and such maybe... but what irks me is the *will* to kill. It's *not* an accident. I can't help but feel empathy, imagining it could have been someone close to me in there.

[DaFool]

Statistically, it's a small incident. But in terms of affecting human consciousness, it's cinematic.

This will be a case sample. Here are what I think will be the practical ramifications of this event:

1.) The Right to Bear Arms in the U.S. will eventually be removed. People in the U.S., I pray for you, your Constitution has been slowly being eroded for some time now (e.g. Homeland Security, one of the reasons I got the hell out)

As one of the few (if not the only) nations who actually got their Constitution right, this will be sad.

2.) Restrictions on immigration will be even more restrictive, with possible discrimination against South Koreans. Now what are the major English-speaking destinations for immigrants:

- United States
- Canada
- Britain
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Philippines (yes I am not shitting you fellow Pinoys, this is from info from the Department of Foreign Affairs itself. Ever since the Vietnam war and the U.S. closed its borders to refugees, the remaining stayed in what originally was only planned to be a temporary waypoint. Same way with refugees from North Korea who need a neutral country to stopover in. That's why the South Koreans love us.)

The point...the U.S. has always been weak in resisting racial profiling, so the resulting backlash will drive many of the South Korean Exodus to other destinations. Which means the Korean minority in the Philippines will become even less minor...the current rates cannot be accounted for as mere foreign investment...it's a diaspora for goodness' sake.

-----------------

What I'm saying is that the effects are interrelated. This case will be treated as a pawn by the powers-that-be in the years to come. I believe the world is beautiful, that's why I still believe in God. But there are some pretty nasty folks among the movers and shakers who will change things disguised as for the good of everyone while they eventually make the world their slave state.

As for Virginia Tech, their campus is very lonely...and I almost enrolled there.

[PyTom]

*ponders*. Have such events ever occured outside of the US?

Yes. A quick check of Wikipedia shows, since 2000, there have been school shootings in Japan, Germany, Australia, and Canada. (I'm not counting student protests in Lebanon, terrorism-related incidents in Russia, or terrorism-related incidents I know about in Afghanistan or Iraq. I'd imagine Wikipedia is somewhat biased towards incidents that get covered in English-language media.)

I think all we can do is to mourn the 32 people whose lives were cut short, and at the same time celebrate the heroes who walked among us.

[mokenju1]

Yes, it's really impressive that that man survived the Holocaust maybe because he was destined to save the lives of some of his students. I don't believe in destiny, but I think it would be interesting that each person has a duty that has to fulfill in his/her life and is the final reason he/she was born. And that also proves that you should try to help people who is in danger because you never know if they someday are going to save your own children .

[PyTom]

DaFool >>> I don't think that there will be much in the way of long-term ramifications from the incident.

VA Tech was fairly absolutist in terms of gun control, preventing anyone from carrying concealed on campus. If anything, I'd expect a move to try to expand students' and professors' rights.

I don't expect much of a backlash against Koreans. I think most people understand that crazies come in all shapes and sizes, and it's not like the shooter was a member of any sort of organization, or has any support from the Korean community.

[Adorya]

Well, we all know the internet, some corean students in this university were spammed and threatened of death on their blog, the usual...

I don't think the weapon law will be revoked, weapon selling companies have too much influence in politic like smoke one...the answer of a student was such a proof : "The university was so huge that it was to happen so it's not a question of wearing weapon or not...". Then, it would have been better to let student get their own weapon so the fight get faster but bloodier?

[PyTom]

Well, we all know the internet, some corean students in this university were spammed and threatened of death on their blog, the usual...

Do you have a link to that? I haven't heard anything about people being threatened. (And I condem it if true.)

I don't think the weapon law will be revoked, weapon selling companies have too much influence in politic like smoke one...the answer of a student was such a proof : "The university was so huge that it was to happen so it's not a question of wearing weapon or not...". Then, it would have been better to let student get their own weapon so the fight get faster but bloodier?

Why would the fight get bloodier? This editorial points out a few cases where people used firearms to defend themselves and others. Basically, in these cases, the evil shooter will continue until stopped. By giving people the tools needed to stop them earlier*, we can save lives.

* And proper firearms training, so they know how to properly use it.

[monele]

By giving people the tools needed to stop them earlier*, we can save lives.

Obviously... but giving such an easy access to weapons could be detrimental in the long run as it makes people dangerous. Some people who are violent by nature and would keep to fist fights would just end up using their firearms in such cases.
In a sense... if it's already *so* easy to get a weapon and use it, then okay, maybe everyone else should be able to get one too, to even the field. Otherwise, I think it's better that it stays as it is to avoid a desensitization. People should *not* have to possess firearms.

[PyTom]

Obviously... but giving such an easy access to weapons could be detrimental in the long run as it makes people dangerous. Some people who are violent by nature and would keep to fist fights would just end up using their firearms in such cases.

First of all, CCW permits are anything but "easy access". You need to pass a background check, usually take a few days worth of class, and often pass a practical exam. It shows, too... CCW permit holders are less likely to commit crimes.

What's more, when a state liberalizes access to CCW permits, violent crimes (like assault, rape, and murder) go down. To be fair, non-violent crimes, like robbery of an empty house, go up... I think it's because criminals choose safer (for them) options. In the long run, it appears to be a net win.

People should *not* have to possess firearms.

Well no one* is thinking of mandating firearms ownership... but the US is a big country, and in many areas the police will not be able to get to you in time.

* Okay, some people are... but they're way off in whack-job land.

[Blue Lemma]

And so now it surfaces that the guy sent a tape with his rantings to NBC, and of course, this is making the news rounds. That gives the nut-job just what he wanted: more attention. Lovely... ¬_¬

I have to admit this whole thing gets me very upset, and it's a good reminder of where hate and all that starts. A South Korean friend of mine was saying how the president of the Korean association on campus sent out an email about being careful for retaliatory violence and not saying anything provocative. Even though we can't do much against the shooter now, I think it's human nature to want to do *something* and not be helpless. Some people will turn their anger and frustration on a substitute for the shooter since nothing can be done about the shooter now. It's very sad.

And for those of you who read any articles about the stuff he sent in, doesn't it just make you want to puke? Like he's the only one who's ever gotten picked on or has been poor *big eye roll* So what's the solution? Indiscriminate killing! Wheeee! Then again, it's not like he could have been that poor anyway, seeing as how he was attending college and obviously had enough resources to get a bunch of firearms and camera equipment. I wish this guy was alive just so we could smack him -_-;

As for the concealed weapons, as a college student I know I sure wouldn't feel safer knowing that a fair amount of people I'm encountering might be carrying a gun. A lot of times disagreements escalate into arguments, arguments escalate into fights, and...you get the idea. On the other hand, there is the dilemma of what to do about these situations where the authorities are not able to respond in time.

From what I heard, in Virginia you can get a gun within 10 minutes - no background check or anything. I think that's a prime example of irresponsible gun laws if true.

[Recca Phoenix]

made after hearing the news....