At about 15 PM SLT/PST 16 April 2007 a group of Second Life residents started working on a memorial space for the VT-tragedy. People from all over the world helped out. This shapshot shows the InfoIsland memorial at 18 PM PST 16 April 2007 and the same place three days later, 19 April 2007 17 PM PST when hundreds of visitors had come by to leave flowers and pay their final respects.
VT aftermath continues; SU reflects with speak out
By: A.J. Donatoni Posted: 4/26/07 Seung-Hui Cho took the lives of 32 Virginia Tech students and faculty in a senseless act of violence April 16. On Wednesday, 32 Syracuse University students and area residents came together in the Panasci Lounge at the Schine Student Center to participate in the Speak Out Against Violence in response to that act. The speak out, sponsored by the Greek Council and the Student Association, was a forum designed to commemorate the victims of the shootings and give those in attendance a chance to voice their opinions on what occurred that morning. One by one, several participants walked up to the podium located at the back of the lounge and addressed the rest of the group by either sharing a personal experience or simply giving their perspective on what transpired on the campus of Virginia Tech. Senior Amanda Torres helped organize the Speak Out and has coordinated several events around the campus in honor of the Virginia Tech community. "When I was in high school, 9/11 happened and I was going to school in New York City," said Torres, entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major. "That's the reason why I decided to become in involved in this." Torres spoke of her own personal experience in New York City when the World Trade Center was attacked but said that the shootings had a similar feel to them, which motivated her to do whatever she could to help out. "I was watching it on the big screen in Schine, and I stood there in disbelief, like I couldn't believe this was happening at a college that was comparable in size to us," said Torres of the shootings. "I can't imagine the fear that was going through the families and friends there." Junior Jacqueline Cho said the shootings touched her personally because she is Asian American. Because she shares the same last name of the shooter - Cho - she said the events have affected her on a deeper level. "My sister lives in London, and the day after it happened, when she went to work, she got backlash from her co-workers about being an American citizen," said Cho, television, radio and film major. She also said the workers joked to her sister about coming into work that day with guns to shoot them. Cho said she had not received any verbal backlash personally, but she has read blogs and other postings from student groups that have been "pretty upsetting." "As a student of color, my main concern was that when this happened, why would I have to carry the burden about how I or my (Asian Pacific American) community would be represented in the media because of one individual?" she said. "After the incident I became very self-aware." Roy Baker, director of fraternity and sorority affairs at SU, is originally from Richmond, Virginia, and attended the University of Virginia. He said he has many ties to Virginia Tech and that the news hit home hard. "I saw the news and witnessed the things that were happening on that campus, and I started thinking about all the people that I knew that worked there," he said. "I wasn't sure if I should reach out to them or just leave them alone." Baker said he eventually contacted those whom he knew and that they were going through something "unimaginable" and "incomprehensible." "What if something like that could happen here?" he said. "I would hope that we as a community would appreciate what we have at this great institution, and come together and do the things that could have prevented this by supporting one another and making one another feel like we each matter." Once the open forum portion of the event was finished, the Speak Out concluded with a moment of silence by the 32 SU community members for the 32 victims, whose names were read by the event volunteers. -- Original Source: The Daily Orange - April 26, 2007
A.J. Kornblith, Cavalier Daily Opinion Editor AS A Yankee from Pittsburgh, when I first started looking at colleges I didn't even know what UVA and VT stood for, much less the history of their long and storied rivalry. But once I arrived at the University, I learned quickly that Wahoos and Hokies don't usually get along. Proper etiquette called for sneering whenever a person wearing Virginia Tech logos appeared, behaving as obnoxiously as possible at sporting events and the occasional defacement of a sporting venue thrown in for good measure. The University and Virginia Tech are usually judged by their performances against one another, whether in the realms of academics, sports or the number of columns one can tastefully fit on a single campus. But the true measure of these rival institutions and their communities lies in their ability to set aside their competition and help one another under tragic circumstances. The terrible slaughter of at least 33 students in Blacksburg yesterday morning represented such a disaster. While the tragedy shocked and saddened the entire country, it also brought out the best in the University community as students and their leaders reached out quickly and compassionately to lend Virginia Tech a hand in their time of most urgent need. For those of us who spend much of our time in the Newcomb basement reporting on thinly-attended election debates and other examples of general student ambivalence, the speed of the reaction was shocking and inspiring. Almost as soon as students began to receive a steady trickle of news from television, the internet and friends around the state, the calls to help appeared almost immediately. By early afternoon Facebook groups such as "Hoos for Hokies," "Virginia Tech Needs Our Support," "Hoos Reaching Out To Hokies" and "Hoos Prayin for Hokies" among others were up and running, gaining nearly 3,900 members between them. Calls for donations went out, and CIOs were invited to join a growing grassroots effort. Perhaps even more encouraging was the quickness with which our student leaders, so often criticized as lethargic, sprang into action to marshal the outpouring of support from students. Student Council in coordination with the University administration immediately planned a memorial vigil to be held tonight in the Amphitheatre at which President Casteen will speak. Using the organizing power of Facebook, they quickly spread the word with help from eager students. Other organizations mobilized as well. The Fourth Year Trustees, for example, organized a bar night soliciting donations to be sent to Virginia Tech, also scheduled for this evening. In any tragedy, we find ourselves filled with sorrow for the victims and their families. But a tragedy at Virginia Tech affects us here at the University more powerfully than a tsunami halfway around the world ever could. Throughout the day yesterday we saw not only the stories on the national news but frantically called, instant messaged and e-mailed friends and family members at Virginia Tech as we tried to make sure they were alright. The pictures I saw and the stories I heard throughout the day hurt. But they will pale in comparison with the memory of steadying my friend's hand as she wept trying to text message a high school friend who lives in one of the buildings where the shootings occurred. Similar scenes played out across Grounds and across the state of Virginia. Students here were also possessed with a sense that "There but for the grace of God go I." The realization that this could have happened here makes us all the more eager to help our compatriots. We still know few details about what exactly happened -- who exactly was hurt and why an individual decided to wreak such havoc on innocent students and staff. But this we know: The students, faculty and administration of Virginia Tech have our complete support as they cope with this catastrophe. Today, we mourn with our rivals. A.J. Kornblith is an Opinion Editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at akornblith@cavalierdaily.com. -- Original Source:The Cavalier Daily - April 17, 2007
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On April 17,a student of Virginia Tech wrote message on one of the posters on the drillfield before vigil. Original Source:æ–°åŽç¤¾ http://world.people.com.cn/GB/1029/5627794.html
In the drillfield, students mourned for the victims and comforted each other. Photo taken April 17,2007 Original Source:æ–°åŽç½‘ http://news.online.sh.cn/news/gb/content/2007-04/18/content_1927629_7.htm
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Tragedy In Virginia As Some Fail To Draw Conclusions From VTech Massacre
By a4g Point Five Staff Writer @ 4:51 pm April 16, 2007 -- Fears Raised That Details Of Shooting Might Be Released Into Context-Free Void -- A massacre at Virginia Tech took the lives of 32 on Monday. But as the sun set, and sketchy details slowly emerged on what was still a largely unclear series of events, an even greater tragedy began to reveal itself, as a few irresponsible Americans had not yet drawn broad life lessons from the atrocity. "We've got scores of kids dead or wounded," said one police officer on the scene, "and there's folks out there who have the gall to tell me they haven't decided what this teaches us about America? Sometimes I wonder if I even recognize this country anymore." While most media reports wisely began to correlate the shootings almost immediately to pre-packaged positions on gun control and video game violence, few ordinary citizens have the resources of a major television network to so neatly encapsulate the horrorâï¿½ï¿½- and the life lessonsâï¿½ï¿½ of the shooting spree into an easily digestible sound bite. This worries analyst Greg Collier, who warned that such individuals were basically "on their own", and may find themselves without a support system when the media machine moves onto the next big story sometime Wednesday or Thursday. "Listen, if you're big on Sudden Jihad Syndrome, just for example," said Collier, "you've got a window of basically six to twelve hours before they identify the shooter. So what are you waiting for? If you don't take your shot against Islam now, and this guy turns out not to be a diabolical Muslim convertâï¿½ï¿½- but just some ordinary shmuck with some adjustment problemsâï¿½ï¿½- you're out of the discussion, irrelevant." He said the same devastating metric applied to race hustlers, white supremacists, militant feminists, conspiracy theorists, and Bill Maher. "If you haven't drawn your conclusions by nightfall, you're going to be trampled by tomorrow's news cycle. I mean, imagine if right now you were still pondering the implications of the Imus firing, leisurely asking yourself questions about the proper response to boorish behavior in a society that values free speech. Hello? Imus is gone, baby. Al Sharpton already solved racial inequality last week. We're on school shootings now. We've got a country to save, people." Even worse, mental health professionals feel that important "closure" may not occur in those who are unwilling to quickly find a way to make sense of the murders. "As humans, we need to make sense of the senseless," said Dr. Jane Krempsky, a grief counselor, television commentator, and frequent expert witness in civil trials. "We need to exert our control over those things that seem uncontrollable, in order to feel safe once again. Some people just don't appreciate that the clock is ticking." Krempsky said the issues involved in this shooting became plain almost the instant that the widely conflicting reports hit the wires, and included increased gun control, liberalized concealed carry, the effects of the Iraq war, America's obsession with violence, the feminization of the Western male, and the prevalence of pre-marital sex and binge drinking on campus. As one blogger noted in an iconic post near the end of the day: "Virginia who? Oh yeah... I remember that. Horrible tragedy. That was the one caused by global warming, right?" -- Original Source: http://pointfiveblog.com/index.php/2007/04/1260 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5
Virginia Tech Tragedy: Human Nature & Networks
By Aaron Mannes While the Virginia Tech tragedy has spawned the predictable media frenzy, there has - so far - been an admirable lack of speculation about the killer, his motives, or what this event says about American society. Leftist philosopher Herbert Marcuse once observed, "Not every problem someone has with his girlfriend is necessarily due to the capitalist mode of production." Humans are complicated and there are dark places in the human soul that will emerge. Sometimes ideologies and causes will spark these evil inclinations. But they exist and have emerged in every time and place. Knowing that tragedies are part of the human experience - whether from natural or man-made causes - it is essential to take proper steps to ameliorate their impact. Dwight Eisenhower once observed, "Plans are nothing; planning is everything." Predicting the exact shape of the next tragedy is rarely possible. But the processes of preparing for some kinds of disasters and attacks will help develop the systems and habits necessary to respond to whatever fate throws. Lives were saved on 9/11 because some WTC tenants had consistently practiced evacuation techniques in the wake of the 1993 bombing. University Presidents are akin to mayors. Universities are attractive targets and favorable locations for a variety of adverse events (violent attacks, disease outbreaks, criminal activity, and mass disturbances.) Undoubtedly yesterday's tragedy will increase interest in disaster planning at universities. One factor that should become central to planning is the ubiquity of mobile communications technology. Students texted each other to stay abreast of events and of course, there is the now famous celphone video. Properly harnessed this technology could have been an invaluable resource - not only for informing the students and public about evolving events - but for helping authorities locate the injured and track the killer's movements. This is the age of the network, and the ability of people to quickly form networks and exchange information is an integral part of disaster response and mitigation. In the wake of Katrina, evacuees formed online communities to support each other emotionally and also through practical measures. We have seen the bad guys (terrorists and criminals) and commercial interests make creative use of communications technology to organize internally and get their message out externally. There is no reason the good guys can't do the same. April 17, 2007 11:08 AM Original Source: Counterterrorism Blog http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/04/virginia_tech_tragedy_human_na.php Creative Commons License: Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5
Letters to the Editor The forest for the trees Tragedy struck at Virginia Tech Monday. Unfortunately, the sadness of events is not only in the actions themselves, but also in the reactions. I want to assert that we still need to keep an eye on the forest while inspecting the trees. Reporter after reporter fired questions, and I use the term fired here for a reason, at Virginia Tech Police Chief Flinchum, about security policy. The officer looked visibly shaken, dismayed, saddened and reporters piled on frustration as he tried to deal with the condescending questions from the gallery. Now, let's be clear. Was the reaction as good as it could have been? Of course not. Was it even good? It doesn't appear that it was. But let me say this. I'll bet that if you poll anyone who went to college after1999 (Columbine), you'll find that over 85 percent of the students have or had no idea of any kind of "lockdown policy." As a recent University graduate, I can't even tell you what the school's hurricane policy is. But here is where we're missing the point yet again. The problem here isn't campussecurity. Chief Flinchum didn't kill anyone. The Virginia Tech police didn't harm anyone. The problem yet again is gun control. As we approach the eight year anniversary of the tragedy at Columbine, what has happened since? To truncate the depressingly long list of school shootings, I'll just focus on Virginia colleges. In 2002, the Appalachian School of Law was the site of a tragedy where a dean and fellow student were killed by a student. Two of these shootings in five years in the same state at college campuses exemplifies the problem we're facing as a nation. So what's the real problem here? Is it security? Is it emergency response? Of course not. If people want to commit crimes, people will commit crimes. The problem is that when they want to commit these crimes, access to weapons with which to commit these crimes is tragic. What's the answer? If we continue missing the forest for these trees, we'll never get to the real problem. Aaron Schmidt CLASS 2005 -- Original Source:The Cavalier Daily - April 18, 2007
ND students directly affected by shootings through ties to VT Aaron Steiner Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News Virginia Tech is more than 500 miles from Notre Dame, but the effects of what reports call the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history have been felt here on campus. A lone gunman shot and killed more than 30 people and injured dozens more on the Blacksburg, Va., campus before committing suicide Monday, according to Associated Press reports. Officials told AP that the gunman killed two people in a dormitory approximately two hours before staging a separate attack on a classroom building. Nearly 30 people were estimated to have been injured, according to area hospital officials, CNN reported. The Notre Dame community is saddened by the tragedy, Assistant Vice President of News and Information Dennis Brown said Monday. "Our prayers go out to any people affected," Brown said. Notre Dame will hold a memorial Mass for the victims tonight at 10 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Brown noted that members of the administration know people at Virginia Tech and said the University sends its support and prayers. Students reported hearing the news through various sources throughout the day Monday, with some hearing from friends and family directly tied to Virginia Tech. Graduate student Patrick LaFratta, a 2005 Virginia Tech alumnus who said one of his friends had died in the shootings, said he had been in contact with friends from the school throughout the day by phone and online. LaFratta said he first heard the news of the shootings from his girlfriend, a Virginia Tech alumna, around 10 a.m. LaFratta confirmed that his girlfriend's sister, a current Virginia Tech student, was safe, as well as the safety of several close friends. "When I first heard, they were reporting there was only one death," LaFratta said. "I thought, 'It's a really sad event and I want to know what is going on.'" Soon, the news coverage took a personal tone. LaFratta said he eventually heard that one acquaintance had been killed in the first incident in the dorm. By Monday night, LaFratta said he had seen pictures on television of his slain friend. He said he knew the friend from Virginia Tech's marching band, where LaFratta played trumpet. Other students with friends at the school expressed their concern Monday afternoon. Sophomore Amelia Gillespie heard the news from her roommate before going to class Monday morning. "I was in shock. I have a couple of friends that go there, and I'm still waiting to hear back from them," Gillespie said. "I tried to call them, but they haven't called back. I think they're okay, because I've heard from other friends." Freshman Tracy Jennings also has friends at Virginia Tech. "One of my friends called me around 2 p.m.," said Jennings, who is from Richmond, Va. The friend who initially called Jennings was not a student there, but the freshman received calls from Virginia Tech students shortly thereafter. "As soon as one friend called, another did, and more," Jennings said. The students couldn't give many details about the incident, she said. "All [they] said was that there was a shooting ... and at least 20 kids had been killed and at least 20 injured," she said. "As far as I've heard, everyone I know is OK." Jennings said she couldn't contact some of her friends there Monday afternoon because phone lines were busy. Monica Tarnawski, a sophomore, said she heard here from a friend who attends Virginia Tech Monday afternoon through the social networking Web site Facebook. "She actually composed a note that said 'I'm fine,' and we all saw it," Tarnawski said. Like Tarnawski, Jennings and Gillespie, LaFratta said that initially, all reports about his friends had been positive - until later Monday evening, when he first heard his friend had been killed. LaFratta was watching television news coverage of the shooting when he learned there were more deaths that initially reported. "At around 12:15 p.m. or so ... all of a sudden, one of the three [channels] reported that there were at least 20 dead," LaFratta said. "I just really hoped it was a mistake." LaFratta said he soon realized the situation was much more complex than the initial single death, and he said he then felt a "tremendous amount of sorrow." LaFratta took classes in the academic building where the majority of the deaths occurred. "A few years ago, I was there," LaFratta said. "It hits home - these things really do happen." LaFratta said it was hard to imagine a scare on Virginia Tech's campus last year while a convict was loose in the area. This tragedy, he said, is even harder to picture. "The magnitude of the event is just so overwhelming," LaFratta said. LaFratta said he would have never predicted anything like this at a campus he described as "exceptionally peaceful." Students at Notre Dame said they feel safe on campus but recognize that an event like Monday's could happen at anywhere, Notre Dame included. "Things like that, especially on television - it seems so far away ... [but] I think it could happen anywhere," said Chris Heckett, a visiting graduate student. "To think otherwise would probably be thoughtless." Erin Smith, a senior, echoed Heckett's thoughts. "It makes you realize that it could happen anywhere, on any college campus," she said. "It kind of makes you think about the security here at Notre Dame, or at any college campus." Brown declined to comment on Notre Dame's policies or crisis management plans for any type of violent tragedy like the one Monday morning. But Smith said she has never felt anxious about security at Notre Dame. "I've never felt unsafe at Notre Dame," Smith said. Senior Paul Mitchell agreed. "I still feel as safe here as anywhere," Mitchell said, stating, however, that his notions of safety do not make Notre Dame exempt from violence like Monday's tragedy. Virginia Tech, with an enrollment of more than 25,000, is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 160 miles west of Richmond, Va. Jennings said Virginia Tech's location as a college town - not part of a large urban area - makes her think about Notre Dame's similar setting. "Honestly, Tech ... is in the middle of nowhere - and it seems kind of like South Bend, which is a scary thought, being here. It's a pretty enclosed campus, like here," she said. Gillespie said the incident "kind of just puts things into perspective." "It makes me look outside the [Notre Dame] bubble a little bit," she said. "It's a small world." Sophomore Katie Bergerow said the tragedy caused her and her roommates to consider their safety in the residence halls. "We were talking about how we leave our door unlocked," Bergerow said. They probably wouldn't change that behavior, she said, but the tragedy "really shows that something like this could happen." Students are also lucky to have a variety of support resources available, said Gaotam Shewakramani, a Notre Dame alumnus visiting campus. He said such resources could help avert a violent crisis, especially those available to students who are struggling emotionally. "I think there are a lot of resources for those who are having difficulties," Shewakramani said. "I would be surprised if someone [who is struggling] wouldn't be reached out to." Still, Tarnawski said, it's important to remember that you can't know what people are feeling. "You never know what people are going through inside," Tarnawski said. "Someone after my English class was like, 'You know, I just wonder what was going on in that person's life that caused them to snap.'" That same thought crossed Mitchell's mind as well. "My first question was why - why would someone do that, just asking questions to the psychology of that and what enables that sort of violence," Mitchell said. Monday's massacre will go down as the deadliest campus shooting in national history. Previously, the largest was a rampage that took place in 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin, where 16 people were killed before police shot the gunman to death. As the facts of yesterday's tragedy are investigated, some students say while there is little they can do, they can send their prayers and support. "Right now, I'm here to offer any type of support I can, get involved, bring any type of awareness," Gillespie said. LaFratta said he has done "a lot of praying" and will continue to do so. "My first reaction is to pray a lot - my thoughts go out to all those families," LaFratta said. LaFratta said he plans to attend tonight's memorial Mass. -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947.shtml http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page2.shtml http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page3.shtml http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page4.shtml
Taken almost 10 months after the tragedy, the memorial still stands as a symbol of hope.
4/16: A product of psychology or gun control?
By:Adam Rizzieri Posted: 4/20/07 It is no mystery that the tragedy of April 16 at Virginia Tech stands out as the deadliest student-perpetrated school shooting in the history of the United States. It goes without saying that an immediate sense of shock spread across the nation as we learned of the tragedy unfolding from networks like CNN and Fox News. Among the 32 innocent lives that perished on a day that will be forever engraved into the memory of our nation was a Holocaust survivor, a few well-established professors and several bright minds who had a beautiful future stolen from them. With this tragedy, the debates about gun control and explicit video games and music are likely to re-emerge, just as they did after the events at Columbine and other instances where schools have fallen victim to this societal plague. Are guns too easy to obtain, and do violent music and video games truly desensitize people to the point where it's easy to take a human life? These are questions that have emerged in the past; however, in this case I feel that they are not what need to be asked. The shooter at Virginia Tech, Cho Seung-Hiu, was a 23-year-old who had a history of violence and irrational behavior. Before his murderous rampage, it should be noted that he was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital, was the subject of two police reports in 2005 for stalking, and was known among the Virginia Tech faculty as "intimidating." In fact, the chairman of the English Department, Dr. Lucinda Roy, took his dark poetry to campus police after his professor, Nikki Giovanni, expressed her intentions to quit if he wasn't removed from her class. Cho wasn't your typical student, and though I'm not a psychiatrist, I think it's safe to say that he didn't kill his peers because of music from Marilyn Manson or "shoot 'em up" video games. This kid was a product of psychology and his interpretation of personal grievances. It is very likely, and almost obvious, that he suffered from some type of antisocial personality disorder. If any of you have seen the video he mailed to NBC in between his first and second round of attacks, his rambling of anger toward rich kids and hedonism serves as a tool for analysis on his psychological state. Phrases like "you decided to spill my blood" and "you forced me into a corner" show that Cho likely felt powerless and believed murder was the solution to his grievances. After a collegiate history of dark poetry and disturbing writings, he likely began to fixate on murder as a solution to regaining control of his problems. Despite the possibility that he felt powerless or whatever else his grievances might have been, this guy is not the victim he thought he was. Metaphorically speaking, Cho was a "cry baby" that threw the worst temper tantrum imaginable. The accessibility to guns and violence that exists in some video games is not what took the lives of the 32 innocent people. It's not guns that kill people; rather, it's people who kill people with guns (and knives, ropes and bats). Cho had no felony convictions, and thus was allowed to legally purchase a 9 mm Glock five weeks before these terrible killings. The reason I say gun control is not an issue in this case is simple. A person who is determined to shoot someone will find a way to obtain a weapon legally or illegally. The law doesn't stop law-breakers from breaking the law; it simply affects those who abide it. That is, a criminal will continue to break the law while a law-abiding citizen will adhere to the constraint of law. Therefore, any change in gun control is irrelevant to criminals both present and future. So when left with this situation, what questions should be asked? Was this the result of a failure in parenting? Perhaps people ignored an obviously disturbed individual who could have been treated by a psychiatric professional. There is no justification for the taking of innocent lives, but perhaps as a community of scholars we should ask ourselves, do we ignore the weird, quiet kid in class? -- Original Source:SMU Daily Campus - April 20, 2007
"Norris, Mark William" <mnorris@mail.smu.edu>
Adam Roberts / The Metropolis Times (Blog) Tuesday, April 17, 2007 "There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre." - Kurt Vonnegut I don't really want to write this blog. I wanted to just take a few days off and give condolences to the victims at Virginia Tech. But before the bodies have even been identified, the media has already started playing the blame game. Apparently, if we had banned Hollywood, Nintendo and guns, this wouldn't have happened. I feel compelled to counter their bullshit. It makes me very angry when moralists so brazenly exploit a tragedy like this. I can't do anything about the murders, I can't stop people from trivializing deaths by turning them into moral panics, but maybe if I channel my anger into blogging, I can convince at least a few readers to pause before surrendering freedoms. Blaming guns is just stupid. Guns were already banned on campus. The gun ban didn't work. Last year, the State of Virginia dismissed a bill that would have allowed law-abiding students with a concealed-carry permit to bring their guns on campus, just as they are allowed to bring them anywhere else in the state. It was struck down. Its insensitive to say, but if just one of those hundreds of students had a single gun, more people would be alive today. "Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. 'I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.'" CNN Headline Prime kept showing movie posters for Grindhouse while Nancy Grace's substitute was blaming media violence. Apparently, the Tarrantino/Rodriguez double-feature is going to be turned into the next Matrix by the media. (Marilyn Manson-blaming is out of style) I've already heard the Super Columbine RPG referenced on both Fox News and CNN Headline News, even though there is absolutely no reason to suggest that the killer even knew about the game, and the 'game' is an anti-violent interactive documentary. I remember coming home from seeing Grindhouse with a bunch of friends, and talking about how awesome the car battles were. We passed a real-life wreck on the freeway - the tone immediately changed and we all expressed sadness and hoped that no one was killed. There was no desensitization. It is true that a small number of criticized studies have found links between exposure to media violence and aggression, especially in children. However, there has never been a study that showed exposure to media violence changed people into the type that commit real-life violent crimes. In fact, there is probably a cathartic effect - violence in video games helps quell natural violent tendencies. Nevertheless, violence in the media can sometimes inspire real-life violence. Its called the "Copycat Effect." 19th Century terrorists called it "Propaganda of the Deed," modern terrorist fighters call it "fourth generation warfare." Simply put, alienated young male sees an example of how a violent death made someone infamous and important. Alienated young male is evil, depressed and angry enough to place his own lust for importance over his own life and the lives of others. So alienated young male becomes an anarchist, neo-Nazi or Mujahideen and plots a crime that he's sure will get him attention in the newspapers. Historical examples are well-documented. Read Michael Hammerschlag's essay. "The 1774 Goethe book The Sorrows of Young Werther caused so many copycat suicides of lovelorn young men who dressed alike and shot themselves at the same time at their writing desk- straight from the story- that it was banned in Germany, Italy and Denmark." Others include Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Stephen King's novel Rage, Scorsese's Taxi Driver and, more than any other, the Zapruder film. We don't know anything about the shooter yet, but it seems obvious that this was a Columbine-copycat. At this time every year, somewhere in the country, kids get caught planning a Columbine-style attack. This Virginia Tech terrorist was probably trying to outdo the Columbine murderers. The Columbine massacre occurred on April 20th - this Friday. Although this is also Hitler's birthday, the murderers' videos indicate that the attack was originally scheduled for April 19th - the same day at the Oklahoma City attack, which, according to their videos, the Columbine terrorists hoped to outdo. The Oklahoma City bombing of course, was scheduled for April 19th in order to avenge Janet Reno's misdeeds in the Waco disaster. The shooter's actions demonstrate advance planning. He didn't get spurned by his girlfriend and suddenly decide to go on a rampage - although a domestic dispute could have pushed the massacre up a few days. This is all just speculation. If the terrorist turns out to be an exchange student from overseas, he might not have been able to appreciate the significance of Columbine in our generation's psyche, and the timing could be coincidental. People need someone to blame - the police, Hollywood, the NRA, our "culture of violence" - anyone. It is almost incomprehensible that tragedies of this magnitude can happen for no good reason at all. -- Original Source: http://themetropolistimes.blogspirit.com/free_markets/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0.
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0
Korean's at UNL don't foresee backlash after Virginia Tech shootings
By: Adam Templeton Posted: 4/26/07 The recent shootings at Virginia Tech have caused many to worry about a backlash against South Korean students. However, Korean students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln say acts of discrimination have not occurred. And they hope it stays that way. "It hasn't been a problem," said Min Suk Shin, a business management graduate student and a member of the Korean Student Association. "Maybe in larger cities with larger Korean communities, but not here." Other students feel the actions of Cho Seung-Hui, a student from South Korea who committed the shootings, should not represent the South Korean community or the country itself. They also agree that Seung-Hui was unstable and burdened with psychological issues. "The first time I heard the news, it was surreal, that he was a South Korean-born student," said Sung Tae Kim, who is also a management graduate student and KSA member. "I felt some sort of connection," he said. "But, nothing's really connected; he had a personal problem." Shin said he felt a connection to the Virginia Tech tragedy "as a human being, a college student and as a Korean" but said Seung-Hui is not and should not become a symbol for the Korean community. Although there has been no reaction against South Korean students at the university, some were worried that the announcement of Seung-Hui's ethnicity could lead to violence. Shin said he became worried when he heard that Seung-Hui was born in South Korea because he felt it could lead to violence."I hope that doesn't happen," he said. Still, students remain confident that acceptance will prevail over ignorance. "I'm sure many people in Lincoln don't connect him (Seung-Hui) to the whole of the Korean people," Kim said. "I don't feel some serious problem will happen in the community or to any individuals." Some students were concerned some people would not differentiate between North and South Koreans, associating all Koreans with President George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil." However, that sort of thinking does not appear widespread, they said. "That sort of ignorance may be there at the junior high or high school level, but it rarely happens in college," Shin said. -- Original Source:Daily Nebraskan - April 26, 2007
Josh Swartzlander <jdwriter19@yahoo.com>