Virginia Tech
"We hold the victims in our hearts. We lift them up in our prayers and we ask a loving God to comfort those who are suffering today." -GWB
So this kind of goes hand in hand with my post below to a certain extent, but I just heard a commercial for Scarborough Country tonight on MSNBC. In it, they basically mention how yesterday’s tragedy was the worst shooting in the history of the United States (in that weird, deep, typical news voice) and then go on to ask what it means for the Second Amendment and what it will do for gun-control. In addition, the European press has come out and blamed Charlton Heston indirectly for the attacks, and Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) has even come out and blamed Bush and Republicans for the attacks (though that doesn’t surprise me and I figured it would happen since he’s blamed for everything else). Once again, I’m pretty disgusted by the way the media uses stuff like this to move their political agenda. People always talk about how life is no longer that precious and it really isn’t for the most part anymore. Instead of stopping and reflecting on these students and the tragedy that happened yesterday, not even twenty-four hours after people are already using it to advance this anti-Second Amendment agenda. And instead of placing blame on the Korean man who did this, the guns he possessed and his right to obtain them are being blamed (as well as those who support this right). God forbid we just stop for a few days and reflect on these student’s/professor’s lives and give people time to heal (although that will take more than a few days) instead of turning this into a pro/anti-gun issue. But when this ultimately does go from a sad tragedy to a complete political issue (which it most certainly will if it hasn’t already has), why does it have to be a gun issue? Why can’t it be a student visa issue? Why can’t it be an immigration issue? You could make the same ridiculous argument about immigrants being violent that is being made, or going to be made about guns being the “real” problem with yesterday. Why can’t it be a discussion about how common depression is today in America, which is usually a factor in these shootings (including yesterday’s)? Why can’t it simply be about this kid was a nut, he legally obtained some guns, and unlike the majority of law-abiding citizens who go through this process of obtaining a gun, he went out and shot and killed thirty-two people and himself. Also, it is completely ridiculous for anyone to think that there are certain measures that can be taken to ultimately stop this or other random acts of violence, whether in schools or in society in general, from occurring. If someone is deadest on committing an act of violence, they are going to find a way to do it. While I question the university’s response to some extent (and I’m sure people will lose their job over it), it’s still crazy to think that it would have been possible to reach all students (both on and off campus) about these shootings in such a large university. Perhaps then it is time to try to come up with a new system of sending out mass warnings to students, and maybe that’s what should be analyzed in this situation. Some in the press have stated that students in schools should be able to carry weapons at school, and while I think that is completely insane, it is interesting how the very thing that some of these people in the political realm are attacking (guns) could have been the thing that could have saved lives. Regardless, I’m sure the last thing these students or parents are thinking about is about gun control and Second Amendment rights.
So this kind of goes hand in hand with my post below to a certain extent, but I just heard a commercial for Scarborough Country tonight on MSNBC. In it, they basically mention how yesterday’s tragedy was the worst shooting in the history of the United States (in that weird, deep, typical news voice) and then go on to ask what it means for the Second Amendment and what it will do for gun-control. In addition, the European press has come out and blamed Charlton Heston indirectly for the attacks, and Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) has even come out and blamed Bush and Republicans for the attacks (though that doesn’t surprise me and I figured it would happen since he’s blamed for everything else). Once again, I’m pretty disgusted by the way the media uses stuff like this to move their political agenda. People always talk about how life is no longer that precious and it really isn’t for the most part anymore. Instead of stopping and reflecting on these students and the tragedy that happened yesterday, not even twenty-four hours after people are already using it to advance this anti-Second Amendment agenda. And instead of placing blame on the Korean man who did this, the guns he possessed and his right to obtain them are being blamed (as well as those who support this right). God forbid we just stop for a few days and reflect on these student’s/professor’s lives and give people time to heal (although that will take more than a few days) instead of turning this into a pro/anti-gun issue. But when this ultimately does go from a sad tragedy to a complete political issue (which it most certainly will if it hasn’t already has), why does it have to be a gun issue? Why can’t it be a student visa issue? Why can’t it be an immigration issue? You could make the same ridiculous argument about immigrants being violent that is being made, or going to be made about guns being the “real” problem with yesterday. Why can’t it be a discussion about how common depression is today in America, which is usually a factor in these shootings (including yesterday’s)? Why can’t it simply be about this kid was a nut, he legally obtained some guns, and unlike the majority of law-abiding citizens who go through this process of obtaining a gun, he went out and shot and killed thirty-two people and himself. Also, it is completely ridiculous for anyone to think that there are certain measures that can be taken to ultimately stop this or other random acts of violence, whether in schools or in society in general, from occurring. If someone is deadest on committing an act of violence, they are going to find a way to do it. While I question the university’s response to some extent (and I’m sure people will lose their job over it), it’s still crazy to think that it would have been possible to reach all students (both on and off campus) about these shootings in such a large university. Perhaps then it is time to try to come up with a new system of sending out mass warnings to students, and maybe that’s what should be analyzed in this situation. Some in the press have stated that students in schools should be able to carry weapons at school, and while I think that is completely insane, it is interesting how the very thing that some of these people in the political realm are attacking (guns) could have been the thing that could have saved lives. Regardless, I’m sure the last thing these students or parents are thinking about is about gun control and Second Amendment rights.