...time.
I don't know if people took time out of their busy lives to diagnose there was a problem with this guy. One professor did, and spent extra time with him but was rebuffed by staff and told there was nothing they could do.
...warning
Two hours elapsed between the killings. Why were the students not warned? When they were warned, they were told to stay away from the windows and in their class rooms. Students who jumped out of the windows escaped.
...good imaginary girlfriends
yes Cho Seung-Hui had an imaginary girlfriend. Maybe if he had a nice girlfriend who cared, she would have stopped him.
...lights
If the school had turned on all of the lights, maybe he would have gone to sleep. He slept with the lights on.
...GUNS
wrongly accused, Wayne Chiang, a self confessed gun lover pointed out that if people were allowed to carry concealed fire arms, then if there was just one other person who was armed, then he would have been stopped. Of course, maybe more people would have died in the ensuing cross fire, but, who knows.
Like it was reported, these acts tempt us with a million questions. I am sure there are a million answers, but where?
I can write here, as a person who is quite removed from the situation, and maybe appear flippant. I am not. My heart goes out to the many who have passed away, and many more mourners.
I don't know if people took time out of their busy lives to diagnose there was a problem with this guy. One professor did, and spent extra time with him but was rebuffed by staff and told there was nothing they could do.
...warning
Two hours elapsed between the killings. Why were the students not warned? When they were warned, they were told to stay away from the windows and in their class rooms. Students who jumped out of the windows escaped.
...good imaginary girlfriends
yes Cho Seung-Hui had an imaginary girlfriend. Maybe if he had a nice girlfriend who cared, she would have stopped him.
...lights
If the school had turned on all of the lights, maybe he would have gone to sleep. He slept with the lights on.
...GUNS
wrongly accused, Wayne Chiang, a self confessed gun lover pointed out that if people were allowed to carry concealed fire arms, then if there was just one other person who was armed, then he would have been stopped. Of course, maybe more people would have died in the ensuing cross fire, but, who knows.
Like it was reported, these acts tempt us with a million questions. I am sure there are a million answers, but where?
I can write here, as a person who is quite removed from the situation, and maybe appear flippant. I am not. My heart goes out to the many who have passed away, and many more mourners.
12 comments:
I can't even begin to imagine what must be going through ones head to do what they did. To feel so trapped and overwhelmed that they believe the only way is to kill people.
Were the ones shot random? Was he in a chaotic daze where he blindly fired, round after round after round. Wildly flailing about with no rhyme or reason. Or was this premeditated?
What must he have been thinking as he hid for 2 hrs ??? Then only to start the killing spree all over again. 32 innocent lives killed, and then his own life....
Pain Heartache Emotion Anger Fear Loss
*sigh* from here though after the pain and sorrow settle and become manageable we move on, we have to move on... we move on without knowing the story, without really knowing how or why....
Were there previous cries for help? Did anyone notice did anyone care?
As I think about this and reflect on this I can't help but hope it's something like this that causes just one human being to rise up and take notice of those around them. To be more aware of others, to be observant of others... to help others....
We have to wonder if society as a whole settles into a state of compliancy if more events such as this will take place.
After all it is compliancy that causes things to remain as they are to stay stagnant... maybe we all just need one tipping point to push us forever and therefore enforce change, growth and forward motion.
Wow Targo, very powerful!
I have a sixteen year old son that tells me he believes nothing like that could happen where we live. What bothers me is seeing the doubt in his eye, at his own words. As a parent, how do I tell him it could happen, anywhere, without taking away his sense security?
I feel for those student and teachers, wondering if they will ever feel safe and secure again in any environment.
So, what do we do? How do we prevent this from happening again?
Surely someone out there must have some answers.
I think, as in everything in life, there is always a risk or a possibility of something happening regardless of where you live. We don't all stay trapped huddled in the fetal position in our rooms though.
Regardless of our spiritual beliefs people all seem to realize that when it's our time, it's our time. Much that happens in life is never understood, the how's and why's are hardly answered and much just doesn't make sense.
We must then just live life. Seems so simple and uneventful doesn't it? It doesn't even begin to answer the question now does it? But honestly is there an answer. Yes it could happen anywhere at anytime.... Maybe he should slow down a little and listen to his friends, listen to the kid in the back of the class, or the one that is laughing while his eyes are crying. Maybe he should just be aware of his surroundings. Maybe he should just live in his quiet oblivian because honestly he knows that he's only fooling himself but at least it helps him to better cope with the situation............
Amazing Targo.
Welcome back. I agree with the other comment too, how do you tell (my) your young children that something evil happened which they can't even comprehend and if in the situation stop. Do you even tell them or is it something they should be aware of. I also as a parent worry about our children and what they have to deal with (emotions) in addition to going through their formative years.
I heard on the radio that the shooter in the 2 hour break sent some material to NBC. They also say he was not a psychopath? He just lost control. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe it.
Oh, he was a nut case for sure!
Pretty sad occurance. Sad for the victims and sad for the perpetrator.
I sometimes wonder why these things come to the forefront of the Media. It might encourage other occurances.
It appears he had so much anger, and this was his way of fighting back.
There has to be a better way to deal with anger.
dost
Well said dost. Good to see you gracing these pages again. I saw the video he sent to NBC. He was one big bottle of HATE. I think that is putting it mildly.
The thing is even if you know someone is having problems unless they pose a serious risk(threat) that can be proved.....to themselves or others nothing can be done. I know of someone right now who desperatly needs help but there is nothing that can be done for the person. Civil rights, privacy act, sometimes I think we have to many rights. Our own rights are endangering ourselves. I know this is a touchy subject.BUT! When things become too extreme there are consequences.
Bench
Those videos are weird. Scary, I would never have connected 911 with the Virginia Tech shooting.
AV
I didn't think he was connected with 9/11 at all. You never know. You tube has alll kinds of videos. Out come the conspiracy people.
Bench. You have a good point. What do we do? What can we do if someone is crying for help by their actions but are not asking for it?
some guy
Well the first thing you should do is make sure they don't have access to any weapons. That's one problem with the American legal system. They let this guy arm himself to the teeth. Maybe, just maybe, if they decided not to indulge in the "right to bear arms" so ardently, this guy wouldn't have been able to do so much damage. Then another thing is that the counsellor that showed up on TV today might at LEAST have been able to prevent this guy from buying weapons.
AV,
I only got a chance to read your comments in the last post recently. My internet availability's been scarce.
I'd like to ask you what you mean when you say that you think God is being kept out of schools. I remember several classes in elementary school where I was asked to brainlessly recite "our father who art in heaven..." every morning. I also remember a teacher who regularly read to the class from the Bible every day.
I happen to think that neither the Bible nor the "Lord's prayer" have much to do with God, but I was too young and impressionable to ask to be relieved from this expectation. I don't think either of these things did any of the other students any good either.
Nonetheless, I think that Biblical Christianity, like a lot of other religions, has some good things to teach people. In Europe, there is a whole subject devoted to religion in schools. They study all religions, and they learn how all of them interact. There is a lot of unbiased study of how much harm individual religions have done throughout history, as well as their contributions to the integrity of communities. This kind of study is, I feel, beneficial to all. An understanding of religion can bring harmony to the world. That's what I would expect you meant by "bringing God into the schools". Enlighten me if you meant differently.
The other subject of contention between us was the population explosion and its effect on social stress among the populace, leading to explosive situations like the one currently in light.
First of all, I believe that it's a foregone conclusion that the human race can not continue to multiply as it has been without choking the planet to death. I appreciate your sentiment that if my parents were convinced not to procreate, I wouldn't exist. I feel the same about you. I do indeed believe that every human being should be valued. However, in order to look towards the future, it would be good to convince the human race to stop behaving like a tumourous growth on the face of the earth. Please don't think that I'm saying that every single human being should be convinced never to have children. But I do believe that if we try to convince people not to have children, and reduce the birthrate by 50%, then we will be saving the future of our world. Also, I think that it's important that people don't have children unless they have spent countless hours with other people's children prior to doing so. People can enjoy time with the children of their friends or their siblings. If they find that they enjoy this time with children, and they feel a need to live with it around them, then by all means they should not be given any grief for that decision.
A lot of people decide to have children for the purpose of "carrying on their line". This mentality should be stricken from human consciousness. It is this mentality that is at the root of the population explosion that the world is being subjected to. Most certainly, if that is people's reason for having children, they should be strongly discouraged by any enlightened people that know them.
Please understand that I believe that the most important factor in creating a peaceful world in which all living things exist harmoniously is that our offspring are treated with respect and love. That, and putting Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush in jail for crimes against humanity and warmongering. Put them in the same cell and let them duke it out with each other. Sorry, I know I talk about Bush too much, but he really is an obscene greedy villain who's filled with glee over the war he's created and it disgusts me every time I turn on the television.
As to the relevance of the population explosion to acts of mass murder such as the Virginia tech shootings, well, I can understand that you might believe they are unrelated. There is much evidence to support either side of this argument. However, I believe that a rapid surge in population leaves the majority of children with less time and attention given to them by the adults around them. It is not only the responsibility of parents to raise children. It is the responsibility of the entire community in which they live. The less children a community is raising, the more attention those children receive. That works on a small scale and a large scale.
I look forward to reading responses to these ideas. It has been a pleasure reading your thoughts, and I hope you've enjoyed mine too.
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