COLLECTIVE MADNESS
“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."
More info on the "deranged". The school knew more than we thought! This guy was apparently a ticking time bomb. It becomes a judgment call as to when action should be taken.
ReplyDeleteAs to your question, Deuce, it's irrelevant. The laws don't require a psychological exam before purchasing a firearm. I think we're going to find out the school admin had worries about this kid, but hesitated.
It's like asking if G.W.Bush should have control over the U.S. military before we knew he didn't have a clue!
ReplyDelete... you get the idea ...
There was no legal proof he was deranged.
ReplyDeleteThe evidence is still begin collected but it appears the university and police did everything possible. There is talk of counseling, the head of a department tutoring him one on one, medications, reports to the police, etc. The killer is also report to have stalked and started a fire, and police handled those situations according to the rules.
The killer just didn't cross the line far enough to be put in jail or a mental hospital in time. He appears to have been disciplined, even though crazy, by waiting a month to buy a second gun, working out in a gym during the last few weeks, making bomb threats as a way of testing the system...
oh relax, Herr, you know what we mean.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like a "normal" person would do this, ya think!
Now!This is news!
ReplyDeletePartial Birth Abortion Ban approved by the Supreme Court!
Just a thought but I recall reading after 9-11 that airline passengers should throw items at a gun toting hijacker ...don't college kids keep up?
ReplyDeleteI mean they could have heaved laptops, books, napsacks chairs, anything to cause the perp to duck or at least change his sights.
Not blaming the poor kids, that type of thing is unexpected but we need to train everyone on what DR pointed out yesterday .... situational awareness, and if the situation changes do something.
Once he started shooting(not DR, the gunman) apparently no one made a move toward him so he just slaughtered at will.
Maybe during orientation the drills of fire by ranks could be taught..
Upon seeing an armed gunman enter the room the second and third rows will immediate throw all available items at the gunman, the first row survivors will rush the gunman
The gunman blamed for the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history had previously been accused of stalking two female students at Virginia Tech and had been taken to a mental health facility in 2005 after an acquaintance worried he might be suicidal, police said Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteCho Seung-Hui had concerned one woman enough with his calls and e-mail in 2005 that police were called in, said Police Chief Wendell Flinchum.
He said the woman declined to press charges, and neither woman was among the victims of Monday's massacre on the Virginia Tech campus.
During the stalking second incident, also in late 2005, the department received a call from an acquaintance of Cho's who was concerned that he might be suicidal, and Cho was taken to a mental health facility, Flinchum said. About the same time, in fall 2005, Cho's professor informally shared some concerns about the young man's writing but no official report was filed, he said.
Flinchum said he knew of no other police incidents involving Cho until the deadly shootings Monday, first at a girl's dorm room and then a classroom building across campus. Neither of the stalking victims was among the victims Monday.
Past stalking incidents
> apparently no one made a move toward him
ReplyDeleteStudent saves lives
Some students and faculty did resist, like by blocking doors to stop the killer from getting in. This took some courage too, since the unarmed students held their position and the door even when the killer was shooting into the door at point blank range, trying to kill them.
Here's the link, which was incorrect in the prior posting:
ReplyDeleteStudent saves lives
As tales of Cho's worrisome behavior continued to surface Wednesday, a renowned poet and author who taught the 23-year-old suspected gunman called the notion that he was troubled "crap" and said he was downright "mean."
ReplyDeleteTaken to mental health center
As tales of Cho's worrisome behavior continued to surface Wednesday, a renowned poet and author who taught the 23-year-old suspected gunman called the notion that he was troubled "crap" and said he was downright "mean."
Nikki Giovanni was in San Francisco, California, getting ready to fly home to Blacksburg when she heard the news Monday that 32 students were killed in separate shooting incidents on the Virginia Tech campus.
"I knew when it happened that that's probably who it was," Giovanni said, referring to her former pupil. "I would have been shocked if it wasn't."
...Cho's poetry was so intimidating -- and his behavior so menacing -- that Giovanni had him removed from her class in the fall of 2005, she said. Giovanni said the final straw came when two of her students quit attending her poetry sessions because of Cho.
"I was trying to find out, what am I doing wrong here?" Giovanni recalled thinking, but the students came to her during her office hours and explained, "He's taking photographs of us. We don't know what he's doing."
Giovanni went to the department's then-chairwoman, Lucinda Roy, and told her she wanted Cho out of her class, and Roy obliged.
"I was willing to resign before I was going to continue with him," Giovanni said. "There was something mean about this boy."
Giovanni said she's taught her share of oddballs in the past, but there was something malicious about Cho's behavior.
"I know we're talking about a troubled youngster and crap like that, but troubled youngsters get drunk and jump off buildings; troubled youngsters drink and drive," she said. "I've taught troubled youngsters. I've taught crazy people. It was the meanness that bothered me. It was a, really, mean streak."
nope!!! i am not for gun control but i'd really like it if they'd mandate that whoever wants to purchase guns should 1st undergo some psychiatric testing to see if they're sane or something else, that they'll not just go off and snap and go ballistic on innocent people.
ReplyDeleteI see Ingrid, no gun control with gun control...
ReplyDeleteMost would tend to agree with you, Ingrid, but who says you can trust the APA
ReplyDeleteSome people (remember Dr. Laura?) have characterized the psychological community as left-wing nutcases. Handing over this responsibility to the "medical" establishment would still hinder the RIGHT to Keep and Bear Arms, especially when the specter of politicized agenda arises.
What do ya'll think? Recently alot of posters here, at BC, and throughout the right-side of the blogosphere have maintained that the GOP candidates who were weak on traditional issues (2nd Ammendment, abortion, etc.) wouldn't be affected by it. The reasoning was Iraq and the larget WOT would overshadow this. But with democratic control of Congress and this recent event which may well serve as a catalyst for gun control advocates, I'm not so sure (if I ever was) that argument holds up. Seems to me that now it is more important than ever to place a strong supporter of the 2nd Ammendment into office.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more Rem!
ReplyDeleteWhich name do you have in mind, whit?
ReplyDeleteThere are only one or two names on the GOP list that stand a chance, slim as it may be, to win.
A strong 2nd Amendment advocate that runs and loses, is worth what?
Get your reloading supplies and your weapons, now. Be prepared to join the cannabas culture underground in being a fulltime felon.
When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Welcome aboard.
Gun Control Prospects
ReplyDeleteGun Control Prospects
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think we need a strong adcvocate of the Tenth Amendment.
ReplyDelete