Tragedy in the land of the Hokies

[OOO]

read his plays, they're fucked up.

 

eh. I'd rather not read anything by him or about him or see his picture. I don't think he should become famous, but rather forgotten.

 

I realize there are things to learn from his story and that he was a sad person who needed help, but in the end I think we would all be better served to have his name and person (but not the event or victims) forgotten, for two reasons.

 

1. You'll never be able to really make sense out of his actions, so what can we really learn?

2. It's dangerous that we AND the media make him into a anti-hero of sorts, giving hope to the next troubled kid out there that people will notice him if he does this.

[radiokills]

despite the circumstances, this is fucking hilarious

 

[Col. Hapablap]

eh. I'd rather not read anything by him or about him or see his picture. I don't think he should become famous, but rather forgotten.

 

I realize there are things to learn from his story and that he was a sad person who needed help, but in the end I think we would all be better served to have his name and person (but not the event or victims) forgotten, for two reasons.

 

1. You'll never be able to really make sense out of his actions, so what can we really learn?

2. It's dangerous that we AND the media make him into a anti-hero of sorts, giving hope to the next troubled kid out there that people will notice him if he does this.

 

 

Exactly what i was thinking. This was a killer who knew EXACTLY what he was doing when he starting planning this, sending the video in to NBC, knowing full well that it would be played over and over and that his so called "grievances" would be heard long after he was dead. His plan for twisted martyrdom worked perfectly. The media has to show more restraint in making stuff like this public. The 30 min. broadcast on NBC tonight was almost all Cho all the time. This is just not right.

 

This will only inspire the next tragedy.

[Dreamin']

It's dangerous that we AND the media make him into a anti-hero of sorts, giving hope to the next troubled kid out there that people will notice him if he does this.

Exactly. Suicide contagion has been in the back of my mind all along and that's probably why I've felt such a strong need to talk about the warning signs, etc. There are ethical ways to report about suicide and then there are umm, less ethical ways...

 

I was also very disappointed to see the names and occupations of his family members published. Ugh.

[Analogman]

Those dudes always want their shit in the paper - look at the Zodiac, Unabomber, etc. It's part of their giant ego trip.

[Reni]

The 30 min. broadcast on NBC tonight was almost all Cho all the time. This is just not right.

 

and on a day where over 150 people were blown up in Iraq.

 

[M. (hristine]

Sometimes I feel useless and I know that I can't fix people's lives, but showing someone a little compassion in a time of crisis can be a powerful thing. No matter how it turns out.

This is truth.

[tongue-tied]

fox news, always asking the tough questions

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266860,00.html

[Analogman]

I was surprised to see Bill Reilly say earlier when he was talking to Dennis Miller that the gun buying process needs to be looked at.

[Guest Speed Racer]

He probably followed his statement with, 'Immigrants shouldn't have guns.'

[bjorn_skurj]

In my experience, stigma/fear and lack of awareness about mental health issues can prevent people from seeking or receiving help.

Yep. There's a thread of Anglo-German stoicism running through my family that makes it an inadmissible sign of weakness to seek psychological help. It couldn't be more wrong, but it's something I've never been able to get out of my programming, even though I could probably use some now and again.

[Dreamin']

I think most of us probably could, at some point in our lives. I find that it's really easy for me to take care of other people, but not so easy for me to take care of myself. It's a clich

[M. (hristine]

A good friend, my age, is a hunter. He graduated back in the olden days from KU, the state university in Kansas. We had a conversation not long ago about him keeping firearms (shotgun, rifle) in his dorm room, and how frowned upon (we thought perhaps by now illegal? Dunno. Politically incorrect for sure) that would be in the wake of shootings in public spaces. Weird.

[jimmyjimmy]

and on a day where over 150 people were blown up in Iraq.

 

That's all I kept thinking about yesterday. That, and trying to struggle with what's happened here at home against what happens with such great frequency and greater scale in Iraq.

 

I was surprised to see Bill Reilly say earlier when he was talking to Dennis Miller that the gun buying process needs to be looked at.

O'Reilly has come out for gun control before. It's one of his few endearing traits.

[ikol]

Back OT, is it really legal to keep a gun in your dorm room in Virginia? Now that's crazy!

 

I'm pretty sure it's not. I read somewhere that a student who had a concealed carry license got in trouble for having a gun on campus several months ago.

[caliber66]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure all schools in Virginia are Gun-Free Zones®, but that's probably about as effectively enforced as Drug-Free Zones®.

[Dreamin']

There are ethical ways to report about suicide and then there are umm, less ethical ways...

 

Virginia police "disappointed" that killer's video broadcast

 

I love the CBC:

 

At the CBC, we debated the issue throughout the evening and made the decision that we would not broadcast any video or audio of this bizarre collection.

 

On CBC Television, Radio and CBC.ca, we would report the essence of what the killer was saying, but not do what he so clearly hoped all media would do. To decide otherwise

[Analogman]

On MSNBC last night, some FBI profiler was being interviewed and he talked about how showing the images may do more harm than good. As he was being interviewed, they ran the images over and over again.

[Sir Stewart]

On MSNBC last night, some FBI profiler was being interviewed and he talked about how showing the images may do more harm than good. As he was being interviewed, they ran the images over and over again.

That is perfect.

[Dreamin']

Capus said the network aired all but roughly 10 minutes of the video clips and five of the 23 documents. He said he had no idea why the shooter chose NBC.

Well, I guess now we know.

[Analogman]

I am sure executives at NBC were secretly drooling over this - as this means big ratings for them.

[uncle wilco]

In introducing the tape on Wednesday night, NBC anchor Brian Williams said the network is "sensitive to how all of this will be seen by those affected."

 

How is this crap playing in a continous loop 24/7 considered "sensitive"?

 

NBC has no class whatsoever. Since all the other networks are now playing copy-cat, they don't either.

 

I'm sure all the newsrooms are gearing up with new custom 3-D graphics and starting a pool for the next tragedy.

 

disgusting vampires...all of them.

[Moe_Syzlak]

I have avoided much of the coverage of this, but I do have a few thoughts I wanted to express. The thing about tragedies such as these is it provides a platform for EVERYONE and in the public's outrage and fear, they are more receptive to it. I, for one, am proud to live in a society where something like this CAN happen. Of course, I am not happy things like this DO happen. But locking up our kids, turning campuses into police states, banning video games and outlawing guns are all scapegoat responses that trade our freedoms for a perceived safety from a threat that is (thankfully) extremely rare. Not a fair trade in my book. I think we suffer (certainly in the U.S. and maybe as a species) from a syndrome of looking at symptoms as causes probably because it seems an easier fix. As tragic as this is, incidents such as this are still very rare. He didn't do what he did because he listened to Stairway To Heaven backwards (I have no idea what music he listened to) or because he played Doom or even because he was able to purchase guns. Millions of people do things such as that every day and never commit horrible acts such as this. In the end, freedom comes with a price... you can't be safe all the time. I would hate to see the Virginia Tech incident used as a platform to further restrict our freedoms as was done in the wake of 9/11.

[Sir Stewart]

If some network declared a moratorium on covering the killer, I would respect them forever. Dedicate all coverage (if there needs to be any now) of this to the victims only. Fuck that guy.

[uncle wilco]

well the media ensured that asshole's right to free speech...so...there you go.

 

god bless america