Wondering About the Virginia Tech Killings
Dave Schuler
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
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9 comments
Scarcely a day has passed since the murders at Virginia Tech and already all sorts of people are drawing all sorts of conclusions.
I’ve placed my own thoughts here.
About Dave Schuler
Over the years Dave Schuler has worked as a martial arts instructor, a handyman, a musician, a cook, and a translator. He's owned his own company for the last thirty years and has a post-graduate degree in his field. He comes from a family of politicians, teachers, and vaudeville entertainers. All-in-all a pretty good preparation for blogging. He has contributed to OTB since November 2006 but mostly writes at his own blog,
The Glittering Eye, which he started in March 2004.
I agree that any attempt to connect this tragedy to Iraq is pointless and wrong-headed. Sometimes Crazy Evil is just Crazy Evil.
what’s even dumber is this means we need more gun control argument.
I want to ask all those tragedy profiteers that are trying to use this – has making drugs illegal kept drugs off the street?
Like people still get drugs people will still get drugs and forcing guns underground won’t help matters.
But the converse is just as dumb Steph. A lot of pro-gun types are making the argument that if there were only more guns that this would have been prevented. That could be true that the amount of deaths could have been mitigated but there is also the chance that more of these incidents might occur.
I generally agree that its hard to draw logical conclusions from such an outlier case as this but it seems to me that people on both sides of issues are trying to use this to their idealogical advantage.
Doubtful. If you know the chances are you won’t get a second shot off, you’re more likely not to try the first.
Bithead,
You assume both rational thought and interest in surviving the attack on the part of the shooter. I do not think that is warranted in attacks such as this.
I don’t assume quite so much as that.
I do, however, assume that if someone is really that angry, that they’re going to want to create maxiumum damage. Being killed after one shot doesn’t seem the way there, if you catch my drift.
I think the only certain way to end the debate over guns is to do a test and give absolutely everyone a decent gun. We will soon have our answer; but implementation will then be beyond our ability.
If even a small fraction of those college students were to carry a gun every day, I would imagine the number of heat-of-the-moment single victim homicides would be more than 32 during the school’s history. Sane people, when irritated, often assault strangers, run them off the road, or threaten them with whatever solid object is within reach. I don’t want those people carrying guns.
People who are angry don’t care about creating maximum damage, that is a calculated desire, something that is formulated by calm people. Angry people lash out at whatever is convenient and dramatic, it doesn’t matter if it’s 1 person or 31.
Uh yeah whatever…
You just made me very angry Michael. In fact, I’m angry a lot.
Don’t worry though, I won’t run you off the road or take a shot at you.
Sane people simply do not do such things. People that act in such irrational ways- there’s a word for it- disturbed.
Get help.