Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Who Can We Blame for the Virginia Tech Massacre?

The massacre at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, which left at least 33 dead, most of them young college students, is being called the worst shooting in U.S. history. There are still many unanswered questions, but perhaps the biggest question is who can we blame, besides, of course, the person who did the actual shooting, who has been identified as a 23-year-old Korean national, Cho Seung-Hui?

I'm sure we are all relieved that this was not an act of terrorism, which would have been really terrible. "Sadly, I would prefer this be a massacre of passion than one of terrorism," wrote AJ Strata after initially posting that he was "awaiting word of the gunman's nationality and religious leanings," which, of course, would prove whether it was an act of terrorism or not. In response to criticism from one blog, Strata was unapologetic. "I have no regrets in wanting to make sure this was an isolated incident and not al Qaeda's latest attack plans," wrote Strata. "And those on the left who don't get that too bad."

But after contemplating a little more about what happened, Strata was still not ready to let go of the idea that terrorists were somehow involved. "What really worries me is if this was a test for other attacks," Strata wrote. "If the man was testing College responses then the key would be to make this look like anything BUT a terrorist attack." Of course, that would be just like the terrorists to make an act of terrorism look like it wasn't an act of terrorism. Who knows how many other incidents that didn't seem like acts of terrorism at the time actually were acts of terrorism? "I find it amazing there is something 'better' about discussing mass murder as a motive over 'terrorism.' But then again, the liberal mind is a very strange place," he concluded, apparently reconsidering his earlier statement about preferring it to be a "massacre of passion."

With the killer still identified as only an "Asian man," Debbie Schlussel, who isn't one to sit around and wait for facts to come in before reaching conclusions, speculated that this bucolic university town in the Appalachian mountains may have been targeted by al Qaeda. "The shooter has now been identified as a Chinese [sic] national here on a student visa. Lovely. Yet another reason to stop letting in so many foreign students," wrote Schlussel, adding that Virginia Tech "has a large Muslim community, many of which are from Pakistan" and "Pakis," as she affectionately calls them, "are considered 'Asian.'"

Just in case, college students should probably keep a watchful eye on the "Asian" exchange students in their midst, like the Muslim student from the Middle East who just happened to be in the vicinity and shot video of the shootings as they were occurring. It turns out, however, that we have nothing to worry about from this Virginia Tech student, who was the subject of rampant Internet speculation that he was the gunman. He just likes guns. A lot.

But if we can't blame Muslims for this tragedy, then who can we blame? Even before the bodies were cold, a number of conservative bloggers already had the answer: liberals.

"These things do seem to take place in locations where it's not legal for people with carry permits to carry guns, though, and I believe that's the case where the Virginia Tech campus is concerned," was the first response of Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds, who updated his post to point out that liberals had stopped efforts to allow students to carry concealed handguns on campus.

Michelle Malkin also wasted little time pointing the finger at the perpetrators of this horrible tragedy, besides of course, the gunman. Her first post detailed how a bill to allow students to carry guns was killed by the Virginia legislature in committee and quoted blogger Andrew's Dad, who wrote, "Just imagine if students were armed." She also quoted a sensible reader who emailed her to say, "Imagine if sensible CCW laws allowed people to defend themselves, this tragedy could have been avoided." Although Virginia is one of the safest states in the country because of its robust support of the Second Amendment, there are still pockets of danger in the state such as college campuses and bars where guns are banned. Hopefully, this incident will move legislators to act quickly to eliminate these "gun free" zones, which will make these areas as secure as the rest of the state.

Other conservative bloggers followed with posts pointing out that arming more of our citizens is the only way to prevent tragedies like this from happening in the future. "Did PC kill kids today?" wondered Discerning Texan at The Wide Awakes. In the wake of this horrible tragedy our nation's leaders also spoke out. The White House, after expressing sorrow for the victims' families, reiterated its support for the Second Amendment, just in case conservatives might think that the President would let this unfortunate incident affect his unwavering support for guns. Presidential candidate John McCain, who knows from personal experience how important it is to be well-armed from his recent excursion to a market in Iraq, also affirmed his support for the Second Amendment, but seemed to hedge a bit. "We have to look at what happened here, but it doesn't change my views on the Second Amendment, except to make sure that these kinds of weapons don't fall into the hands of bad people," he said. Unfortunately, this "bad people" loophole may be cause for some concern among members of the NRA. Before he loses NRA funding, he should probably issue a clarification and reverse himself, as he has on so many other occasions.

Luckily, Democrats seem to have gotten the message that supporting any kind of gun control at all will lose them votes, so it is unlikely that they will spearhead any efforts to reintroduce the assault weapons ban or try to pass other gun control legislation. Already some gun control nuts are pointing out that the high capacity ammo clips the shooter apparently used were illegal until the assault weapons ban was allowed to lapse. But it is unlikely that Democrats will ever stand up to the NRA again no matter how many people think that there should be some limits on who has access to certain kinds of guns and ammunition.

Many liberal blogs used this incident for partisan posturing, claiming that they were horrified by the tragedy and offering condolences to the victims. Of course, this was just a clever ruse to secure the moral high ground before they swoop down and take away our guns. If they really feel so bad about the victims, where were they when efforts were being made to protect students at Virginia Tech by arming them?

The foreign media, predictably, is using this incident to criticize U.S. gun laws. The British newspaper the Daily Mail asked, "What price the right to bear arms?" Clearly, there is something very wrong with American culture, but the problem is that there are not enough guns in our society, leaving us defenseless against those who do have guns. If this incident has taught us anything, it is that there are vulnerabilities in our society that can easily be exploited. None of us will be safe until every American is armed to the teeth and every school is an armed camp. If all of the students at Virginia Tech had carried a gun to class, this would never have happened, just as Columbine would have been prevented if we armed all of our high school students.

There will be time enough to mourn the victims, but our first priority should be to head off the gun-control nuts who are sure to exploit this incident for their own political purposes. These anti-gun fanatics will stop at nothing to push their political agenda. Before they are allowed to exploit people's emotions by getting more gun control bills passed, we should be vigilant in heading them off by eliminating gun-free zones and giving all of us permission to carry concealed handguns wherever we go so that we can all be ready the next time a psychopath bursts into a classroom, bar or church. It would be terrible if we let this tragic incident be used by those who want to take away our guns. While we are offering prayers to the families of the victims, let us also thank God that we live in a country protected by the Second Amendment.

Share This Post

blinkbits BlinkList del.icio.us Fark Furl LinkaGoGo Ma.gnolia NewsVine Reddit Shadows Simpy Spurl TailRank YahooMyWeb

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

46 comments:

Deep Trunk said...

As I am sure you don't need to point out, the Second Amendment doesn't mention Asians so there is no reason to believe they should be allowed to bare arms. Going by original intent, Blacks should only be allowed to carry 3/5 of an arm

Anonymous said...

as long as guns are easy to buy it will keep happening.nobody needs to carry a gun least of all a student.the only people that need guns are police and soldiers.so everybody who buys a gun or sells a gun and the people that make the laws are the ones to blame

Anonymous said...

Wolf Blitzer on CNN acsked the student Jamal ALbarghouti where he was from. "The West Bank, Palestine" , but I grew up in Saudi Arabia. He then compared the slaughter of the students to the same things the Israeli's do to the Palestinians. Wolf did nothing to stop this as it was innappropiate, and was pure propaganda. It makes me wonder why that kid was there, what he knew, or if it was just a wierd conincidence

Anonymous said...

You're right, Jon. History has shown that the more citizens that own guns in a country , the safer it is. For example, Iraqi citizens are allowed to legally own the widely favored fully automatic AK-47 rifle. It has helped add to the security of not only places like Iraq, but other less 'free' areas like Mogadishu, for example. Mogadishu is a particularly safe place due to the fact that the 1.5 million civilians own about 1 million assault weapons.

Instead of spending millions of dollars on teaching science and math in schools every year, perhaps we should reconsider diverting those funds towards arming the children in schools.

Anonymous said...

If we start arming everyone to the teeth with guns then I guess your right we'd have less "mass" shootings. But sooo much more single incidents. It'd be ridiculously hard to identify killers because every person will carry a gun. Soon murders would be happening periodically and everyone would be paranoid about the neighbors and while we won't have "mass" murders we will have a lot more domestic abuse murders. Andt thats what this was, another case of domestic abuse.

mw said...

Once again I impressed by your insight and analysis, but I do not think you are taking this far enough.

Simply protecting the right of Americans to carry a loaded weapon anywhere they damn please is neccessary, but not sufficient, to provide the kind of security we all want and need. The unfortunate fact is that many of our fellow citizens are too lazy or too cheap to procure a weapon for themselves, instead relying on their armed friends and neighbors to protect them. This results in environmental gaps in our collective security where the immediate local citizenry are not sufficiently armed.

This problem can be addressed by adopting the prescient counsel of that noted thinker Bill Cosby. Decades ago, Mr. Cosby suggested that every passenger on every airline be issued a loaded weapon as they board the plane. I don't think I have to point out the tragedies that would have been averted if we had implemented his plan.

By extending the common sense precaution of arming everyone at the door to other unsecure environments like classrooms, bars, grocery stores, and movie theaters, we will all feel much more secure in this frightening and dangerous world.

Anonymous said...

Liberals just don't get it. It's not about safer or not for allowing citizens to own more guns; it's about self reliance; it's about leveling the fighting ground between good law abiding people and lunitics and criminals!

Anonymous said...

I'm sitting in class and I hear about the shooting. I hear the shooting get closer so I whip out my Glock and wait. Someone is running down the hall towards me and I see he is carrying a gun. BANG... got him! But only a few minutes later I hear more shots not too far away. I realize there is more than one gunman...there behind that table... he's waiting to ambush someone else. He hears something and raises his gun but not before I blow his sorry ass away too. As I'm walking over to make sure he's dead... ping! a bullet whizzes by me. I spin around and return fire, shooting wildly in the direction from where it came. DAMN- how many of them are there? I hear someone screaming from one of the classrooms that the shooter is an Asian. Mere seconds later, an Asian female carrying a pistol enters the room I'm in. No way some terrorist bitch is gonna cap me! I empty my clip in her and she goes down. I slowly make my way towards her... she's dead alright... but wait, she looks familiar. SHIT, it's Michelle Malkin, the columnist/comedian.

Yeah, this is a great plan Michelle. Let's arm all the students and have them shooting at each other in a moment of crisis and confusion. Turns out the whole incident was just some kids setting off firecrackers in a classroom.

Anonymous said...

robm,

Don't think everyone else is as a stupid ass as you are.

Anonymous said...

Yes, exactly; Marc has hit the nail on the head. Most of the world's problems can be traced to the bare arms of Asians.

Anonymous said...

what the hell?why do people think that arming more people will prevent such tragedies from happening?if it wasnt legal and easy to get a gun this wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Rick said...

"If all of the students at Virginia Tech had carried a gun to class, this would never have happened, just as Columbine would have been prevented if we armed all of our high school students."

Really? That's funny, because I have worked with college students for more than 18 years and am pretty sure that if the students were carrying guns, there would be far more incidents of violence based on stupidity and drunkenness.

Get a clue.

Anonymous said...

you have to check out this article on collegecandy.com. a female college student shares her thoughts about the V-Tech shooter being labeled "a loner."

http://collegecandy.com/2007/04/17/loner-label-doesnt-bring-solace/

Anonymous said...

Allowed to carry concealed weapons in the classrooms, bars or churches of this nation. Pish tosh. I demand to carry my concealed 9 mm onto airplanes. If even passenger had a gun, 9-11 never would have happened

Anonymous said...

You are so liberal. I demand the right to air support. What if my asian neighbour bought himself a tank for Christmas. Everyone in America should have the right to their own W.M.D's.

The Sarcasticynic said...

The Virginia Tech tragedy brings to mind a similar school shooting in 1979 California. 16 year old Brenda Spencer wounded nine and killed two in a shooting spree at an elementary school. She said, "I had no reason for it, and it was just a lot of fun," "It was just like shooting ducks in a pond," and "(The children) looked like a herd of cows standing around, it was really easy pickings."

I Don't Like Mondays Either, But ...

BadTux said...

I believe that every American should be armed with an AK-47, 5,000 rounds of ammunition, a RPG-7 anti-tank grenade launcher, and 100 rounds of RPG ammunition. Then we can be a peaceful and polite society just like Iraq and Somalia. After all, just ask Rep. Mark Pence, who will be swift to tell you that going to the market in Iraq is safer than going to the market in Indiana. Alrighty, then!

-- Badtux the Snarky Penguin

Anonymous said...

From the News Zealand Herald:

Editorial: Fear behind America's love of guns
American movie-maker Michael Moore may not be to every taste, but his study of the Colorado school massacre eight years ago was a powerful indictment of the forces that have infested so many American households with firearms. The movie is resonating now in the coverage of yet another student massacre, this time with many more victims at a Virginia university.

Read the rest...

Anonymous said...

Well said Sir, it is more the pity more folks like you are not active in politics, perhaps we could turn back the tide of homo liberals that have taken over.

Anonymous said...

Badtux,

Hear! Hear! Although there isn't a purse on the planet big enough to carry a grenade launcher and be fashionable!

Anonymous said...

I see a glaring omission in this otherwise Swiftian discussion of what can be done to make America safer from gun-wielding maniacs. OF COURSE more guns is one solution! But what about PREVENTION?

I'm not talking about silly, impractical gun control schemes like the one enacted here after a massacre in Port Arthur, Tasmania that killed 36 people in 1996. (Ha -- topped the Yank tally!) The government banned unregistered firearm possession, paid people to turn in their guns and cut them up in front of the owners, so there would be no question of the police stealing them and selling them to criminals. Not that such a thing could ever happen, because policemen are faithful, honest and true. The citizenry eagerly participated in this program; since then there has been a steep drop in gun crime and it's safe to walk the streets at night. Of course, such a hare-brained, pie-in-the-sky enterprise could never work in a Land of Liberty such as the United States.

What I mean is bullet-resistant Kevlar prevention GARMENTS Not like Depends nappies, although that might be a marketing idea. (Note to self -- investiagte incidence of mass shootings at nursing homes.) When a deranged shooter opens fire, no one wants to catch the first bullet in the instant before a half-dozen well-armed bystanders blow him away. America must develop a line of stylish yet armour-coated coats, undergarments and other fahions.

Now that all military contractors from Blackwater, DynCorp and other mercenary companies in Iraq have been properly outfitted with such safety-wear, and some of the U.S. soldiers have too, there is undoubtedly surplus capacity in the factories that make this important item. This means those factories should be dismantled and shipped to China, because that is more efficient. But until then, they could be cranking out Kevlar in price ranges from Macy's to Wal-Mart. Perhaps not the latter, because bullet-proof blue jeans are costly, and to succeed, they should have an up-market cachet. What better way to demonstrate one's worth to modern society than to survive a university shooting while the janitors, underpaid liberal professors and poorer students are left lying in puddles of their decidedly un-blue blood?

I can sense a new fashion revolution in the making, thanks to the unfortunate events in Blacksburg. As the saying goes, when life hands you a pile of lifeless corpses, make lemonade. And a pile of money.

Anonymous said...

""I have no regrets in wanting to make sure this was an isolated incident and not al Qaeda's latest attack plans," wrote Strata. "And those on the left who don't get that too bad.""

The fool has told the terrorists how they can best terrorize Americans, and get maximum media coverage. Obviously he supports terrorism.

Aaron said...

Granted, gun control is primarily to blame for this tragedy, along with Islamocommunofascism, liberal permissiveness, and the gunman's skin color. But what about other causes beloved of liberals? For instance, why has no one yet tried to make the connection between the Global Warming Myth and the VT shootings? I have no idea what such a connection would be, but it must be there. Al Gore must be made to pay for this senseless loss of life!

Anonymous said...

Gerald, obviously the unfortunate young mass murderer was SO depressed because he bought into Al Gore's phogna bologna global warnings that he felt there was no point going on, and decided to spare himself and 31 of his closest random acquaintances the pain of a lingering demise on a dying planet. I'm sure the police will come up with a suicide note to that effect as soon as they get the talking points memo. So yes, it IS Al Gore's fault! I can't wait until the lawsuit is filed...

Stella by Starlight said...

Liberals engaging in partisan posturing? Oh, please. Jonathan Swift would be rolling over in his grave. Let's review a quote from Bush's speech:

"It's impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering. Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they're gone—and they leave behind grieving families, and grieving classmates, and a grieving nation."

We might make the same comment about the 3,200+ dead and 20,000 wounded American solidiers without adequate health care (because Bush cut veterans benefit budgets for six years in a row), not to mention 700,000+ dead Iraqi civilians... all for an unnecessary war and a "president" that couldn't distinguish between Hussein and bin-Laden.

Rick is on target. And to Bukko in Australia; you see a glaring omission in this Swiftian discussion because the bigotry, homophobia, and liberal-bashing on this blog neither dignifies nor enapsulates Swift's brilliant writing.

Sorry, "Jon Swift," moderate conservatives don't watch Fox "news." Try non-biased CSPAN. As a Swift scholar, I suggest reading Conduct of the Allies to understand Swift's perspective on unecessary war or arming vicious people who have no regard for human life—like Dick Cheney.

As a liberal I support the Second Amendment in the 18th and 19th Centuries; but not the 21st. You're all 200 years out of date.

To "anonymous," who called robm a "stupid ass," if you believe in your convictions then come out of the shadows. Guess your gun can't protect you in cyberspace, can it? And, rob, where are you getting your statistics?

Daniel, thanks for the Chain Letter Society link: great post!

Anonymous said...

Stella,

Such perspicacity! Your Swift studies have served you well.

Thanks for shedding some light on this bogus, Fox news watching Jon Swift pretender. I will not fall for his nefarious shenanigans again.

PS Although you seem to be an admirer of the original Jonathan Swift, I like to think that were he alive and blogging today, you would take him to task for promoting cannibalism. (Although I don't really fault the original Swift; he did not have the advantage of C-Span. But this modern Swift imposter has no excuse!

jurassicpork said...

You mean he was a Buddhist? How are we going to reconsile this in our comfortably rigid world view?

I cannot understand why Buzzflash,net had this pulled. How can they claim to be a progressive site welcoming all points of view if they refuse to let a conservative screed of this caliber stand, or fall, on its own merits?

I myself, had fallen prey to this pernicious side of leftism, which is the only side it really has. I mean, what is this country coming to when a white man can't use the word nigger in a public forum where there may or not be black people present?

Anonymous said...

Alas, the Buzzflashians have again sunk this fine work. They seem to find eating babies *morbid.* No accounting for taste, or lack thereof.

Anonymous said...

Zee said...
Alas, the Buzzflashians have again sunk this fine work. They seem to find eating babies *morbid.* No accounting for taste, or lack thereof.

Babies? They taste like veal... Unless you overcook 'em.

Stella by Starlight said...

Oh dear, I completely missed the point. Excellent job and my apologies to all. I've added this clever blog to my links.

Thanks so much bukko. I'm looking forward to stopping by and hope all of you had a good chuckle at my expense.

BTW new day, I understand one-year-old babies make a good stew or fricasse, also.

Anonymous said...

Stella

Welcome aboard. You will enjoy Jon's work.

And kudos on being a good sport.

Stella by Starlight said...

new day, I'm glad to find such a great group. Jon's work is so good, not to mention all of your comments, I absolutely missed the point. What kind of Swiftian am I? Thanks for the compliment... my face is a little less red.

Anonymous said...

I was really kind of dreading reading your take on this...

I shouldn't have worried. Nicely done, once again.

Anonymous said...

stella,
You're far from the first to come here guns-a-blazin' only to return moments later with a whole new perspective. It seems to be a right of passage here.

There are many out there who try and fail at what our JS does so well.

Welcome and enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sure, we could issue guns to all of our students, and that's a start. But when I finger my Glock and think about the students I've taught, I can't help but wonder whether all of them would actually have the nerve to use their guns. Some of them, I'm pretty sure, have never touched a gun in their lives. And the system won't work, of course, if sniveling, cowardly students won't actually shoot the roving maniacs when they show up. So ... why don't we make shootings mandatory?

Let's say that, on graduation, if a student hasn't shot a fellow student every, say, week, then he or she gets shot him/herself.

Now, many of you will say that some of these bullets will be wasted on people who present no danger to anyone. I share your concern that no innocents be harmed under this policy. But when you look at it rationally, is it in the interest of anyone to waste a bullet on someone who presents no threat, rather than to expend it in stopping a dangerous lunatic who presents an imminent danger to me? Of course not. And that's why we can feel confident that a universal policy of mandatory weekly school shootings will result in an immediate and dramatic reduction in school shootings.

Think about it.

Anonymous said...

Sramana Mitra looks at the big picture behind the Virginia Tech Massacre: the US Mental Health Legal System. It is a thought that goes beyond the heinous act.

Anonymous said...

Now that I have seen Jon Swift's attack on Liberals and his putting them in proper perspective in terms of VT, I can't wait until he righteously defends Abu gonzales.

yank in london said...

I hope you realise that the Daily Mail is what passes for a right wing rag over here!

Robert Green said...

i think the ratio of right wingers to lefties who come here and don't get the joke is indicative of something.

possibly. possibly not.

having said that, while mr. swift does have some nice proposals here (and to the commenter who suggested that students would end up in a shooting frenzy shoud they all have guns, i say it's a feature, not a bug) i think that no one has gone far enough.

each american citizen should have a nuclear football of their own. perhaps over the age of [does quick google check of columbine shootings, subtracts a couple of years to be safe] 12 only. each citizen could then determine the safety of every other citizen in an interlocking web of total panoptical security so safe winston smith himself would weep at the very thought. and if one terrorist or asian or both were to come onto these fair shores, well, we could make these shores uninhabitable for ANY foreigners for 100,000 years.

now that's an outcome any moderate conservative can get behind.

Anonymous said...

You know, reflecting on this incident and its origins brought me to the realization that there are far too many of these "2nd amendment-free" zones. College campuses, public schools, airports, the list goes on and on. Wouldn't Americans be better served, safer and more secure, if we had more guns on campus, more guns in our schools, and more guns in our airplanes?

Anonymous said...

Have you read John Lott's book More Guns, Less Crime? It's the most important book of our time, like the Bible, only more important. I strongly encourage everyone to go buy this book by John Lott, who is not, I might add, me.

yanub said...

I can hardly believe the ignorance of Jon Swift and all these posters. Obviously what Virginia Tech needed was a well-regulated militia, as stipulated by the 2nd amendment. Even the NRA has been disappointingly obtuse on the necessity of well-regulated militias to the general defense. What a happy day, what a blessing to our liberties, when, again as in days of yore, uniformed local minutemen spend at least a day out of every week drilling and performing target practice on the village green. Or maybe the neighorhood parks, what with villages and greens being in short supply. In any case, I'm sure that our citizenry will greet their obligation to militia service with the same spirit of eager sacrifice they bring to jury duty.

Jaesoreal said...

This is exactly why I carry a gun everywhere I go! Church, work, school campuses, federal buildings....hold on, for some reason the police are at my door.

P.S. Blame Imus and the blacks

Stella by Starlight said...

According to Ann Coulter: Let's Make American a Sad-Free Zone.

The reason schools are consistently popular targets for mass murderers is precisely because of all the idiotic "Gun-Free School Zone" laws...graduate student Jonathan McGlumphy wrote: "Is it not obvious that all students, faculty and staff would have been safer if (concealed handgun permit) holders were not banned from carrying their weapons on campus?"

If it wasn't obvious then, it is now.
.

She's serious. "...since Adam ate the apple and let evil into the world, deranged individuals have existed."

If anyone would know...

www.navarra-3d.com said...

This won't truly have success, I think this way.

Dr. Amit Agarwal said...

That is great to hear, thank you for reading!

The 2008 Weblog Awards

Google