The madness that struck the Virginia Tech campus this morning is beyond anything that I can comprehend at the moment. Rick's made some good points, but he misses the essential point: We're about 230 years too late to ban guns in this country, they are too infused in our culture. If you tried to ban them, there would be a revolution; frankly, after 7 years of George W. Bush, I'm not ready to get rid of them, either.
On the other hand, the other extreme is beyond ludicrous, it's NUTS: EVERYONE should pack heat, as if that would have stopped that worthless bastard/tormented soul that decided today was a good day for EVERYBODY to die. The only people who would be happy for required ownerwship are the soulless monsters of the NRA, who represent gun MANFUACTURERS, not gun OWNERS,. All they want is for the gun manufacters to sell completely automatic weapons to everyone from age 10 up.
The whole point of today is that, when someone goes nuts, we are ALL vulnerable, and there's not really a damn thing we can do about it, and we say these nutty things because we are scared shitless. Look, those of you who own weapons, as I do, remember this: if someone wants to kill you, they'll find a way to do, and if they're smart enough, you're done.
On the other hand, I am not for registration, but I DO believe that, like driving a car, gun ownership has its responsibilities, like owning insurance and taking a test and getting a license to prove you know what the hell you're doing with a weapon. Hell, I'd even be in favor of using a NRA gun safety course and test, it's about the only thing they do that actually helps humanity.
Now, what we all need, even me, is a good dose of STFU; let's mourn and grieve for these students and educators who died far too young because some damaged soul snapped. They and their families, as well as the whole VPI Campus, need our prayers and our love right now, and that's where our focus should be placed.
8 comments:
Well said.
It's hitting us hard around here. A few youngsters from my church attend there, they have checked in however.
Lots of NE TN kids at VT. We're just waiting....
Strange, I forgot what it felt like to cry.
tn420,
And when I read that, tears welled up in my eyes.
Sending you what I can across cyberspace.
Trace aka 'coma
Amen. I had two nieces on the campus yesterday. Both are OK, but there's no telling what the psychological damage being that close to something so horrific will be. One of them is on her way home today, bringing along a friend whose older brother lost his girlfriend yesterday.
Well said, LWC.
And the poor tormented soul/bastard is of Asian descent and he was here on a visa.
So, the good Rev. Fred Phelps is going to be at the memorials spreading additional haterade...
http://americablog.blogspot.com/
As if that kid being Asian isn't going to further additional divides in this country that are not needed.
From what Olbermann said tonight, the shooter was a resident alien, here since he was 8 and 1/2 years old. His parents ran a dry cleaning store--or a laundromat/drycleaneing store--in the DC area and have a daughter attending Princeton. God help them as they face months of hell. God help the families of the victims.
Leftwing, you could not have said that any better. Trying to find a way to force every American to have no possible way to kill themselves or others, is not what America needs to focus on. Remembering the victims, families, and students at Virginia Tech is where the focus should be. And I, for one, am disgusted by all the news stories showing footage of the campus killer making disgusting comments about just about everything.
Also, I don't mean for this post to advertise, by any means, but:
www.TheMemphisMayor.blogspot.com
The killings at Virginia Tech were horrible for all families and friends who lost loved ones. But to say the NRA wants everyone to be carrying weapons is to miss the mark by miles. The idea of "gun free zones" is a happy, little liberal feel-good notion which is as ridiculous as some of the notions on both sides.
Virginia allows concealed weapons carry permits with significant requirements attached including approval from a judge. For that, a person has an interview with a judge's aide and answers many questions.
One young man who was shot saved his own life due to his training as an Eagle Scout. To leave any and all students and teachers defenseless is irresponsible. Tech administrators see that their plan/policy had less than a positive outcome. But it is reasonable that teachers and students with concealed carry permits - not easy to get I might add - with their possession of a weapon on campus registered with the campus police would make sense in this world where some would have the innocent always open to attacks from the nuts.
I assure you that every student on campus with a weapons permit would not be carrying guns all of the time. Just wouldn't happen but it would be nice to know that professors and students could be armed. Armed citizens in America stop criminal assaults directed at them in over 1 million cases yearly in the US. Armed citizens are responsible generally and lest we forget, our wild west was far safer than many cities in the US today because the expectation of the bad guys was that they could face armed citizens.
See the reported case in Orlando, Florida where women were being mugged and raped in very large numbers. Police offered handgun training classes - 6,000 women showed up for training the first day. Over a period of time all the women who sought training were trained. The police publicized the training in the local papers and also the numbers of women who were being trained. The crime against women dropped 70%.
One town in Georgia required by city ordinance that all households have a shotgun or handgun. All crimes against homes, property - ceased.
The Left elite well-protected behind their armed bodyguards have no concern for their inferiors of any political persuasion - why should they?
The Hokies of Tech are strong young men and women. The question for me is how much of a role did administration bowing to the insanity of political correctness have to do with the "root" causes of this tragedy?
I tend to reserve casting blame on anyone here but the killer, however, he set himself apart and chose the coward's way of dealing with the bad deal he thought the world had tossed at him. He was taking up the slot of another young man or woman who would have done Virginia Tech proud. Why was he allowed to even remain on campus with his background of stalking, et al.
Looks like you have a good blog. It is good for us to be able to agree to disagree on issues and hold fast to the bond we have that makes us come together as brothers and sisters - as Americans.
Tragedies sometimes have that effect on us for we do not know or care of the political or religious ideologies of the victims. They were Americans and for now we are all Virginia Tech Hokies.
I am from that region. Like the little priest in The Bridge of San Luis Rey - we cannot fathom why such things occur. Oh, we know the gunman in this case but why that hour, why that hall, why those students and teachers?
Thanks for letting a conservative, NRA-card carrying lady stop by from time to time without pelting me too much.
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