Virginia Tech Tragedy

[AristaNiara]

I know that you're all probably sick of hearing about it since it's all over the news but I'm afraid that I can't let this go.  I lost someone in that shooting and it hurts.  It hurts as a college student to see such a STUPID, idiotic, moronic college president since he knows darn well he could have done something!  TWO HOURS!  Talking to the president at my school about it, he would have closed the school, put us under immediate lock down (both campuses...we have a choir college in Princeton as well) and the local police dept would have been called immediately if not sooner!  What was this guy thinking?!?! Never mind, he wasn't.  Campus security is about as effective as mall security (and I work in a mall so I can honestly say that!) so what would they have done to stop a shooter?  Get in a gun fight and with what weapons?

My friend is still one of the "unconfirmed" but it's just not fair!  He was one of the good guys.  He was like Michelangelo!  You couldn't hate the guy!  He was a cute football player and was REALLY intelligent and just a all round sweet heart!  Such violence is so senseless.

It just hurts that this all happened and then this morning, there was a bomb scare somewhere.  I just don't get it.  Why do people have to be so mean and stupid?  It's depressing that you're not even safe at school anymore.  I hate it!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800034.html

[Aignatius]

Just to add to your thoughts, Arista:

(I hope your friend is okay, I haven't read the news article yet)

Too much on my plate to dwell on this for too long, but I will say, if I were a parent/friend/family member of one of the kids/instructors shot, I think it would be worse to look for blame somewhere. I would have accepted it as something unavoidable as fate being fate, rather than think it could have been prevented. To think such a thing as someone neglecting to act to prevent such a tragedy would be unbearable. One could even go backwards from there and wonder if more could have been done to find out what was going on with Cho, the gunman. Or blame the society that neglected such a person with obvious issues as he had, so that he slipped through the cracks.
Or one could blame state gun laws not being strict enough.
A lot could have been done to prevent this, but for some reason, it didn't happen. One can't foresee everything happening the way it did. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Not to mention when such things are actually prevented from happening somewhere, they don't always get news coverage.

BTW, an acquaintance of my son's at high school carried a loaded Glock 9 mm (exact same gun that Cho used) around in the waistband of his pants for two months before a couple of students noticed and told a school administrator. Fortunately it didn't go off by accident or the boy didn't start shooting someone.

Stuff like that happens all over, all the time. We fervently wish it didn't, but it does. We only find out when things go horribly wrong.

[AristaNiara]

Unfortunately, my friend was in the front row of his German class and was killed when Cho came in and opened fired.  It's a senseless tragedy.  I can't say that I blame society for not doing anything but I do blame the president for not calling the police until it was too late.  I'm sorry but again, campus security is about as useless as mall security.  They can't do anything.  He president knew that.  I mean, if it were my college, the police department (which is only down the street) would have been there in two minutes.  In fact, when Rider had a shooting 3 years ago, the police were there within 3 minutes.  So given the amount of time that it took for Rider to get the police involved was next to nothing.  I'll give the benefit of a doubt that the police department wasn't exactly down the street but it shouldn't take 2 or more hours (heck, it shouldn't even take 30 minutes) to get the police involved especially when it has to do with guns.

[Aignatius]

Terrible to hear about that, and very sorry about your friend.  

[Mindy]

Arista,

You're the first I've encountered online who has lost someone in this tragedy. I can't begin to wrap my head around something like this - in all areas and sides of the stories. I will be thinking of you and his family.

*huuuugs*  

[BubblyShell22]

I am sorry for those who have lost friends and family in this tragedy. My thoughts are with you. It's just a horrible thing that I cannot comprehend.